If there is a technology that large companies are betting on, it is Augmented Reality or AR (Augmented Reality). Who has not seen a video of the weather news, in which through augmented reality the presenter is introduced to the meteorological phenomenon? This is perhaps one of the most spectacular uses, but not the most profitable. In Retail and online stores, however, they are experiencing a very notable increase in their use. In fact, according to forecasts, by 2020 half of the large European companies will develop AR or virtual strategies. Do you want to know how an eCommerce can take advantage of this immersive technology? In this post I will tell you.

Despite the fact that the term “augmented reality” already began to be used in the nineties, this technology has become popular in recent years thanks to devices such as Google Glass or games like Pokémon Go, which reached 500 million downloads. in the first two months of its release.

Augmented Reality , as we told you in our post on ” Virtual Reality and other immersive technologies, as tools to get to know the customer “, seeks to increase the information we have in our environment, completing it with different elements such as video, 2D information, 3D, music… In the same way, thanks to this technology, we can also interact with the brand, since we act with the physical elements that are presented to us in our environment, be it eCommerce or physical Retail.

Thanks to Augmented Reality (Augmented Reality – AR), messages in any eCommerce are transmitted in a clearer and more effective way , directly impacting a greater connection with the consumer, and general sales.

Such was the case of the Rebecca Minkoff`s store , which generated 50% more sales in the period from 2014 to 2015, thanks to the use of Augmented Reality within its stores.

This 50% increase may seem very high, but the truth is that experts estimate increases of up to 71% of eCommerce sales, thanks to the implementation of this technology .

The search for a unique and satisfactory customer experience is what has led to the takeoff of AR, since by achieving an excellent CX (Customer Experience), we are more likely to turn that consumer into a loyal customer, who will return to buy us, or even prescribe our brand to other consumers, ultimately increasing the sales figure, and the income statement of our online store.

According to a study on how augmented reality affects retail , prepared by Retail Perceptions , 71% of consumers would buy more often in that retail, if they were allowed to experience the uses and the product in question, through Augmented Reality.

If we add that 61% of consumers surveyed prefer to buy in stores that have Augmented Reality , the convenience of the use of this technology by brands is clear.

Another of the great benefits that AR provides, in addition to providing extra added value to the consumer purchasing process, is to reduce the eCommerce return rate, since being able to experiment with the product beforehand, as well as being able to interact With it in a way that is very close to its reality, it allows a greater awareness of what the customer is acquiring, thus reducing the gap between their product expectations and the actual product they receive.

How Augmented Reality will break into the future of eCommerce

Can you imagine being able to verify that a garment that you are seeing in an online store favors you, without having tried it before? Do you want to see how you look with those modern sneakers on your feet, without trying them on? All this is possible thanks to the use of Augmented Reality in eCommerce.

According to the research firm IDC , AR will completely transform e – commerce in the future . In fact, some companies specialized in AR for eCommerce already speak of ‘ Augmented Commerce ‘ or ‘ aCommerce’ . Being a trade based on this technology to obtain sales.

A clear example of this is the case of the online store Electrocosto , which opened its first physical store in Malaga a little over a year ago. The store wanted to transmit its digital character, creating a totally innovative space where it exhibited products in hologram format, which you could see in 360º. At the time of purchase, you accessed a comfortable armchair where, savoring a coffee and through some tablets that were provided there, you made the purchase online.

And the truth is that this technology offers some very interesting advantages to businesses, such as:

• Increased visual information. Through Augmented Reality in eCommerces, users will be able to have a greater amount of information about the product they are consulting. This will help them make a better decision about the product, thus reducing the return rate.
• Increased shopping experience. By bringing new resources to online commerce, the user and customer experience increases. These effects are taken by users with a point of fun and entertainment, resulting in their satisfaction.
• Increased information for online commerce. Through AR we can collect very interesting data that allows us to know which products have attracted their attention the most, how much time they have spent evaluating it, which aspects of the product they have shown the most interest in, etc.

Today there are few businesses that are implementing it, however, it is being detected that there are more and more companies interested in technology, willing to implement it in favor of achieving a different and transgressive customer experience that allows them to differentiate themselves from the competition and increase sales.

Cases of implementation of Augmented Reality in eCommerce and Retail

There are a large number of companies that use Augmented Reality in their commerce, both online and offline. If we group by sectors, these would be the most advanced in this regard:

·                   Fashion stores .

In this sector they use this technology mainly to seduce customers. Online stores play with the advantage that with just one click, the user is able to discover interesting information, as well as check how the product feels without having to try it on, through what they call ‘ virtual fitting room’ .

In this aspect, one of the first brands to use this technology was Converse . This American brand released an application in 2012 that allowed you to see in real time what your shoes would look like on your feet. In addition, you could share it on different social platforms.

On the other hand, in Retail, through the brand’s application, or directly with the mobile camera, they use augmented reality to offer promotions at the point of sale, in a more personal way towards the recipient of the message, as well as more attractive and with more information. Also, it is being widely used to offer extra product information directly on the shelf, and through the price tag, for example. This information is displayed both in 2D and 3D, thus supporting the improvement of the customer experience and customer satisfaction.

Zara has recently jumped on this wave, through augmented reality mannequins and a new app that shows, in its windows and inside stores, real-size models wearing the brand’s latest news. Thanks to this innovation, Zara is creating an interactive and surprising experience. And it generates sales, since it is possible to purchase the models through said app.

·                   Beauty

In this sector, it is remarkable how it is being used in the online environment. Some brands are beginning to take advantage of augmented reality to test blushes, lipsticks, etc. In beauty products it is typical to check how certain products and colors look on your own skin, in order to finally decide on one or the other. In the online environment and with AR, the user is able to try as many as he wants, something that would not be possible in the physical store. The experience may not be the same, but the end result is very powerful in terms of sales.

·                   Furniture and design.

We all know people, if we are not some of them ourselves, who are unable to visualize how a piece of furniture would look in their living room, how a specific color would look on the walls of their room, or what space would be left with that projected reform. AR greatly facilitates this problem, showing the final result in a very exact way. Companies related to this sector know this, beginning to use it to their advantage, avoiding final dissatisfaction of their clients and improving their CX throughout the advice process.

One of the best known cases by the public is that of IKEA Place , an application launched by IKEA in 2017 which allowed users to virtually place their products in any space. To do this, all you had to do was scan the room, then select the product you wanted to test from the IKEA catalogue, and finally place it in its place through the screen of the device you were using. With this application, the user was able to know if that piece of furniture fit well in one place or another in the room, saving time and effort.

·                   Tourism

This is one of the sectors that can get the most out of this technology. For example, if we were a travel agency, through AR we could show our clients a specific hotel, their room, bathroom… thus being aware in the same way of the dimensions and small details that may be important to us, but that for the photographer of the hotel catalog or the web page it was not.

Other uses are found, for example, to facilitate guest check-in upon arrival at the hotel, providing them with directions to their room, what is the WiFi password, restaurant and breakfast hours… and all through their credit card. room and other beacons that you could find in your path (in your room).

In the hospitality and restaurant sector, this technology can also be critical. Imagine that you have a restaurant in the center of Valencia to which a large number of Chinese visitors have been coming for months. You can include augmented reality to your menu card, and thus show them with a video what kind of food it is, how it is made, and any information that you can think of, which helps this public with such a different culture and language, be more satisfied with their experience in your restaurant.

As you can see, technology is the entry key to close the circle between online and offline. In the end, the customer remains the same, and seeks different channels to find out and live the experience of the product or service that he needs.

eCommerces , due to their digital nature, are more advanced in this regard, but physical stores in their challenge to become a place where the customer lives experiences with the brand, putting their foot on the accelerator, in order to also create a homogeneous ecosystem between the online and the offline.

Everything that includes a certain technology has the particularity that it yields data: data about the client, its use, times, behaviors… All this data can be analyzed and through Data Science methodologies , draw the appropriate conclusions that help the departments of brand marketing, to make decisions.