Imagine trying on different outfits or seeing what furniture would look like in your living room virtually — all without leaving the comfort of your home. With augmented reality (AR) technology, this is quickly becoming a reality for ecommerce stores.
AR uses your phone’s camera to overlay digital images and information onto the real world. By pointing your camera at a space, you can see virtual sofas, beds, or tables as if they were really there.
The same goes for trying on clothes – you simply hold up your phone, and you can see yourself wearing different shirts, dresses, or shoes. This innovative technology has the power to transform online shopping completely.
Read on as we explain more about AR try-on technology and how it is revolutionizing the E-Commerce industry.
The Rise of AR in Ecommerce
By bridging the gap between online browsing and physical shopping experiences, AR aims to make the digital experience less abstract. It allows customers to feel and interact with merchandise virtually before committing to a purchase.
Likewise, it helps address many of the uncertainties that traditionally come with online-only shopping experiences. As a store owner, you see less return requests, better conversions, and much more.
For instance, when Shopify-powered online stores add AR content to product pages, conversion rates increase by a staggering 94%. Additionally, AR try-ons significantly increase the likelihood of a purchase by up to 200%.
Virtual Try-Ons: Top Features
In 2023, Google launched a virtual try-on tool for apparel on Google Search. Using generative AI, it shows clothing items on a variety of real human models in different poses and body types.
This helps online shoppers visualize how items would look on them before purchasing. Google’s tool currently supports women’s tops from brands and is scaling to include more items and brands over time.
Let’s take a look at some of the top features of this technology and how it is revolutionizing online shopping:
- Advanced facial mapping and augmented body models: Top AR try-on systems leverage AI algorithms to analyze a user’s face and figure in detail. That allows them to generate highly realistic augmented images that accurately show sizing, fit and dimensions.
- Real-time tracking: Cutting-edge platforms don’t just show static images. Their try-ons seamlessly track motion as users turn their heads or move around, aligning digitally overlaid products.
- Customization options: You can help your customers visualize different product colors, styles and sizes so they can see if they would like to get things custom-made. The most advanced systems even enable custom sizing controls for a tailored fit.
- Personalization: These features combine to offer personalized virtual trials. By reducing uncertainties around fit and look, they help resolve one of the biggest barriers to online shopping.
Benefits of Using AR for Interactive Product Visualization
Here are some ways that you can benefit from this technology:
Enhanced Customer Experience
AR provides customers with a more engaging shopping experience by intuitively allowing them to view and interact with realistic 3D product models. Whether it’s furniture, accessories, or other items, AR helps shoppers understand exact sizing, scale, and how the product would fit into their space. This factor helps address many of the questions customers have when shopping online.
A good example is Amazon’s Virtual Try-On and View in Your Room feature that utilizes AR to give customers inspiration for home projects and virtually see how furniture and décor will fit in their space. It also allows customers to visualize how products like clothes, makeup, and furniture will look on them or in their home, which increases purchasing experience.
Increased Customer Confidence
When customers can virtually “try before they buy” using AR, it builds confidence in their purchasing decision. Data shows AR increases conversion rates by reducing the likelihood of returns by over 25%.
In fact, conversion rates for products using AR content are nearly twice as high compared to traditional 2D formats alone. With AR, customers simply feel more confident that what they’re buying is what they want.
Sales Uplift & Higher Average Order Value
As confidence increases with AR, shopping cart sizes and overall revenue also increase. Customers using AR are more likely to complete purchases and spend more per transaction than non-AR shoppers. One study found a 30% increase in online purchase conversion rates just by using AR product visualizations.
Competitive Advantage
Offering innovative AR experiences allows businesses to differentiate themselves in the market. Customers these days seek personalized, interactive shopping. AR fulfills these wants, attracting more customers and building loyalty. It also positions brands as pioneers of new technology.
Tailored Experiential Marketing
AR brings dynamic product ads and content into customers’ real world. Businesses can target messaging and tailor AR campaigns to specific customer demographics and locations. This creates highly interactive and immersive brand experiences that cut through marketing clutter.
Overcoming Challenges and Barriers
While augmented reality (AR) presents exciting opportunities to transform the online shopping experience through interactive 3D product visualization, many ecommerce businesses face challenges implementing AR solutions at scale.
However, with the right strategies in place, retailers can overcome common barriers to unlocking AR’s power.
Facing The AR Technological Limitations
One of the biggest hurdles for retailers is that current AR technologies still have limitations that impact the user experience. Long processing times, bugs and glitches, and incompatibility with certain devices can frustrate shoppers and discourage the adoption of AR features.
Some specific technology challenges include:
- Processing power: Rendering 3D models and virtual environments in real time requires a lot of computing power. Older devices may struggle.
- Connectivity issues: Reliable internet connections are necessary to stream AR content without lag or dropped frames, which can be an issue for some users.
- Device compatibility: AR experiences are often only optimized for the latest phones and tablets. Support for older and lesser-known devices may be lacking.
- Accuracy and tracking: It is difficult to get virtual objects to behave and interact naturally within a real-world setting. Perspective, sizing, and movement aren’t always perfect.
Overcoming Cost Barriers
Of course, budget is also a major factor for many retailers. Developing AR features from scratch requires specialized skills and resources, which can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses.
Some common cost-prohibitive challenges include:
- Development costs: Building custom AR experiences and 3D assets requires skilled engineers, designers and 3D artists. Licensing 3D modeling software and SDKs adds to expenses.
- Hardware costs: Providing head-mounted displays, smart glasses, or other viewport devices raises hardware acquisition and support costs, at least initially.
- Maintenance costs: As browsers, operating systems, and device capabilities evolve, maintaining customized AR software requires ongoing engineering work and technical debt.
- Storage and hosting costs: Storing high-quality 3D models and streaming interactive content uses significant cloud infrastructure resources.
Leveraging platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions allows retailers to offer AR with a usage-based model that scales with demand rather than large upfront expenditures. Partnering with companies that specialize in 3D modeling, content hosting, and interactive software development can also help spread development costs.
Partnering for Success
Strategic partnerships are key to gaining the AR expertise, resources and scale needed to overcome barriers. Retailers can augment their capabilities by teaming up with tech solutions providers, 3D/AR specialists, inventory management platforms, and logistics partners.
Big technology companies are also making AI-powered imaging and augmented reality technologies more accessible through strategic partnerships and platforms. This can help retail partners augment their capabilities without having to develop sophisticated technical solutions in-house.
For example, Google Merchant Center Next recently launched Product Studio, a free suite of AI-powered tools that allows merchants to generate additional product images using computer vision algorithms. Through scene generation, background removal, and resolution enhancement features, Product Studio helps merchants save time and resources while improving product listings. By partnering with Merchant Center Next and leveraging Product Studio, retailers can boost imaging efforts without extensive photography, graphic design, or technological development experience.
Some benefits of AR partnerships include:
- Leveraging existing 3D product assets and AR development experience
- Integrating AR features into existing ecommerce platforms seamlessly
- Outsourcing hardware procurement, technical support and maintenance
- Utilizing centralized hosting infrastructure for smooth global distribution
- Gaining marketing and promotional support through partner networks
- Qualifying for cost-sharing programs and incentives
- Accessing guidance on integration best practices and user experience design
The Future of AR in Ecommerce
Augmented reality is poised to transform the online shopping experience. With innovations coming at a rapid pace:
- 3D product modeling: It will allow customers to “try on” items virtually using AR before purchasing. Using 3D scans and models, customers can view products from all angles and interact with them virtually. This reduces returns and gives customers confidence in their purchase by allowing them to visualize fit and style in their space.
- Interactive storefronts: Customers will be able to browse stores no matter where they are virtually. Using AR, they can get assistance from virtual sales associates and seamlessly make purchases – all from their mobile devices.
- AR assistants: AR assistants, like smart mirrors, will help customers find the perfect sizes, styles, and complementary accessories for outfits. By understanding fit and style preferences, AR assistants can make personalized recommendations to each unique customer based on measurements and profile data.
- Immersive catalogs: Rather than viewing static photos, AR enables customers to envision exactly how items like furniture will look in their space before committing to a purchase, making the shopping experience much more engaging.
Conclusion
As the technology continues to improve, augmented reality will allow you to do much more than visualize products in your homes. Retailers will be able to use AR to offer customized recommendations, interactive product tutorials, live support from experts, and new types of gamified shopping experiences.
By bringing the physical and digital worlds closer together, AR in ecommerce aims to fundamentally change how we discover, learn about, and decide what to purchase. If implemented effectively, it could reshape the future of online shopping and ensure that consumers always feel confident making purchases sight unseen.
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