Quick Summary: Have you ever been to a store and wished you could see how those fancy shoes would look on your feet without actually trying them on? Imagine using your phone to see furniture appear in your living room or trying a new haircut virtually!
That’s the power of Augmented Reality (AR), and guess what? Stores are using AR to impress their customers and get a leap ahead of their competitors. AR helps them deliver user-friendly and memorable shopping experiences.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the world of AR shopping and how it can make you more money. Also learn why Augmented Reality (AR) is important for your retail business in 2024.
What is Augmented Reality?
Ever played a game where you hold your phone up and suddenly dinosaurs appear on your screen, right in your room? That’s kind of like Augmented Reality (AR)!
Augmented reality means overlaying digital elements in the real world. In other words, augmented reality is the layering of digital components onto our physical reality. It can be done through a viewing device like a tablet, smartphone, or even glasses. Augmented reality enhances or augments the world around us with digital technology.
Instead of completely changing the world you see, AR adds cool digital stuff to the real world you’re already in. So, imagine pointing your phone at a boring T-shirt in a store and seeing it come to life with flashing lights or a funny animation – that’s AR at work!
Statistics
- 61% of consumers in the US prefer retailers that offer AR-based shopping.
- 40% of consumers are ready to pay more for a product if they can experience or try it virtually.
- The use of AR is increasing; 67% of advertising agencies say people prefer AR-based shopping more.
- 77% of people prefer AR in retail shopping to see product configurations, such as colors and styles. At the same time, 65% of people use AR to find more product information.
- 71% of shoppers are more likely to shop more than needed using AR retail apps. 61% prefer stores with AR over traditional stores. 55% find shopping with AR more fun and exciting.
- Augmented Reality drives impulse purchasing: 72% of customers confessed that they purchased products they never thought to purchase because of AR.
- 68% of customers say they will spend more time shopping with AR. Thus, AR retains customers for a long time.
Why is Augmented Reality So Popular?
Many of us may have experienced augmented reality in gaming or through filters on social media. How are our luxury retailers engaging augmented reality to deliver better shopping experiences?
More retailers use augmented reality to create an immersive and memorable customer experience. AR makes things way more interactive, and it makes shopping and learning way more fun. Stores can use AR to show customers how clothes would look on them without them needing a fitting room. You can even use it to virtually place furniture in their homes to see if it fits before they buy it. This makes shopping easier and more convenient, which means more happy customers (and more money in the store’s pockets)!
Popular brands like Chanel, Dior, LensCrafters, and many others use augmented reality to market and boost sales. Brands have experienced sales and profit growth after adopting AR in their sales and marketing strategy. People who always doubted online shopping because of the lack of real product experience seem more satisfied with the integration of augmented reality in retail.
What is the Problem with Traditional Retail Marketing?
In the digital world, people rely more on online shopping and on-demand apps. Retail shopping is adopting AR to make online shopping experiences more convenient and useful for customers.
With advancements in technology, online shopping is rapidly becoming popular among people. Let us look at some of the issues with traditional shopping trends:
1. Physical Contact
Traditional shopping requires the physical presence of users in the store. The outbreak of the Covid pandemic forced people to stay at home and avoid all physical contact. The social distancing norm made people resort to online shopping. Even now, people are cautious and avoid crowded places to keep themselves safe from spreading the virus.
2. Time-Consuming
To visit a physical store for shopping, you must spare a few hours from your schedule to get dressed, travel to the store, shop, and back home. People with a hectic schedule find it difficult to dedicate time, especially for shopping. Thus, they prefer online shopping over traditional shopping.
3. Limited Working Hours
Physical Stores have limited working hours. People can shop during those limited hours only. On the other hand, people can shop online at any time and even order products in advance to avoid last-minute delays. Further, they can schedule deliveries for future dates.
What are the Benefits of Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality has benefitted the retail sector in many ways. AR has helped retail business owners boost their sales while uplifting customer experiences. Let us look at the various benefits of augmented Reality in the retail sector.
Personalization
Augmented Reality helps retailers give users a personalized experience according to their expectations. Users can closely look at the products they want to purchase, try them virtually, and have a physical shopping experience.
Ease of trials/tryouts
Traditional shopping is different from augmented reality shopping. People do not need to wait outside trial rooms for them to be vacant. Virtual filters in augmented Reality enable users to try products anytime using their smartphones or tablets. They can try every product and shop sitting anywhere. Thus, it saves time, and retailers deliver better customer service.
Increased traffic
61% of US consumers prefer AR-based shopping. So, with AR, you can increase your sales by reaching out to more people online. Once they land on your website and experience AR-based shopping, they will likely purchase more and become loyal customers.
Better Visuals
Who wants to avoid purchasing beautiful-looking products? Augmented Reality is helping retail store owners deliver high-definition and attractive visuals to the customers.
AR enables retail owners to display their products in the best fashion. So, benefit from AR to attract and make new customers for your retail business.
Stand Out From the Rest
Augmented reality is still a new concept; only some of your competitors might use it. So, be an early adopter of the next-gen technology and surprise your customers with something special.
Instead of opting for traditional email marketing for promotions, you can let your services speak for you. Immersive shopping experiences with AR will delight your customers, and they will share the same with their friends and family.
Word-of-mouth publicity is still a powerful tool to grow the visibility of your business.
Marketing Analytics
Market research is an essential prerequisite to starting and growing your business. AR software and tools can help you gain insights into market trends and customer demands.
AR integrates existing internet and social media analytics into your apps and helps you keep track of current market trends. For instance, you can collaborate with Facebook via augmented reality and gain access to its 1.5 million users.
You can monitor what Facebook users prefer or demand and plan your marketing campaigns based on this data and information.
Reduce Language Barriers
Augmented reality offers a built-in language translator to generate subtitles to reduce language barriers. The AR translates the native language into English subtitles to display the products they want to purchase. It helps business owners expand their businesses globally hassle-free without bothering about the language.
Examples of Augmented Reality in Retail
DIOR
Virtual try-on is one of the most exciting and common use cases for augmented reality. Many makeup brands have entered this space.
An example of leveraging augmented reality in retail is the French fashion house DIOR, which has been creating a series of filters for Snapchat and Facebook to allow users to try on accessories. For instance, users can wear a hat and sunglasses in augmented reality.
GUCCI
Gucci has launched a feature within its iOS app that enables users to try on its line of sneakers in AR. Such immersive experiences bring people closer to the brands and help them visualize themselves wearing its products.
BURBERRY
One more way to leverage augmented reality in retail is through embedded experiences. For instance, Burberry launched an AR shopping tool through Google search technology. The tool allows consumers to experience Burberry products embedded into the environments around them. It enhances their research and shopping experience online.
NIKE
The popular shoe company Nike uses augmented reality in its physical stores to grow its businesses. Nike enables its customers to scan products and items through AR. Once the customers scan a shoe or cloth, they can check the complete information about the product.
IKEA
IKEA launched augmented reality in the summer of 2013 to enable its customers to place the furniture they want to purchase in their homes or offices. They can place the furniture in different places and get a real experience of how it will look before they purchase it. The app measures the furniture size against the surrounding area and then places itself into a true-to-life size. Such applications of augmented reality help people make quick and perfect decisions. They seem more satisfied.
SAYDUCK
Like IKEA, Sayduck has also integrated augmented reality into its mobile app. Users can view the products and furniture by virtually placing them in their residential or commercial spaces. The AR app makes it possible to visualize the product in its actual size through the smartphone or tablet camera. In addition, they can reposition the camera to different angles of their homes or offices and place the product in different places to see where it will fit or look the best.
IBM
IBM’s research found that consumers want detailed information about a product before purchasing and rely on mobile apps for shopping.
So, IBM launched its mobile app with augmented reality that users can use to view personalized information about products while shopping in the store.
FaceCake
Facecake is a leading name in augmented retail marketing that offers its customers billions of products to try on virtually. It allows users to create their dream closet virtually and try different clothes and jewelry.
With this application, they are removing the challenges of online shopping by letting people virtually try and visualize each product. Thus, it enhances customers’ shopping experiences and entices them to shop more.
The Facecake app also recommends different styling options based on clothes and jewelry.
WARBY PARKER
Warby Parker’s mobile app integrates augmented reality to allow customers to try on different glasses. Customers can wear sunglasses virtually while sitting at home and pick the perfect frame.
How much does it cost to develop an AR Retail App?
Do you want to create an AR retail app or integrate AR into an existing one? Still trying to figure out the cost. Upsquare Technologies, the leading AR development company, can help you determine the exact cost of developing an AR retail app.
The cost varies greatly! It depends on the number of features and technical complexities of your app.
However, you can get an AR-enabled app with a budget between $ 20K and $80K. If you want to know the exact cost, call us at (+91) 799-034-5845 and book a free consultation. We will listen to your app needs and calculate the cost to build your AR retail app.
Ready to leverage Augmented Reality in Your Retail Business?
So now you know more about how retailers use augmented reality to grow their businesses and stay ahead of the rest.
With people relying more on digital apps for shopping or services, more entrepreneurs are switching to online businesses from traditional businesses. The online retail industry is also saturated, and retail business owners are adopting advanced technologies to deliver better customer shopping or service experiences.
Integrating augmented reality into retail business is bringing online shopping closer to reality. People can virtually try the products they want to purchase, impose them in their homes, or analyze them in all aspects. The immersive experience makes online shopping a delight for customers.
Moreover, the AR apps also act as virtual salespeople, guiding people in physical stores through the details of each product. Thus, people can take advantage of both real and virtual shopping. Moreover, the augmented reality-enabled screens in physical stores tell customers about special offers and discounts.
Conclusively, the application of augmented reality in retail is helping retail business owners earn millions of dollars in revenue whilst delivering the best-in-kind customer services.
If you’re inspired and excited about the possibilities, connect with Upsquare Consulting Services to create or integrate AR into your mobile apps.
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