Google Shopping is offering a virtual tour of New York’s renowned festive windows with the Winter Wonderland activation, which allows consumers to use a smartphone or computer to see windows from 18 stores, including Lord & Taylor’s Enchanted Forest, as well as Barney’s and Saks 5th Avenue. What’s more, users with virtual reality headsets like Google Cardboard or Daydream can also hear surrounding sounds and sights. Consumers can also zoom in to see details and listen to audio from creative directors, who describe the process and detail that goes into the displays. Consumers can also access Google’s so-called shopping gift window to find related gifts to those displayed in the app.

Aman Govil, head of art, copy and code projects at Google, said of the initiative: “We’ve taken hundreds of high-resolution photos of each window and stitched them together with a new technique that creates a rich, life-like panorama so you’ll feel like you’re standing on the streets of Manhattan during the holidays, gazing at the windows as if you were walking next to them. With all of the artistry and time that goes into creating these holiday windows, we want to open them up to the whole world. So go ahead, walk down the wide avenues of Manhattan, peer into Santa’s high-tech communications command centre at Macy’s flagship store, imagine sitting atop the 9 ½ foot tall Jackalope at Bergdorf Goodman, take in all the sights and sounds and enjoy the magic of a New York holiday.”

Via CreativePool