Augmented Reality helps to create personalized and engaging shopping experiences, almost completely erasing the boundary between physical and virtual reality.
For example, if a buyer likes a dining table and wonders how it would look in their living room, thanks to AR and a 3D model, they will be able to visualize it through their smartphone directly in the desired space and on a 1: 1 scale!
This makes consumers feel more at ease and gives sellers that credibility that helps them gain trust and increase their sales.
Some products also have a useful “service” aspect, for example, let’s think of shopping for interior decoration: who wouldn’t like to preview the right tiles, wallpapers, carpets or curtains with which they will be furnished own home?
The advantages of augmented reality in E-commerce
But in a nutshell, what are the benefits that this technology actually brings to brands and companies?
• Time efficiency: thanks to digital assets and mobile devices, AR allows shoppers to explore a wide variety of products while saving time. When the interface itself grants users a detailed list of most prolific items in a short period, it’s only natural that they’ll end up buying more. This therefore contributes to a significant increase in sales.
• Complete customization: most buyers like to explore multiple avenues when it comes to selecting a specific product. With AR, people can overcome physical and psychological barriers and test their preferences, experiencing a completely new way of shopping online. For example they can view the item they are interested in in different colors, textures, patterns, sizes, etc.
• An engaging shopping experience: Augmented Reality guarantees customers a more secure guarantee on their choice and reduces the chances of any returns or exchanges, thus saving time and money. Furthermore, as this report states, 35% of consumers say that AR would make them shop online more often.
• A little push towards the low funnel: converting a potential customer into an actual one can be difficult for companies that face strong competition. Improving the online shopping experience can therefore be a crucial factor for realizing and retaining loyalty throughout the customer journey.
What to expect for the future?
Augmented Reality is playing a pivotal role in the dimension of E-commerce.
With its simplicity of use, it is proving to be very effective both for converting users dealing with online purchases on the basis of an informed choice, and for convincing those who are carrying out a latent search.
Conventional methods like product descriptions, 360-degree views, etc. they are no longer proving very fruitful, this is because they are no longer affecting the completion of a purchase as much.
AR makes people’s lives digitally convenient and helps increase the chances of buying a particular brand rather than another, which may not use this technology.
For the future, things can be expected to become even more interesting, since many e-commerce companies are moving to digitize their resources, with the aim of further personalizing virtual shopping, based on consumer preferences and tastes.
In conclusion therefore, thanks to Augmented Reality, companies finally have the opportunity to give life to their own E-commerce and offer their customers a unique experience that retains them and “guides” them throughout the sales funnel.
