Wal-Mart sights set on virtual reality

Wal-Mart has spent billions buying up websites such as Jet.com and ModCloth, and investing in new technology as it goes head-to-head with Amazon.com. Now, the world's largest retailer aims to move in on virtual reality.

Imagine this, says Katie Finnegan, who heads Wal-Mart's tech incubator: You need a tent for your next camping trip. If all goes to plan, you could one day virtually swoop in to your campsite and see any given tent in action.

'You could unzip it, lay down, look left and right, and say, ‘Oh, this is supposed to be a two-person tent? It's kind of tight,'” she said.

And then you could move on to the next tent - without leaving your couch.

'There is a lot of technology we're excited about,” she said, 'but virtual reality in particular offers an opportunity to actually experience products and items in an immersive way.”

The technology has yet to catch on with the mainstream, so such concepts are still very much in the gee-whiz stage, with no guarantee of actually boosting sales.

Wal-Mart has been experimenting with virtual reality to help train its employees for busy shopping days such as Black Friday. It also is testing a program that would allow delivery drivers to walk into customers' homes and take groceries straight to their refrigerators.