AR Shopping – How to Use Augmented Reality in E-Commerce

AR shopping technologies can offer your customers the kinds of “hands-on” experiences they would usually only have access to in a brick-and-mortar store. AR apps—augmented reality apps—can give customers more confidence in your products by allowing them to view these products from all angles and visualise your products in use.

Despite the widespread move to e-commerce, many shoppers still prefer the in-store customer experience. Augmented reality (AR) technology can help bridge the gap between the convenience of online shopping and the practical benefits of in-store shopping.

What Is AR Shopping?

AR shopping, or augmented reality shopping, describes technologies that allow Android and iOS users to “try products out” digitally before purchasing them online, similar to the way they would in a brick-and-mortar store. This can reduce the number of product returns and lead to an increase in sales and brand loyalty, particularly with younger consumers who enjoy immersive shopping experiences.

Many customers find that online shopping, whether this be via a shopping app, social media platforms, or an e-commerce website, can lack the sensory experiences they need to be fully convinced to purchase a product. For example, an online store doesn’t give customers the chance to try on clothes or shoes or check the quality or size of an item.

Though AR can’t replace the tactile experience many people enjoy in-store, AR technology can give customers a clearer picture of an item before they add it to their cart. This extra information benefits the customer, ensuring that they feel more confident about making a purchase. For businesses in the retail industry, developing an AR app can secure more sales by providing crucial contextual information. Please note that secure payment processing for AR e-commerce is essential to make sure you can process each sale successfully once customers decide to buy.

How Do Retail Businesses Use AR?

Several retailers already use AR experiences to capture their potential customers’ imaginations in dynamic and innovative ways. Brands that have successfully launched AR features include:

• Sephora. The make-up giant Sephora utilises a “virtual try-on” app that allows customers to see how the beauty products they choose would look on them. This is a great strategy for growing sales in a beauty e-commerce store.
• Wayfair. This furniture brand’s potential customers can visualise how furniture would look in their homes using an augmented reality app.
• Harley Davidson. Customers looking to purchase a new motorbike can try out different body types, lights, seats, and other custom options to see how their motorbike will look without visiting the store.

This type of app can potentially open up a whole new customer base as brands with fewer brick-and-mortar shops can offer customers an experience similar to an in-store visit. AR applications, together with a global payment gateway, could even extend your reach to customers in other parts of the world.

What Types of AR Can Businesses Use?

There are four main types of AR technology that you can use in e-commerce: marker-based AR, and markerless AR including location-based AR, projection-based AR, and visualisation AR.

Marker-Based AR

Marker-based AR—AKA image recognition or recognition-based AR—is used to detect a trigger in front of the camera. This trigger could be a QR code or another image and can be on packaging, in-store, on the website, or any other printed material.

When a device with the AR app detects that marker, it will cause an augmented image, object, video, text, or animation to appear on the user’s device. For example, a customer might use an AR app to scan an icon that triggers a 3-D model of a product to appear on the screen. The customer might then be able to manipulate this model to view the product from different angles.

Markerless AR

There are various types of markerless AR. The main ones used in e-commerce are location-based AR, projection-based AR, and visualisation AR. Markerless AR doesn’t require a trigger to produce virtual content. Rather, items are placed into a scene based on the environment’s real characteristics or the customer’s manipulation of an object on the screen.

Location-Based AR

Location-based AR is a type of markerless AR that doesn’t require any trigger or marker to start the AR experience. Instead, it uses GPS data and the device’s camera, accelerometer, and digital compass to pinpoint the user’s device location.

In retail, this can be used in various innovative ways to encourage user interaction with the brand or as a way to close sales. Location-based AR can be used in retail in the following ways:

• Promotions or sales. The customer is notified when they are near a store that’s offering a discount or sale.
• Localisation. This helps smartphone users find their nearest store. It can also help customers find stores near them that have the product they want in stock.
• Personalisation. Apps with access to purchase history, location, and other information can personalise the customer experience to display products and offers that are relevant to each customer.

Projection-Based AR

Projection-based AR involves projecting an image onto a flat surface like a wall or table to create a 3D illusion with which the customer can interact—similar to a hologram. A projector and camera are both required for this kind of AR. For example, a restaurant can project true-to-size images of each dish onto the table to help customers choose.

Visualisation AR

This kind of AR superimposes virtual objects onto the customer’s real-world environment as viewed through the camera on their device. For example, IKEA Place and AR View by Amazon allow customers to visualise how a piece of furniture would look in their homes. Beauty brands can use this technology to allow customers to visualise themselves with certain makeup products applied.

How are Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Different?

Augmented reality and virtual reality are significantly different in several ways:

1. Virtual Reality Is Totally Immersive

The AR experience augments the real world around us. In contrast, VR puts the user in an immersive experience of an artificial world. VR essentially takes the user out of the real world while AR enhances what’s really around us.

In retail AR apps, for example, the app superimposes a real product that a customer is considering onto the actual scene around them at home. In virtual reality, the customer would be wearing a headset that immerses them in a fantasy world. A product they tried out in that world would be viewed as a potential item in the virtual world rather than in their home.

2. VR Requires Specialised Equipment

Virtual reality technology requires a headset and sometimes even hand controllers. In contrast, AR only requires access to a smartphone.

3. AR Is More Accessible than VR

It’s predicted that the user penetration of AR and VR will reach 47.6% by 2027 in Europe. Because users only need a smartphone to access AR apps, this number will undoubtedly increase with time. VR is less accessible at the time of writing as specific, high-cost equipment is required.

Grow Your Sales With AR

More and more businesses are turning to AR as a dynamic way to engage customers and drive sales. With the use of AR projected to increase in the future, many e-commerce businesses will benefit from dynamising the ways in which they interact with their customers online.

Modern e-commerce businesses that implement AR also need a modern payment processing solution. Look for a payment processor that offers a secure global payment gateway and innovative payment methods that are likely to appeal to younger customers, as these are the customers who are most likely to use and connect with businesses that use AR.