Augmented Reality (AR) is the next big thing for the retail industry. Due to the rapid advancement of smartphones, 5G networks, and AI technologies, many shoppers are now willing to take advantage of AR. Is your retail company aware of this trend?
Extended reality is reinventing customer experience allowing brands to enhance consumer interactions with products before, during, and after purchase. According to statistics, 32% of modern consumers already use AR apps (mostly gaming and social media apps), and they are ready to use AR apps for shopping purpose.
Do you still doubt the fact that augmented reality can be beneficial for retail? Keep on reading. This article will convince you to leverage AR for your brand.
5 Reasons to Use AR for Retail
Retail companies face many challenges and obstacles operating in the ever-changing environment. Let’s talk about how brands can use AR to overcome these challenges and smooth their way to success.
Make your company more innovative
Modern consumers are more loyal to innovative brands in general and brands that deploy AR technologies in particular. According to Gartner Consumer Survey, 30% of Gen Z and Millennials expect retail companies to use AR/VR to enhance shopping experience. What about older generations? About 14% of Gen Xers, Boomers, and Matures express the same preference as younger consumers.
So whether you like it or not, you should consider adopting AR. Remember that if you don’t meet your customers’ expectations, your marketing strategy will likely fail in the long run.
Photo by Creative Christians on Unsplash
Adapt to a post-pandemic world
IBM’s 2020 U.S. Retail Index report revealed that the global pandemic had accelerated the shift to online shopping by roughly five years. The rise of AR tools that offer “try-before-you-buy” experiences was one of the reasons for this shift. In 2020, many brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, IKEA, and Home Depot, leveraged advanced technologies to allow their customers to try on their products without leaving their homes.
Even though our life is getting back to normal and most offline shops are now open, many customers still prefer to shop online using AR tools. Why?
There are two main reasons. The first reason is post-COVID shopping anxiety. Customers dislike crowds and avoid busy shopping locations. Experts say that situation will not change anytime soon.
The second reason is the following. During the lockdowns, shoppers realized the benefits of AR tools and revisited their values. Now they choose the convenience of AR-powered shopping experience over traditional shopping - they see no need to visit shopping malls.
Retailers need to rethink their marketing strategies and adjust to the shift in customer preferences. They need to implement AR solutions to achieve success in the long run.
Help customers make informed buying decisions
A high product return rate is one of the key issues that retailers face. There are many reasons why customers choose to return the product, and it’s impossible to achieve a 0% return rate. However, it’s possible to define the key issues and fix them using AR.
According to statistics, 19% of online shoppers order multiple variations of a single product. Here is how it works:
- A customer orders a few similar items
- Customer receives ordered items and tries them on at home
- Customer chooses one item that fits him the best
- Customer sends all other items back to the retailer.
For instance, a customer may order one design of T-shirt in sizes L and XL and colors yellow and khaki. After try-on, the customer returns three of four T-shirts.
How can AR solve this issue? By adopting “try-before-you-buy” experiences, retailers can help customers choose the right items before placing an order. For example, if a customer virtually tries on yellow and khaki T-shirts, he will order only one item but will not send it back.
Here is a real-life example. Kendra Scott, a jewelry retailer, introduced an AR tool that allows shoppers to preview earrings directly on their ears. Such invention helped the company not only increase sales but also reduce product returns.
Screenshot source: elasticpath.com
Combat content overload
There are dozens of retail brands out there, and most of them publish almost identical product photos and share similar content. Consequently, it’s getting more and more challenging for new retailers to create content that cut through the noise.
Augmented Reality is a tool you can use to get your branded content noticed and engage your audience. By leveraging new technologies, you can create 100% authentic content like no other.
Let’s consider a quick example of how a retailer can use AR for boosting social media marketing efforts. A gardening store created an AR Instagram filter “Which houseplant are you?” and offered its followers and houseplant bloggers to try it out. This filter helped the retailer to drive higher engagement than any other Instagram posts did.
Screenshot source: instagram.com
Get ahead of the competition
The number of retail brands is increasing day by day. And it’s getting more challenging for customers to distinguish one brand from another. If you want to make your brand stand out from the crowd, you should use tools and tactics that your competitors haven’t started using yet.
Have your rivals already taken advantage of AR technologies? Not yet? Don’t hesitate to jump at this opportunity. Be the first one in your niche to build an AR application and use it to engage customers. It’s a great way to improve brand awareness and increase customer loyalty.
How to adopt AR in retail
You already know what role AR plays in the world of retail. Now you may be wondering what steps you should take to adopt it for your business. Here is a short guide for you.
Define your goal
First of all, you should answer the question, “For what specific purpose do you want to use augmented reality?”. You need to define the pain points of your customers and set a goal to address them.
For instance, if your customers struggle to choose the right product on your website, you should build an AR tool to enable a “try-before-you-buy” experience. Or, if you target a young audience that demands more diverse social media content, you should create an Instagram AR filer.
In other words, you shouldn’t invest in AR just for the sake of it. You should have a clear understanding of how specific AR-powered solutions can benefit your customers and your company.
Decide on AR technology
There are two distinct categories of AR technology development. The first category relates to marker-based AR experiences and requires a “marker”. The marker can be any real-world static object. Its main task is to trigger the system and visualize augmented content.
The most common types of AR markers include:
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QR codes
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Images of a specific item
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ARToolkit, ARUco, April Tag
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Faces
AR Instagram filters are an example of marker-based AR experiences, where people’s faces are identified as markers.
Screenshot source: clickz.com
The second category is markerless AR. As you have already guessed from the name, this type of AR doesn’t require any markers to visualize augmented content. Its work is based on simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and other complicated algorithms.
Here is an example of marketless augmented reality. On a screenshot below, you can see an AR dog in its real-world habitat.
Image source: venturebeat.com
At this point, you need to decide what type of AR technology you should use to achieve the goal you have set.
Outline your vision
The next thing you should do is think of how the AR tool should look and what features it should have. You should discuss your ideas with your team, your partners, and other stakeholders.
Since the AR tool will represent your brand, you should also think of its visual design. Preferably, you need to find relevant examples of AR solutions online and use them for inspiration and guidelines.
Get help from AR experts
The chances are you don’t have a background in augmented reality and related fields. To bring your ideas to life, you need to get help from AR experts. You can hire freelance AR developers or outsource services from a software development company. Just make sure to check their portfolio and read customer reviews before starting a contract.
Wrapping up
The rapid development of augmented reality positively influences the retail industry. So if you think of using AR to enhance your marketing strategy, you are moving in the right direction. Consult with AR specialists and create a digital tool that will take your business to the next level.