Innovative Ways Augmented Reality Is Helping Retailers
Tags: Marketing, Virtual Reality, Technology, Business, Augmented Reality

The Augmented Reality market has grown and it is estimated that its value will reach $61.4 billion by 2023. AR has found its way into almost every field which includes healthcare, gaming, entertainment, retail, digital marketing, education, utilities, and more.

When we narrow it down to Augmented Reality in Retail, It’s been approximated that 32% of shoppers are regular users of AR, and 73% of smartphone AR users are highly contented with the experiences. Such Augmented Reality statistics prove how the retail market has accepted the technology and is exponentially growing with its help.

We have seen Augmented Reality applications have been on the rise with virtual “try-before-you-buy” experiences ranging from previewing furniture and products in your home with everyday brands like IKEA and Home Depot, to virtually trying on luxury fashion such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Once a nice to have feature for most brands have quickly become an essential technology for retailers.

Enhances brand awareness

AR is an amazing tool to enhance a company’s brand awareness to wider audiences. Mobile apps and WebAR with state-of-the-art AR features will help a brand provide unique experiences to users. The use of AR for retailer marketing strategies gives a lot of leverage to brands to find ingenious ways for interactions creating a tunnel for instant feedback.

AR experiences for customer loyalty

Regardless if a person buys from you online or offline, as a retailer, you will want to see them come back again or become a brand ambassador. There is much more value and potential in building brand loyalty post-purchase by providing interactive content that customers can explore at home. More and more businesses are acknowledging the possibility of augmented reality as a way to keep the conversation going with their customers, as well as offering solutions that add value to people post-purchase.

Connect shoppers with print content

Printed products will not disappear in the future as they comprise a big chunk in most big brand marketing mixes. It’s one of the masterstrokes of augmented reality marketing strategy. Now just by holding your phone over a particular picture, you get all the information related to it and also similar items of interest!

Removing barriers of language

Although with so many languages around the world, there are still certain barriers but that’s just momentary. With Google Translate AR mode, you can see any of the 40 foreign languages as your native one. Features of AR-based shopping apps channelize languages to help you understand its services. Even if you use printed catalogs, the AR content in it will guide you to choose the language of your choice.

Improving the shopping experience

Before you even set foot physically into an establishment retailers are working on enriching your shopping experience. If you find yourself outside of a store you might just notice the next level in window shopping with AR display engagements that show off products, information and lets you interact with a brand before you step inside.

If you do make it inside, retailers are now providing the most interactive experiences to further brand awareness and increase product engagement. One of the latest AR in-store interactions is the virtual fitting room that allows customers to see themselves in apparel options on a screen to help narrow down selections before actually trying them on. This has led to an increase in sales conversion rates and has drastically reduced returns.

There are few other AR shopping experiences that can be found both at home and in-store allowing the customer to get better acquainted with a particular brand or product using AR. The most popular and now highly recognized is the try before you buy and product preview experiences. Take to a virtual catalog displaying a selection of products that you can visualize using AR and 3D. See what a piece of merchandise looks like in your home before you buy it or if you want to buy a new pair of eyeglasses they can show you what the glasses look like on you without a trip to the store.

What Brands are innovating with AR?

Innovation trends have influenced significantly a brand’s marketing strategy. Not surprisingly, mobile devices have become a vital element of the sales process, especially in decision making for most shoppers.

Big names in the corporate world are taking heed and are doing pretty impressive work when it comes to business transformation with the help of AR. Augmented Reality benefits for shopping online and offline have been devised quite convincingly by brands to suit their audience. Below you’ll find a list of a few companies that have successfully used AR-based applications for marketing campaigns and sales initiatives.

IKEA: AR Catalog with Product Visualizer

HOME DEPOT: AR Catalog with Product Visualizer

ADIDAS: Try on before you buy

VESPA: Vehicle Visual Product Info

AUDI: Vehicle Visual Product Info

TOYOTA: Vehicle Visual Product Info

GUCCI: Try on before you buy

DIOR: Try on before you buy

LOUIS VUITTON: Try on before you buy

SEPHORA: Try on before you buy

What is the future of AR in Retail?

Augmented Reality is often termed as a futuristic technology, but it is not true. AR has already made its way into all sectors of the retail market. The time is not too far when you will be sitting in the comfort of your sofa or sipping a cup of coffee in the kitchen, wearing AR-enabled glasses, or browsing through the Augmented Reality Mobile Apps, shopping for everything you need. Yes, all this without even stepping out of your home!

The challenges in Augmented Reality Ecommerce also need to be worked upon to reach out to a wider range of audiences and retain existing ones. And whether it’s AR in online shopping or offline, there are certain things that need special attention. Aspects such as advertising, localization, incentives and discounts, personal approach, interaction, discoverability, privacy, and UX.

An interesting fact about retail is that despite online shopping and e-commerce getting more precedence day by day, 71% of buyers would like to experience AR or VR in a store than in their smart devices. That’s what Augmented Reality does, keep people of both worlds happy.

The Takeaway

Following the trend, augmented reality has emerged as an innovative tool that allows brands to interact with consumers on their mobile devices. AR creates a digital experience that enriches the relationship between customer and brand that can be used in any location, be it at home, on mobile devices, or in stores.

Applying AR technology to your business

To learn more about how you can create and use Augmented Reality for your business contact Elevux. We specialize in creative experiences and content for AR VR and Web that capture and amaze your audiences. See more at www.elevux.com or email hello@elevux.com