As augmented reality (AR) technology develops and finds new applications, its market is expected to snowball in the next few years. With a current market value of $30.7 billion and an estimated 810 million users by 2021, there's no time to lose for e-commerce businesses to implement augmented reality in online shopping marketing strategies.
Read on and find out how this emerging technology is creating our reality.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality is an emerging technology that combines digital elements with the user's actual environment. AR can do that through various means, such as a headset, glasses, phone, or tablet. AR inserts digital content into the physical world, which you can use for various purposes.
Some common examples of augmented reality include adding digital elements to photos and videos, displaying information about objects in the user's field of view, and providing directions or instructions.
You can use it in tourism, displaying cultural or historical information on certain places while traveling through trains or buses. You can also use AR for gaming and entertainment purposes, like the popular game Pokémon Go.
The potential uses for augmented reality are vast and continue to grow as the technology evolves. Businesses can use AR to provide more immersive and engaging experiences to improve customer satisfaction and boost sales and loyalty. Additionally, you can use AR to improve productivity and efficiency by providing instructions or helpful tools directly to the user.
Overall, augmented reality is an exciting and rapidly growing technology with numerous potential applications for businesses, ecommerce sites, and online shopping. If you're looking to be ahead of the game, it's worth considering how AR could improve your operation.
AR vs. VR
Augmented reality and virtual reality are two types of new technology that are often confused with one another. They do have some similarities, but they're actually quite different.
Virtual reality is an immersive experience in which the user is completely disconnected from the real-life world. VR headsets completely block out the user's surroundings and replace them with a digital environment. VR is often used for gaming and entertainment.
Augmented reality technology, on the other hand, is not as immersive. It supplements rather than replaces the user's surroundings. AR glasses, headsets, or other mobile devices will typically still show the user's real-time environment, with only select elements replaced with digital content. That makes AR more applicable to a broader range of situations.
Overall, augmented reality is more widely applicable than virtual reality due to its lower level of immersion. It can be used in various settings and has many potential business applications. While fun and exciting, VR is more limited in its use cases.
How Businesses Use Augmented Reality in Ecommerce
Augmented reality is a technology that is quickly becoming more commonplace among businesses. It has a variety of potential uses, such as providing a more interactive and engaging customer experience. IKEA, Nike, Amazon, and Sephora are one of the businesses leveraging this technology.
One of the most popular ways businesses take advantage of the use of AR is on e-commerce platforms. You can use it to provide customers with a more authentic and immersive shopping experience in your online store. AR technology can do that by adding 3D models of products to the product pages on ecommerce sites so that it's more like visiting an in-store showroom.
AR technology can assist customers' purchase decisions by giving them a better idea of what the product looks like and how it functions. Additionally, they can use AR to provide real-time visualization of products to make the online shopping experience more similar to visiting physical stores. For example, if you're thinking about buying a new couch, you can use AR to see how it will look in your living room.
These are the usual ways AR is used in ecommerce.
Virtual try-on
Shopify stores and other ecommerce platforms can also use augmented reality to provide a virtual try-on for products. Customers can do it by using the camera on a mobile device to scan the product and then superimposing a digital version of the product onto their surroundings.
Virtual try-on can be particularly useful for products like clothes and makeup. It can give the customer a better idea of how the product will look and coordinate with other items in their wardrobe. Additionally, it can help reduce the number of returns experienced by businesses.
Animated user guides
You can also use augmented reality to provide animated user guides for products bought both by online shoppers and consumers who visit brick-and-mortar stores. The camera on a mobile device scans the product and then displays an animated tutorial on how to use it.
An animated user guide is ideal for items like appliances and gadgets. It can reduce the time it takes to learn how to use a product and increase customer satisfaction. It can even help prevent mistakes that could cause damage or cause the customer to abandon the item or return it. AR can help real-life scenarios through its innovative and interactive functionality.
Digital marketing campaigns
Digital marketers can also use augmented reality for their campaigns on different social media platforms. They provide a QR code or barcode to be scanned by a camera on a mobile device. When the code is scanned, it will launch an augmented reality experience related to the campaign.
AR technology can help increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.
Product visualization
As discussed above, one very successful application of AR is to provide product visualization. The product is scanned using the camera on a mobile device and displayed digitally in 3D models.
Some brands use high-quality images or videos for product visualization. They use tools like Shopify image resize apps to optimize the process. However, you can take product visualization to the next level by using AR.
Advantages of Using AR in Ecommerce
Provides personalized online shopping
Augmented reality in online shopping enables a more immersive shopping experience. By using AR, customers can try on clothes and accessories to see if they look good before buying them. That's especially useful for items like glasses or hats, which can be difficult to judge how they will look without trying them on like you would in physical stores.
AR can also help customers see what furniture or home decor will look like in their houses or offices before buying. This personalized online shopping experience reduces the risk that buyers will return items because they didn't like the look of them at home.
It promotes higher conversion rates and sales.
Augmented reality in ecommerce promotes higher conversion rates and sales in an ecommerce business. Using AR for shopping, customers can try on products to see if they look good. This technology enables customers to try on something without being physically in-store. It also helps improve sales because it makes buying more fun and engaging.
Customers who interact with products directly through an AR app are more likely to want to buy them. Moreover, AR can help reduce the number of returns and increase customer satisfaction, leading to increased sales.
Augmented Reality Bridges the Gap Between Ecommerce and Customer Experience
As augmented reality becomes more widely available, online shoppers will likely become increasingly accustomed to using the technology to view products in their homes before making a purchase. This new trend could mean significant changes for ecommerce businesses, which may need to find new ways to engage customers and keep them coming back.
For now, AR for shopping is mainly used to enhance customer experience rather than specifically impact sales; but as the technology develops, this is likely to change. Are you ready for augmented reality in your ecommerce business?
