Beauchamp gives the example of shopping for snowboards. This may be part of the reason why AR experts such as Papagiannis are predicting that the next phase of AR will likely be a “gamified social experience,” such as digital storefront or virtual closets where you can shop or explore with a friend.Īs the capabilities of VR improve, merchants may be able to play on this to engage with customers in different ways. “You don’t need AR or VR to reap the benefit from a 3D model of your product,” he says.ĪR gives customers who typically shop online the chance to view and interact with products in the same way they would if they were visiting a physical store. They also let customers answer questions that an image alone can’t-like what a product looks like from different angles-to gain more confidence in their purchasing decisions. Unlike a photo, which only stores pixels, 3D models store information about the structure of products and the material they’re made of.
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Daniel Beauchamp, principal engineer of VR/AR at Shopify.īut Beauchamp notes that even if you’re not ready to go full hog, investing in 3D models of products (the first step in AR and VR creation) can still have huge payoffs. The power AR has for merchants is that it allows customers to preview what something would look like in their space or on their body as though they were actually in front of that product in a store." Increased customer confidence and lower return ratesĪccording to a study conducted by UPS, 27% of consumers returned goods because they were “not as described.” By allowing customers to virtually “try before they buy,” you’ll give customers more information to decide with and, in turn, reduce return rates. They’re also the cornerstone that AR and VR technology rests upon (more on that later).īut the question we’re really here to answer is how 3D, AR, and VR can benefit both ecommerce merchants and their customers. And lastly, 3D images are photorealistic representations of real-world objects. The much-hyped virtual reality is an artificial environment that replaces a real environment. Put simply, augmented reality places virtual objects within real-world environments.
It’s a merchant telling a story with a richer medium.”īut first: What’s the difference between 3D, AR, and VR?
If I can interact with the product, see it from different angles, evaluate the texture, or place it in context in my room or on my face, it helps me make the buying decision better than images alone can deliver. “That tells us a lot about buyer trust and behavior,” says Ryan Smith, product lead at Shopify. Merchants who add 3D content to their stores see a 94% conversion lift, on average. But Shopify’s internal numbers indicate that it has strong potential.Ĭonsider, for example, that adding video lifts conversion rates 60% over buyers interacting with images alone. Unfortunately, not much reliable research (read: uninflated data) yet exists on how AR will affect conversion rates. For example, customers who can no longer try makeup samples in-store have to rely on virtual mirrors, such as Sephora’s Virtual Artist feature. While brick-and-mortar stores are reopening, they’re doing so with new health and safety restrictions.
If those same surveys were conducted today, the numbers would likely be much higher. The pandemic has only accelerated this process. According to Google’s 2019 AR Survey, 66% of people are interested in using AR for help when making purchasing decisions. While most respondents said they currently consider AR a “toy” (think: Snapchat filters, Pokémon Go, or Google’s AR-enabled search, which, at one point, had everyone placing dinosaurs in their home), a whopping 76% want to use it as a “tool” in their everyday lives.Īnd the most realistic and practical use for it that already exists today? Online shopping. In 2021, the company teamed up with Deloitte Digital to survey 15,000 consumers worldwide. reports that there are already more than 100 million consumers shopping with AR online and in stores. In fact, it’s more akin to what video content was five years ago-it can be a critical component of your ecommerce storefront, capable of engaging new customers and boosting conversions.
Augmented reality for retail: 2021 stats and trendsĭespite being around since 1968-when the first AR headset was developed by a computer scientist at Harvard University-augmented reality can still feel like a gimmick or technology rooted in the distant future.
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