Shopping centre group intu is piloting a new virtual reality scheme to test whether the technology could soon become commonplace at its 14 shopping centres across the UK.

intu has launched its first paid-for virtual reality experience at three of the country's most popular shopping centres over August where customers can interact with characters and worlds from The Emoji Movie.

intu will be tracking data to measure the success of the pilot activity at intu Merry Hill, intu Lakeside and intu Braehead before deciding whether to roll out more experiences to its 35 million customers nationwide. The pilot will measure shoppers’ propensity to pay for VR leisure experiences and the popularity of movie-related VR content.

intu ran its first complimentary virtual reality leisure pilot at intu Victoria Centre in Nottingham over December where customers were invited to step into a virtual winter wonderland and decorate a Christmas tree.

Karen Harris, managing director of intu’s digital innovation team, said: “We are running a number of trials to look at the benefits of virtual reality and augmented reality in a modern shopping centre environment.

“We think there is enormous potential for these types of leisure experiences to drive up footfall, dwell time and likelihood of revisiting a shopping destination. Data from this trial will be used to understand how we can continue to take this technology forward.”

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