The real world simply isn’t enough. Augmented Reality (AR) is beginning to grow throughout the retail industry.
AR trends nowadays significantly influence a brand’s marketing strategy. Not surprisingly, mobile devices have become a vital element of the sales process, especially in decision-making.
Following this trend, AR has emerged as an innovative tool that allows brands to interact with consumers on their mobile devices. AR creates a new digital experience that enriches the relationship between consumer and brand and can be used in any location, be it PC at home, mobile devices or kiosks in stores.
Integration of AR in marketing efforts aims to build consumer relationship, boost sales and add value to the shopper experience. Retailers are now attracting their target audience using AR.
Here are a few examples of AR and its application in retail.
1. Virtual Fitting Room
AR can help shoppers visualize their clothes without having to change in and out of them. This could result in reducing merchandise returns and increases in conversion rates led by AR technology.
2. Optimize large retail environments
AR can improve navigation and locating specific inventory items when in big spaces such as a retail warehouse, car lot, outdoor market or swap meet.
3. Retail Gamification
I’m sure we all remember Pokémon Go. Were you one of those people searching and catching Pokémons all over the word? It was a real social phenomena. Suppose that some of these people are your customers and instead of searching Pokémons they could be searching for your store discounts! Or store credit points.
Before AR, gamification was a vague concept: all the companies were trying to do it, but nobody was sure if they got it right. As a theoretical concept, gamification is great: it means making boring activities, such as shopping for groceries, seem fun by adding a certain note of playfulness to them. Gamification in retail helps to engage customers with a product and works as an incentive to a quicker purchase.
4. Let customers “try” before they buy with a 3D product preview
AR can be used to engage shoppers when it is impossible to demonstrate the product. Lego has had AR kiosks in place at their retail stores for many years. Watch how they’ve been using AR in the video below.
5. Display product information or a discount
AR can display product data such as nutritional information, product reviews or a virtual coupon that customers can redeem at checkout.
6. Visualize product catalogs
The “projected” catalog items give a customer a real-time, scale view of what the product would look like in their place.
7. Brings customers inside a store (Hugo Boss)
AR-enabled store windows entertain potential customers and make them wonder what is inside.
Marketers open to AR who adopt trending technologies for business development will most likely grow their revenue and market share. Retail is an appealing arena to utilize AR since results can be seen in real data, with direct feedback from customers and viral exposure due to its novelty.