Are you curious about augmented reality in ecommerce and about how you can create these types of environments for your store?
In this post, we talk about what AR means for ecommerce and how businesses are using this kind of technology.
What is augmented reality in ecommerce?
Augmented reality (AR) is a newer type of technology that has developed quite a bit over the last decade.
What started as a way for consumers to play with funny Snapchat filters and catch Pokémon in the real world has advanced well enough to give consumers the ability to have in-store shopping experiences at home.
Ecommerce businesses are using AR technology to allow online shoppers to see how products appear on themselves and in their environments.
How does augmented reality differ from virtual reality?
AR and virtual reality (VR) are quite distinguishable from one another:
- Augmented reality – Alters the real-world environment by inserting objects into it
- Virtual reality – Immerses you into an entirely virtual environment that’s completely different from the real-world environment that surrounds you
While virtual reality offers a more immersive experience, augmented reality technology offers a more accurate online shopping experience by allowing you to preview what products like clothing, jewelry and furniture look like in your real-world environment.
The other big difference between AR and VR is how accessible AR shopping is.
While dedicated AR headsets do exist, AR can be used across a number of different user devices, primarily mobile devices.
VR, on the other hand, requires special equipment that can cost hundreds of dollars and often requires a pretty powerful computer.
Both of these differences make AR more suitable for ecommerce no matter how immersive VR can be.
AR statistics for ecommerce
Here are a few statistics that prove the value and influence augmented reality has:
- The global AR market was valued at $57.26 billion in 2023. It’s expected to reach a market value of $597.54 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.8%. (Grand View Research)
- 28% of consumers are open to using payments in AR. (Paysafe)
- 79% of consumers are interested in using AR to interact with products before buying. (Snapchat x Ipsos)
- While 91% of brands think AR is just for fun, six out of 10 say shopping is their main reason for integrating AR into their businesses. (Snapchat x Ipsos)
- 74% of consumers say they’d be interested in using AR for instructions. (Snapchat x Ipsos)
- 65% of consumers say AR makes the shopping experience easier. (Snapchat x Ipsos)
- Products that have AR experiences have 94% higher conversion rates. (Snapchat x Ipsos)
How ecommerce businesses are using AR
Businesses are using AR solutions for the following purposes:
- Try on at home
- Preview placement
- Interactive user manuals
- Social media
Let’s review each of these.
Try on at home
Virtual try-ons are one of the most effective uses of AR. They allow consumers to see how certain products might look on their own bodies.
It’s a fantastic way for an online store to offer a personalized shopping experience that mimics a shopping experience your customer can have in person.
Online glasses retailer Warby Parker allows consumers to preview what certain frames may look like on them so long as the device they’re using has a camera.
Preview placement
Preview placement is an AR feature that allows consumers to use their smartphone cameras to preview what certain products, such as furniture, would like in their real-world environments, such as their homes or offices.
Online stores that sell furniture and similar products are starting to add augmented reality to their mobile apps.
For example, if you shop in the Target app, you can use augmented reality to see if a chair or sofa will fit in your space.
Interactive user manuals
AR isn’t just for online sales. It’s also a great way to improve customer engagement after sales.
One way online retailers are doing this is by creating AR experiences for user manuals.
With this AR feature, customers are able to use their smartphone cameras to reveal key details about the products they purchased.
Certain highlights may even have links that lead to specific sections in online manuals.
Social media
The filters we use on social media platforms are actually a form of augmented reality. Simple filters that add makeup or accessories to your person are simple ways of having AR experiences on the fly.
This is why many brands have taken to creating branded social media filters as a way to promote new products.
This is what Sony did when PlayStation-exclusive God of War Ragnarök was released in 2022.
The company created a branded TikTok filter that assigned a character from the game to the user at random by placing half of the character’s face over half of the user’s face.
@xrexdagam3rx #godofwar #ragnarok #filter ♬ original sound – Malwyn
How to use AR in ecommerce
Follow these simple steps to add online shopping augmented reality to your website:
- Determine what benefits AR brings to your customers and if those benefits outweigh the costs of AR features
- Choose a form of AR to use
- Choose an AR application to use
Let’s break down each of these steps.
Determine what benefits AR brings to your customers
Think of the products you have. Is there a particular AR experience you can create that would enhance the online shopping experience for your customers?
AR technology can be expensive to implement, especially if you hire a developer to create a dedicated augmented reality app for your store.
The benefits of the AR experience you create need to outweigh its costs because of this.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there a shopping experience your customers are missing out on? For example, do you sell clothing even though customers aren’t able to try it on before they buy?
- Do you sell large items? AR enables customers to see if large items would fit in their homes and offices.
- Do you sell items that have the ability to change a room’s look? Some items are large enough or important enough to impact an entire room’s design. Preview placement can help customers determine if an item’s design matches the design of a particular room.
- Does your product need to be built or set up in order to use? An interactive instruction manual can help.
- Do you have a new product to promote? A fun social media filter can help you go viral.
Choose a form of AR to use
There are a few different forms of AR online retailers can choose from, and they each have an actual name that attributes them to each type of AR listed above:
- Marker-based AR – Detects objects in your environment and overlays them with images and animations
- Markerless AR – Overlays your environment with images and animations without detecting specific objects to place them over
- Location-based AR – Uses GPS to overlay your environment with text, images and animations
- Projection-based AR – A more advanced form of AR that uses projectors and vision sensors to insert digital objects in a physical space, similar to holograms
The online retail industry mostly uses the first two forms, but an online store can find many uses for the second two.
Choose an AR ecommerce application
Fortunately, there are many solutions that offer augmented reality shopping without you needing to build your own from the ground up.
One of the easiest to use is Shopify AR. This ecommerce platform has a few themes that are capable of displaying 3D models.
They even have a guide on how to take product images that are optimized for this technology and how to fully implement it.
Here are a few other AR apps to check out:
- Google Lens – This one simply requires adding your products to Google, using QR codes in marketing and using high-quality product images to optimize your products for Google Lens so they appear when consumers use it to search for products
- Threekit – A 3D model application that integrates with numerous ecommerce platforms
- Vuforia – Allows you to create to AR instructions, 3D models and more
- Augment – Allows shoppers to view a 3D model of your product from any angle
- DeepAR – Great for object placement and virtual try-ons
Once you choose an AR application, you’ll need to learn to use it and integrate it with your store.
Creating your own AR application
If you can’t find an AR solution that works for your store, you can always create your own.
Maybe none of the AR apps listed above work for your product type, or maybe none of them create 3D models that are good enough to show your customers.
Whatever your reasons might be, if you don’t know how to code, you’ll need to work with a developer to build the app and perform ongoing maintenance. This will be quite costly upfront and over time.
There are plenty of AR platforms that make building your own AR environments easier. Choose one that can be used across multiple user devices.
Here are a few augmented reality platforms to choose from:
- ARCore – Built by Google. Augmented reality SDK that allows you to build immersive experiences in Android, iOS, Unity and the web
- RealityKit – Built by Apple. Allows you to create AR environments for Apple devices
- Unity – Most popular as a video game engine. However, Unity can also be used to create immersive experiences for your customers
- EasyAR – An AR application that can create most forms of AR, minus projection-based AR
Augmented reality in ecommerce
Experience a new world with augmented reality as it takes the ecommerce market to a whole new level.
Whether you are working out the perfect placement of a new sofa in your home, checking out amusing filters on TikTok or seeing how a new outfit would look; augmented reality is slowly becoming a norm in today’s society.
Consider the benefits it might bring to your ecommerce business.
Check out this post to learn more on ecommerce innovations.
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