The retail industry has been one of the most eager adopters of cutting-edge innovations, pioneering transformations in customer service, marketing, logistics, and warehousing.
Consumers, however, have been demanding even more novelties, and for good reason.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, physical shopping halted, and customers worldwide shifted to e-commerce platforms to satiate their needs.
This, in turn, created a demand for brands to adapt their technology models, like augmented reality (AR), to become more agile and rely more on automation and smart, immersive tech to reach customers with personalized interactions in real-time.
Before the pandemic, the market for augmented reality in retail hit $10 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.6 percent until 2027.
With that in mind, in this blog, we’ll talk about all things AR in retail, including examples of AR-eCommerce apps and their impact.
But before we explore the benefits of augmented reality in retail, let’s briefly talk about what it is and how it works.
What Is Augmented Reality And How Does It Work?
Augmented reality refers to immersive technologies that blend real-life environments with virtual elements through computer-generated perpetual information to provide a composite view.
In retail, AR is used to help buyers visualize the products they’re about to buy in context to their surrounding environment.
It basically offers buyers a virtual experience of using and owning the product before making the actual purchase decision.
Regarding how it works, AR can be experienced across a wide array of hardware: digital mirrors, TVs, laptops, PCs, wearables, handheld devices (tablets or smartphones), connected devices, and connected devices like head-mounted displays, glasses, lenses, and even virtual fitting rooms.
In the case of tablets and smartphones, AR uses the device’s accelerometer, com, GPS, computer vision technology, and cameras to gather info about the surrounding real-world environment.
AR then overlaps additional contextual information (in 3D or 2D) on top of that environment image.
5 Ways AR Improves Shopping Experiences
Here is how augmented reality has provided an opportunity in retail to enhance the shopping experience at each purchase point, including post-sales, sales, and pre-sales.
1. Removing Uncertainty From Decision-Making
Deciding whether a new home appliance or furniture will fit well in the space you have in mind requires a healthy imagination.
Perhaps that’s why furniture has been one of the slowest spaces to transition online.
Often a visit to a showroom is needed to complete your home’s mental image with that new sofa.
Thanks to AR, however, shoppers can now transform their rooms into virtual showrooms and visualize furniture in their designated spots ahead of the purchases.
Ikea Place and Wayfair’s View In Room App are two examples of this space’s augmented reality shopping experience apps.
Another space that has taken the uncertainty out of picking new products through the use of augmented reality is beauty apps.
For instance, the Sephora Virtual Artist app allows clients to ‘try’ anything from facial cosmetics to lipsticks and eyelashes.
The application uses the smartphone’s cameras to accurately map out the consumer’s facial features before overlaying the products on their faces.
L’Oreal also has an app that permits s to get 3D virtual makeovers. The application (known as Style My Hair) allows s to try different hairstyles and hair colors from their smartphones.
2. An Immersive Shopping Experience
Starbucks’ Roastery in Shanghai, China, has harnessed the power of augmented reality to transform its customers’ shopping experiences.
Visitors at the store can use their smartphones to learn about the store’s roasting process, gather the info they need about the products, and even unlock fun visuals.
Their AR technology model is run by Alibaba, the same tech giant renowned for launching approx. 1,000 virtual grocery stores like these in key places across China.
3. An Interactive Packaging Technology
Thanks to augmented reality, brands can now incorporate an array of augmented reality experiences into their packaging and offer customers interactive visual experiences.
These experiences range from pharmaceutical firms allowing their customers to scan their packaging for more info on the drug’s possible interactions to practical applications like Heinz Packaging offering interactive food demonstrations and recipes using its product’s list of ingredients.
4, Staying On Top Of Trends
Peer pressure is arguably one of the strongest drivers of sales. C&A knows this, and that’s why it has started displaying its apparel on innovative hangers that show the number of likes the items have garnered across its social media community.
As shoppers peruse their store, they can aim their phones’ apps at the item, which pops the “look” online.
They can then see friends that have liked it and watch as the number of likes on the item change before their eyes. This layered data allows shoppers to buy with confidence.
5. Technical And Self-Service
Brands are also upping their post-sales services by allowing customers to tap into AR-powered self-service and technical options.
Visual , for instance, will enable consumers to hold their phones up to the products, and computer vision technology will instantly identify all parts in real time.
Agents can also instantly know the exact name and model number of all malfunctioning devices, resulting in quicker resolution times.
For self-service , customers can use their smartphones to access the product’s knowledge base with manuals, FAQs, and training material presented in an AR overlay.
For instance, Nespresso permits consumers to scan their products and receive step-by-step machine descaling instructions.
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