Dive Brief:

• At the F8 developer conference last week, Facebook revealed plans for its virtual reality technology Oculus Rift, including e-commerce. 
• During the conference, the social media giant unveiled the ability to make purchases through Facebook's Messenger app—a feature that Facebook is working on to expand to virtual reality. 
• Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer explained that users could look at major purchases, like real estate and cars, through virtual reality technology, and then buy them directly. 

Dive Insight: 

Virtual reality technology is already being employed by car brands, like Nissan and Toyota, as a marketing tool. The use shows that the car industry is already on board with the idea of virtual reality, so it would be an easy step to allow purchases directly through the technology.

Real estate and hospitality brands could benefit as well. Hotel chain Marriott, for example, has already embraced virtual reality for campaigns like #GetTeleported.