VirTech Communications of Vancouver plans to open Canada’s first cybermall this November.
HyperMarche Canada will be available on-line and in a cd-rom format, with both versions featuring the same line-up of Canadian retailers.
Ron Wong, general manager of VirTech, says his company found there was a need for a Canadian service because most on-line shopping available is through American retailers, with the attendant costs of duty, taxes and the exchange rate.
Research conducted for VirTech by Toronto-based market research firm Canadian Facts suggested significant interest in a Canadian on-line service, particularly for goods such as clothing, books, music and electronics.
The survey found that almost one-third of adult Canadians have access to cd-rom or the Internet for personal use and 37% of respondents say they are likely to use the virtual mall to browse for products or services.
When on-line, HyperMarche retailers will be able to tell shoppers about specials and frequent changes of merchandise.
Although the cd-rom format will be distributed only twice a year, its use of the QuickTime VR advanced multimedia interactive tool will give customers a virtual reality shopping experience.
In the case of shopping for music cds, for example, the customer will be able to enter a store, pick up a disk, flip it over to read the titles and even hear an audio clip.
The cd-rom version will be distributed free by merchants, via a 1-800 request line and through targeted publications.
The goal is to launch HyperMarche with 30 participating retailers. Wong says he is currently negotiating with several across the country.
A prototype of HyperMarche is open for viewing at www.virtech-ca.com.
VirTech has print ads running in business newspapers with headlines such as, ‘Our Mall is Just a cd-rom Drive Away’ to alert retailers that it has retail space for lease.
VirTech has been handling advertising in-house but Wong says nearer the consumer launch in November, he will be looking for an agency to handle radio, print and possibly television advertising.
