Choosing glasses is personal. Seeing a frame online can spark your interest, but trying it on helps you decide whether the shape, comfort and fit are right for you.
For an optical retailer, the opportunity is to help someone researching online picture that visit. Your location, reviews and service information all contribute. A Google Maps virtual tour adds a view of the place itself: the displays, mirrors, seating and space customers can explore.
360 View created a virtual tour of Ace & Tate at 15 Brewer Street in Soho, London, showing its colourful interiors across two floors. Prospective visitors can recognise the frontage, look around the eyewear displays and get familiar with the layout before arriving.
The store remained open during photography. We paused around customers and completed the capture in approximately 40 minutes, keeping the interior views free of customers while the team continued serving visitors.
The Ace & Tate Brewer Street Project at a Glance
| Project detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Business | Ace & Tate, eyewear and opticians |
| Location | 15 Brewer Street, Soho, London W1F 0RJ |
| Project purpose | Help prospective visitors recognise the store and explore its layout, eyewear displays and seating |
| Service | Google Maps virtual tour showing the storefront and retail interiors across two floors |
| Time on site | Approximately 40 minutes while the store remained open |
| Final experience | Connected 360° views with detailed displays and natural navigation |
Explore Ace & Tate Brewer Street
Look around the frame displays, see the seating areas and explore how the two floors fit together.
Open the virtual tour on Google Maps.
Showing the Store Behind the Frames
If you own an opticians or manage an eyewear store, you know the collection is only part of what customers experience. The way frames are displayed, the mirrors, lighting and room to browse all contribute to choosing a pair.
At Brewer Street, white display shelves give the glasses a clear backdrop. Tall mirrors sit among the frames, seating offers somewhere to pause, and the red staircase connects the two floors. Blue and yellow tiles bring colour to the space without distracting from the eyewear.
The tour shows these features together. Visitors can look at the variety on display, then move between viewpoints to understand the surroundings.
Its purpose is to introduce the browsing experience, rather than catalogue individual frame models. Collections can change, but the store’s layout, display areas and atmosphere remain useful information for someone considering a visit.
A Polished Tour with an Approachable Character
Ace & Tate describes its purpose through thoughtfully designed, quality eyewear made accessible, with stores that feel modern, lively and inviting. That straightforward approach matters when presenting the brand online. Read Ace & Tate’s story.
Brewer Street expresses it through a distinctive interior. Ace & Tate connects the design to Soho’s character, while Granby Workshop explains how its handmade tiles use primary colours to define areas of the store. The neon eyes add another playful detail. About the Brewer Street store, Granby Workshop’s project.
We chose viewpoints that show the displays clearly while preserving this sense of colour and openness. Each view provides enough context to understand where it sits within the store, making the route comfortable to follow.
The result is a carefully composed walkthrough that brings the welcoming retail environment online. Its professional finish comes from the clarity, composition and navigation, with the store’s own character doing the talking.
Helping Customers Recognise the Location and Understand Both Floors
Finding a shop involves more than following a map pin. Recognising the frontage and its position among neighbouring businesses helps customers understand the final approach.
The exterior views show Ace & Tate’s Brewer Street entrance, blue frontage and adjacent shopfronts. These provide useful reference points for someone checking the location before travelling or approaching on foot.
Inside, the tour reveals more than the window display can show. Customers can explore the retail areas across two floors, see where seating is available and understand the scale of the space.
For visitors with particular access requirements, the imagery can also help them identify questions before travelling. A tour should sit alongside confirmed information about steps, lifts and where services are provided, so people can plan according to their needs.
Photographing Around Customers in Approximately 40 Minutes
For a store manager, a photography session has to work around the business.
Ace & Tate Brewer Street continued trading throughout our visit. We paused several times when customers entered the area being photographed, allowing them to browse without appearing in the interior panoramas.
The capture was completed in approximately 40 minutes, including those pauses. Editing and connecting the views followed afterwards.
This is a practical example of how Google Street View photography for business interiors can fit around normal opening hours. Timing for another optical store will depend on its size, customer flow and agreed coverage.
Planning the route and working patiently around visitors helped us show the space clearly while respecting the activity taking place inside it.
Let People Explore Your Store After Closing Time
Someone looking for new glasses may start researching after your team has finished for the day. A virtual tour makes the photographed store available to explore online at any time.
For an optical retailer, that means the care invested in the physical environment can be visible during the research stage. Prospective customers can look around the displays, see the seating and decide whether the store looks like somewhere they would like to browse.
Use the tour alongside the information they need to take the next step. On your branch webpage, place it near opening hours, access details, available services and an appointment link. Explain whether customers can drop in to try frames and how to check the availability of a particular style.
The tour provides the visual introduction; the surrounding information helps people plan their visit.
For businesses with several branches, individual tours can also show the differences between locations. See how we approach virtual tours for retail stores and showrooms.
Frequently Asked Questions About Virtual Tours for Opticians and Eyewear Stores
How can a Google Maps virtual tour help customers choose an opticians to visit?
A Google Maps virtual tour shows an opticians’ layout, frame displays, mirrors and seating before a visit. It helps prospective customers understand the browsing environment and see beyond the shopfront. Alongside reviews, location and service information, it gives them more detail on which to base their decision.
Will an eyewear store virtual tour become outdated when our frame collection changes?
An eyewear store virtual tour primarily shows the layout, displays and browsing experience, rather than acting as a live product catalogue. Individual frames may change while the tour remains useful. Keep current stock information on product pages, and consider updated photography after substantial changes to the interior or merchandising.
Can Google Street View photography show our entrance and both floors?
Google Street View photography can cover an optical store’s frontage, nearby visual landmarks and retail areas across multiple floors. At Ace & Tate Brewer Street, the tour shows the entrance and two floors of interiors. Agreeing coverage beforehand helps ensure the views explain the location and the routes customers can explore.
Can you photograph our optical store while we remain open?
Virtual tour photography can be planned around trading, with pauses whenever customers enter the area being captured. Ace & Tate Brewer Street stayed open during its approximately 40-minute session. For another optical store, timing depends on customer flow, appointments, layout and the areas included.
Can an optical practice virtual tour include reception and eye test rooms?
An optical practice virtual tour can include reception, seating and eye test rooms when those areas are agreed for capture. Rooms should be available between appointments and prepared so patients, records and confidential screens are not photographed. Each practice can choose which customer-facing areas are appropriate to show.
Can a virtual tour help customers assess access before visiting an opticians?
A virtual tour can show visible entrances, stairs and routes, helping customers identify access questions before travelling. It should be accompanied by confirmed information about step-free access, lifts and the location of services. Images alone cannot verify dimensions or establish whether the premises meet someone’s individual access needs.
Can we embed our Google Maps virtual tour on our optical store website?
A Google Maps virtual tour can be embedded on an optical store’s website alongside branch details and an eye test booking link. This lets visitors explore the premises and then use the separate booking system or plan a walk-in visit. Keep opening hours, appointment requirements and available services clearly stated.
Help Customers Picture Their Visit
If your online presence shows your frames but gives little sense of your store, a virtual tour can provide that missing context.
360 View creates Google Maps virtual tours for independent opticians, eyewear retailers and brands with multiple locations. We plan the coverage around the spaces you want customers to understand and the way your store operates.
Contact 360 View about your optical store virtual tour. Send us the address, number of floors and areas you would like included, together with your trading hours. We will recommend suitable coverage and prepare a quote.
