Virtual shop in Gloucestershire aids effective budgeting

County council launches ‘Shop and Save’ interactive shopping experience this week to help residents budget better. 

With the ongoing cost of living crisis, it’s good to see anything that can help us better equipped to manage our finances. This weekend, Gloucestershire County Council is launching an interactive shopping experience that aims to help local people get better at managing their budgets. 

The public are invited to attend the launch of Shop and Save at the Oakley Interactive Space in Cheltenham from 10 am until noon on Friday, September 27. 

Photo courtesy of Gloucestershire County Council

Shop and Save is an immersive, 3D experience, where digital images are projected onto walls to create an interactive shopping scene. As a participant moves through the aisles collecting items on their shopping list, they can check prices and quantities. In doing so, the shopping experience helps improve skills and boost confidence. 

The project has been developed by the council’s Multiply team, working in partnership with Gloucestershire Libraries. Multiply, which is part of the wider adult education service, provides access to free courses so that adults across the county can unlock their full potential. 

Further sessions using the technology will be arranged in due course, at a range of immersive reality learning spaces and facilities. Indeed, the council hopes that Shop and Save s adopted by other regions across the country – and beyond. 

Oakley Interactive Space boasts an ‘Immersive Room’ providing a digital experience with interactive images projected 360°. Participants can be present in a non-physical world, going to places and seeing things to which they otherwise might not have access, all in a fully engaging and safe manner. 

The resource is provided free to the whole community, with emphasis on local people and groups. Time slots can be booked through the library, though drop-in sessions are held regularly throughout the week. Please note that some content and functions of the immersive reality room may not be suitable for people with epilepsy. 

Cllr Philip Robinson, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Gloucestershire County Council, says: ‘This is an excellent initiative which uses the latest digital technology to help people budget for their shopping. Given the cost pressures being faced by residents, I hope this will prove to be a useful tool in helping people to budget effectively. It is available for the whole community so I would encourage anyone interested in finding out more to go along to the launch event.’ 

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