How Augmented Reality (AR) in eCommerce Boosts Online Shopping Experience? 

Augmented Reality (AR) in e-commerce has emerged as one of the most effective tools for enhancing sales and user experience. Recently, I’ve been particularly fascinated by the expansion of eCommerce within the traditional retail space. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, online retail sales in the United States have seen significant growth, increasing by 15% in the past year alone and reaching a total of $136 billion in Q2 of 2024. 

This surge reflects a substantial shift in consumer behavior, with more people turning to online shopping for its convenience, price comparison, and access to a wider range of products.

Customer Interest and Usage Insights:

• 61% of consumers prefer shopping at stores that offer AR experiences.
• 35% of consumers would shop online more if they could virtually try on products.
• By 2022, 83.1 million people in the US were using AR monthly, a number projected to continue growing.
• AR experiences lead to a 94% higher conversion rate compared to products without AR features.
• 70% of shoppers stated they would be more loyal to brands incorporating AR into their shopping experience.

These statistics clearly demonstrate the transformative impact of Augmented Reality on the retail industry. Let’s go a bit deeper into how AR in eCommerce can optimize your online shopping experience and revolutionize the way you engage with online product purchases and eCommerce brands accordingly.

Core Benefits of Augmented Reality in eCommerce

Let’s discuss Augmented Reality and how it benefits online shoppers & e-commerce business owners.

1. How Does it Benefit Online Shoppers? 

• Virtual Try-Ons

One of the leading benefits of augmented reality in eCommerce is that it allows customers to virtually try on clothing, accessories, or makeup before making a purchasing decision. It ultimately increases their overall confidence within an industry where setting an appearance is everything. This feature is quite beneficial within the fashion industry.

• Product Visualization

Another astounding benefit of having augmented reality in eCommerce is that you can visualize furniture, home decor, and other products before deciding to purchase. With AR’s product visualization feature, you apparently reduce the likelihood of returns and eventually increase customer satisfaction.

• Increase Engagement

Beyond just advertising and virtual try-ons, augmented reality allows businesses to create entertaining shopping experiences for customers. It offers informative and engaging brand interactions, giving customers a chance to have a more enjoyable and memorable experience. Increased engagement leads to higher customer retention and word-of-mouth marketing. 

For example, IKEA’s AR app allows users to see furniture in real-time in their homes just before they decide to purchase it, helping customers to make more informed decisions.

Speaking of IKEA’s AR app, want to learn how much an AR app is going to cost you? 

2. How Does It Benefit eCommerce Businesses? 

• Reduce Product Returns

Since AR allows customers to check a product in real-time, testing it virtually in a real-world scenario reduces its chance for returns. It also offers customers a chance to check and feel the product in real-time.

• Helps You Stand Out From Competitors

Augmented reality automatically portrays your enterprise as one of the rare one percentiles in the market. 

Imagine how many projects are out there overselling themselves as brands with better class and quality. Only a few of them truly stand out from competitors, making them a worthwhile option for purchase. 

As a business, it’s your innate desire to beat the competition, and this can only be achieved if you’re giving your customer an experience that no other brand is offering. 

Augmented reality checks for your brand, offering you a chance to become among the 1%.

What Are the Technical Challenges Associated with Augmented Reality (AR)?

Although implementing Augmented Reality in eCommerce comes with its fair share of technical challenges, here are a few key considerations that you need to address when we talk about online shopping.

1. Device Compatibility:

When it comes to AR technology, a primary concern with AR experience is whether the AR design is compatible with a wide range of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Based on the different hardware capabilities and pre-designed operating systems, it often becomes a roadblock to build solutions on augmented reality unless it’s completely responsive or not. This often requires extensive testing and optimization to deliver a consistent experience for all users.

2. Internet Speed and Stability:

AR technologies often rely on stable and fast internet connections to function smoothly. It can become a challenge for users with slower internet speeds or those in remote areas with limited connectivity. Businesses need to consider ways to optimize their AR experiences to minimize data usage and make sure they can still be accessed and enjoyed by a broad audience.

3. Performance Optimization:

AR applications, especially those with complex 3D models and animations, can be demanding on device resources. It eventually creates performance issues such as lag, slow loading times, or even crashes. Optimizing AR content to run across different devices is significant for providing a positive user experience.

4. Hardware Limitations:

Creating immersive AR experiences requires processing power, advanced cameras, and sometimes additional sensors. While high-end devices may have these capabilities, older or more basic models might struggle. This can limit the availability and accessibility of AR features for users with less sophisticated hardware.

5. Software Development:

Developing AR applications demands specialized software development services with skills and resources. Businesses may face challenges in acquiring or developing in-house expertise to create and maintain AR content. It includes all the know-how and basic knowledge of 3D modeling, animation & Augmented Reality programming frameworks.

Success Stories – How Augmented Reality (AR) Propelled Brands Forward?

1. Disney’s AR Character Meet and Greets

Disney Park introduced an augmented reality experience allowing visitors to interact with their favorite Disney characters remarkably. The Disneyland app allows users to point their devices at unique markers around the park. As a result, the park brings characters like Mickey Mouse and Elsa to life, so you and your children can have a more entertaining and interactive experience.

This digital interaction is especially appealing to young visitors and adds an extra layer of magic to the Disney experience. The AR meet and greet creates an unforgettable moment for people visiting Disneyland. This perfect blend of physical and digital creates an impressive immersive experience.

2. Gatorade’s Bolt Breaker

Gatorade introduced the “Bolt Breaker” game, offering an immersive AR experience where users had the chance to experience record-breaking sprints of Usain Bolt. Not only did Gatorade’s Bolt Breaker game become an engaging digital experience for users, but it also became a powerful marketing tool allowing individuals to step into their favorite shoes. As a result, athletes were able to test their abilities on a virtual track.

However, the Bolt Breaker Game unexpectedly met its demise when the State of California filed a suit against the firm. They went under the bus for publishing misleading statements within the game. For instance, in the game, users would see Bolt drinking Gatorade instead of water to increase his performance, whereas they showed that drinking normal water slowed him down. 

Although the complaint was settled later on, the game was no longer available to the public.

3. Burger King’s “Burn That Ad” Campaign

Burger King Brazil deployed an AR feature that encouraged users to “burn” competitors’ ads in exchange for a free Whopper. All that an individual had to do was point their smartphone camera at any fast-food advertisement, and the app would automatically allow people to virtually set the ad on fire. By completing the task, the user would eventually get a coupon for a free burger.

This innovative campaign took Burger King to a whole new level, maximizing app downloads and acquiring more engaged customers by giving them a memorable experience. The “Burn That Ad” campaign leveraged AR to create the necessary buzz and engagement which Burger King was missing out on. They turned their entire traditional advertising on its head and used experiential marketing to win more customers in Brazil.

4. Coca Cola Zero Sugar #TakeATasteNow

Coca Cola’s Zero Sugar campaign rolled out across 13 major locations in the UK, including London, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, Bristol, Lakeside, and Bluewater Shopping Centres. The first digital-out-of-home (DOOH) campaign by Coca Cola offered an average smartphone user the chance to scan a QR code, which awarded them a digital bottle of Coke Zero on their phone and a voucher. This voucher allowed app users to claim the real thing from a nearby Tesco.

The AR campaign made a memorable experience; a free product sample on the street was all it took! Coca Cola further promoted the campaign through Instagram.

5. Christian Dior Parfums’ AR Beauty Try-On

During the Eid of 2023, Christian Dior Parfums launched an interactive campaign to advertise its Dior Addict Lipstick. It was during this season that Google’s data revealed that searches for beauty products increased by 35%. Christian Dior Parfums took advantage of the situation and introduced AR technology to its Video Action Campaign ads on YouTube and Google’s partner websites.

The ad allowed users to try different shades of lipstick on different models with different skin tones. In fact, ladies were able to experience the “Beauty Try-On” campaign using their selfie cameras. The campaign gained popularity in some of the major Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, reaching more than 4 million people over 21 days. 41% of consumers interacted with the Beauty Try-On panel before making a purchase decision.

6. Warner Bros & SnapChat’s Barbie AR Activation

During the summer of 2023, the Barbie movie was released and appeared in international cinemas. However, before it was launched, it was backed by a very well-executed marketing campaign. 

This campaign was carried out in collaboration with Snapchat. 

Back in June, a few days ahead of Barbie’s official release, Warner Bros. Pictures launched a Wardrobe AR lens which allowed Snapchat users to visualize themselves as the famous Barbie character.

They tried on different outfits to experience how they would appear as Barbie. 

In fact, Snapchat went a step ahead, allowing users to scan global landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, the Statue of Liberty, and London’s Tower Bridge to create bright pink and other pastel-colored versions.

The Future of AR Technology in eCommerce

As we look at the latest advancements in augmented reality and virtual reality, it’s clear that augmented reality (AR) is here to stay and is poised to grow exponentially. But what does the future hold for eCommerce?

Let’s have a look at how augmented reality services are going to transform the future of eCommerce for the better.

1. Spatial Computing in eCommerce

Spatial computing in AR represents a revolutionary shift in how we interact with digital content. 

Imagine browsing through an online store not by scrolling on a screen but by interacting with 3D visual objects in real-time, much like Tony Stark from Iron Man working on his spatial screens. 

This technology is transforming eCommerce by offering immersive shopping experiences where customers can virtually try on clothes, visualize furniture in their homes, or even walk through virtual showrooms.

Leading platforms like Magic Leap, HoloLens, Google ARCore, and others are pioneering these innovations. For instance, IKEA’s AR app allows users to place true-to-scale 3D models of furniture in their own homes using their smartphones.

This not only increases the shopping experience but also reduces the likelihood of returns.

2. The Merge of AI and AR in eCommerce

The past decade has seen significant advancements in both AI and AR technologies, and their integration is set to revolutionize eCommerce. 

AI, with its capabilities in algorithms and data processing, enables machines to simulate human intelligence and perform routine tasks. When combined with AR, this results in more interactive and personalized shopping experiences.

One compelling example is the use of AI-powered AR for facial and spatial recognition, which enables better face and gesture mapping. This technology can be used in virtual try-on solutions for makeup or eyewear, allowing customers to see how products will look on them before making a purchase. 

Moreover, AI can analyze customer preferences and behaviors to provide personalized product recommendations in AR environments, making the shopping experience more intuitive and engaging.

3. Adoption of AR and 3D Imagery in eCommerce 

Did you know that businesses have seen a massive growth of up to 94% in conversion rates when integrating 3D imagery and AR-led content on their websites? It’s a testament to how powerful augmented reality (AR) and 3D imagery can be in enhancing the overall online shopping experience.

One prominent advantage of combining AR with 3D imagery is the ability to showcase products from every angle, allowing users to thoroughly examine them. It’s an immersive approach that helps convey the full experience of a product to customers, beyond what traditional images & descriptions can achieve.

With AR and 3D imagery, customers view products from multiple angles and zoom in to see intricate details. They can also place virtual models of products within the real-world environment, all thanks to AR. 

This feature is beneficial for items like furniture, home decor, and fashion. 

For example, IKEA lets buyers virtually integrate items of furniture into images uploaded by the users. It gives people a chance to see how the furniture appears in their home before they purchase it.

Bottomline 

Augmented Reality (AR) is revolutionizing eCommerce by introducing how consumers shop online. 

With virtual try-ons, immersive product visualizations, and carrying out engaging interactions, AR leads to higher customer satisfaction and brings more loyalty to the customers. 

Today, businesses benefit from reduced product returns and increased engagement. It’s the only way they stand out in the ever-growing competitive eCommerce landscape. 

Now, there are challenges with AR as well such as device compatibility issues and performance optimization problems; however, overcoming these hurdles is not much of a problem. With the integration of AR with AI and 3D imagery, there’s much to promise, even more personalized & interactive shopping experiences as shown by innovative campaigns from brands such as Disney and Coca-Cola. 

If there’s one thing for sure, AR is here to stay! Branex is a mobile app development company and AR development service where we believe the future is now. We build powerful AR solutions, that are bound to deliver remarkable results.