Virtual reality replaces what the user sees entirely, through a headset, where augmented reality adds to the real view. That total replacement is both the appeal and the whole of the problem.
It works when the thing being shown cannot be visited: a property not yet built, a factory line, a location too far or too dangerous. In those cases nothing else delivers the same understanding, and buyers make decisions from it.
The caveat in retail and public spaces is throughput. One headset serves one person for several minutes, needs cleaning between users, and requires a staff member to fit and explain it. A queue forms after the third visitor, and the number of people reached in a day is small enough that the cost per experience is rarely defensible outside a considered purchase.
Motion sickness affects a meaningful minority regardless of content quality, and the physical hygiene question that arrived in 2020 never fully left. For most brand activations, 360 video on the visitor's own phone reaches far more people for far less, and the headset is there for the few who will buy.