NEW YORK -

Online car buying and virtual-reality test drives are among the technologies generating the most attention in auto retail.

And a move Tuesday by Vroom brings those worlds closer together.

The direct-to-consumer online car retailer has launched a virtual reality showroom where shoppers can “explore” cars available on Vroom.com through HTC Vice headsets.

Shoppers can use the virtual reality showroom to take 360-degree-view test-drives and hear the sounds from specific engines, plus access information on those cars.

“We’re committed to simplicity in the car-buying process. Discovery is a huge part of that, with the majority of shoppers entering the car-buying period not knowing what car they want to buy,” Vroom chief marketing officer Gaurav Misra told Auto Remarketing Tuesday in emailed comments.

“In most scenarios, they have to spend several hours researching. So we wanted to be able to provide a solution, where consumers could compare hundreds of cars side by side in minutes, not hours — and to make that discovery part entertaining too,” he said.

“VR allows a user to get as close to reality as possible from the comfort of one location, without having to drive lot-to-lot,” Misra said. “You can see the cars in life size, learn all about their specs, step in and see what driving them would feel like, so you can get a good understanding of what cars are for you and which aren’t. You can also start in the Vroom purchasing funnel there and by ‘liking’ cars within the VR experience and then following up to buy online.”

Misra said the company began looking into virtual reality in late 2015. They found it had the potential to make changes in e-commerce, allowing shoppers “to be able to see and all but feel the product,” Misra said.

“When buying a car sight unseen, we want to use technology to help you feel comfortable every step of the way,” he said.

Vroom will begin offering the VR experience at its Dallas and Houston facilities as well as a pop-up location in the Phoenix area. The VR showroom will initially include 15 makes/models from Vroom’s “Affordable Performance” category.

These sports cars have price tags ranging from $25,000 to $60,000 and include 155 cars that Vroom typically has in stock.

To reiterate, if a shopper heads to one of these three facilities to test out the VR experience, he or she can buy those same vehicles at that time. It is designed for consumers to easily begin the online buying process after the VR experience, Misra said.

“The experience ties to our real-time inventory, so people can pull up real-time information on what cars are available to buy,” he told Auto Remarketing.

The company plans to offer the VR experience in seven other categories in the future, and will also launch the program in other locations.

Through the experience, consumers are able to tap into Vroom’s inventory in real time, the company said.

“To date, there’s been a lot of noise about VR experiences related to entertainment and gaming, so we are thrilled to be one of the first innovators offering a real-world shopping experience that is rich, meaningful, useful and entertaining,” Misra said in a news release.

Vroom chief executive officer Paul Hennessy said in the news release: “Our VR showroom allows our customers to virtually test drive 10 cars in 10 minutes, rather than spending 10 hours at dealerships, We’re committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to simplify the car buying process, and Vroom’s new virtual showroom inspires trust and confidence while demonstrating the high quality of the cars we sell. Our goal is to enable customers to shop on their own terms.”

A handful of automakers have jumped into virtual reality, as have others in the automotive space.

On Monday, video marketing solutions provider Flick Fusion announced the launch of 360VR, a platform that lets dealers generate VR inventory videos for use on their websites, in email marketing and mobile ads, and on social media and third-party car shopping sites.

In June, peer-to-peer online car marketplace Beepi launched Beepi 360, an interactive technology that gives Beepi browsers clear, 360-degree exterior and interior views of Beepi vehicles, the company says. 

The company’s blog post announcing Beepi 360 said it’s “our first step into incorporating full virtual reality.”

It gives the buyer or seller a way to “see the tread on the tires or examine the grain of the leather seats,” the company said on its blog.