Augmented Reality (AR) has revamped how retail businesses operate. AR enhances the user’s real-world using digital visual elements and other sensory stimuli. A good example of AR is Snapchat filters which help you apply filters virtually to see how each filter will look on you before you decide to use it for your picture. This guide focuses on understanding the benefits of augmented reality in the retail business.
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How Does AR Change Retail Business
The retail business previously used traditional environments and strategies, such as physical interaction of customers with goods or a try-and-error mechanism where a buyer had to try or fit themselves an attire to see whether it fits them.
Well, that’s the past. AR has revolutionized how retail businesses operate. Let’s discuss various ways it has changed this.
1. Enhancing Customer Engagement
Shopping experiences are what trigger the customer to purchase items. So, the more you keep a customer engaged with your product, the more likely they will buy it. Retail businesses utilize AR to offer in-store experiences where customers can use their phone to interact with their store and all products without physically traveling. That way, user engagement is enhanced, boosting sales.
Here, AR is utilized to facilitate virtual tours of the retail store, which can be achieved using various AR apps. Besides, most brands have AR apps, such as the Amazon shopping app, Nike, IKEA, etc. Here’s a list of the top ten AR apps for retailers.
2. Product Customization
According to the Deloitte Consumer Research Report, 36% of consumers love customizing products before purchasing them. Retail business tap into this by applying AR, where consumers can customize their products virtually, then the brand can deliver the required item based on how the consumer customized it.
It is applied by a brand like Piaggio, a motor vehicle brand that lets consumers customize how they would love their Vespa scooters designed before adding them to cart.
3. Convenient Trials/Tryouts
AR breaks the traditional retail feature of visiting a retail business, such as a fashion or clothing shop and having to wait in the trial rooms for you to wear the clothes you want to try out. It achieves this by offering virtual mirrors that let you try out how a given attire could look on you. This feature is employed by brands such as Adidas. For instance, you can try its Try-On-App for sneakers.
Still, some AR apps help you capture a 3D scan of a given room and try out how the furniture you intend to purchase will fit in. The same is utilized in painting, where you can use an AR app to see how different wall paintings will look in your room before you decide to get the paint.
4. Eliminating Language Barrier To Reach All Consumers
The language barrier has affected traditional retail businesses for a while. Luckily, AR helps retail businesses break the language barrier by utilizing things like Google Translate, which offers different translations.
That way, a business can attain a global reach as the consumer can translate the language the retail business uses, such as in its product description. Thus, even if a business is in Chinese, anyone can read its description and use it by translating the language to their native language and end up purchasing the product.
5. Increase Sales And Brand Awareness
AR helps boost sales and create brand awareness, a great marketing tool showcasing what a given product does or its outcome. For instance, Ulta beauty applies AR-powered filters, such that you can visit their website, check their different makeup and try them out virtually to see how applying each will look on you.
This application is an ideal way to sell the brand, enhance user engagement, and increase sales. The consumer can then order makeup that looks best on them without having to try it out physically.
6. Cuts Down Expenses
Every retail business previously allocated a significant budget for hiring and managing its staff. AR has helped cut down this cost by offering flexibility in different activities.
For instance, by creating a way for consumers to try out how different products would look on them or in their houses, consumers can interact with a product without needing someone to explain it. That way, less staff is required to manage a business.
Still, virtual tours save on staff as consumers can visit a shop virtually and order what products they need without physically going to the shop.
Conclusion
Augmented reality has revamped how retail businesses operate. Notable applications include virtual dressing mirrors, creating brand awareness, virtual tours, reducing expenses, product customization, etc. This guide has detailed how AR has changed the face of the retail business. That’s it, folks! I hope you understand AR’s application in the retail business.
