Like many retailers this year, Walmart Inc. is in the midst of performing store refreshes. But the company also has been adding in some extra technology to their back-of-house operation to make things more efficient – for both employees and customers.

A virtual reality pilot program that launched in 2016 has been implemented into Central Florida’s Walmart training academies, two of which opened this  year — one in Casselberry and another in Melbourne. The program will be used year-round, but has the benefit of being able to introduce new employees to holiday protocols in the off-season, writes Matthew Richardson and Dahlia Ghabour for  the  Philadelphia Business Journal.

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It’s as if you are actually on the sales floor,” said Gustavo De Leon, training academy manager for Walmart in Casselberry. “The VR headset is not an animated 3-D environment, but you see actual people in the headset who you can interact with to get a sense of how things will be in a real-life situation.”

The VR training includes product searches, pointing out issues with the produce section and learning how to deal with frazzled customers.

Normally, Walmart relies on computer-based desktop training, allowing associates to read lessons, watch videos and take quizzes to make sure they understand the material. But VR is a step beyond that because it puts associates in a real-life scenario. “It will teach you things like how to give a customer space when interacting — like actually showing you what 10 feet looks like. It gives them a physical reference point,” De Leon said.

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