Ask someone you know about augmented reality and they might mention a filter they recently tried on Snapchat, Nintendo’s ultra popular Pokémon Go or the 30 pairs of sunglasses they tried on in the Warby Parker app.
For brands seeking an innovative way for consumers to interact with their products across platforms and devices, AR should be top of mind. Used to augment a person’s real-world environment with sound, visual elements, or other sensory stimuli by using the camera on a smartphone, augmented reality, or ‘AR’, serves as an exciting and practical component of a future-focused interactive content strategy.
Delivering engaging digital experiences which goes far beyond entertainment, AR has emerged as a digital mainstay with unlimited opportunity and potential. According to Apple, ‘AR transforms how we work, learn, play, shop and connect with the world around us. It’s the perfect way to visualize things that would be impossible or impractical to see otherwise’.
For clarity, AR technology combines audio, video, graphics and software with smartphones or headsets, cameras and location software to implement 3D graphics in real-time. There are two main types of augmented reality experiences: markerless AR and marker-based AR.
Frequently used in online shopping, markerless AR allows users to move virtual objects based on flat geometrical elements like a table, floor or box. By allowing users to tap a furniture item and place it directly in their home or office, one of the world’s largest furniture retailers IKEA, uses markerless AR technology to improve their customer shopping experience and decrease return rates. With marker-based AR, also known as image recognition AR, users scan a marker (logo, icon, etc.) with their device camera to activate the augmented reality experience. Augmented reality QR codes launch interactive AR content, delivering a call to action or unveiling an experiential landing page and serves as a fantastic example of marker-based AR.
AR technologies allow users to shop up-close, at different angles, in their own space, on their own time. Virtual try-on, by instant face recognition is one of the most successful uses of AR worldwide and a key driver of sales in the beauty category. Yet these are just a few use-cases of the technology applied to retail.
AR’s rapid adoption and implementation across industries shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In April 2021, XRToday reported conversion rates from AR skyrocketing by upwards of 90%.
According to the Impact of Augmented Reality on Retail report, 71% of shoppers said that they would shop more often if they could use AR, 61% said they prefer to shop with stores that have AR over those without it, and 77% of AR users said they use it to see product differences, such as possible variations of colors and styles.
With the future of AR being so lucrative for brands, implementing AR into your content mix across channels is worth its weight in gold. And keep in mind, AR may be your brand’s gateway to the future promise of an immersive web 3.0, as the technology has successfully demonstrated its potential to transform consumers’ receptivity of marketing messaging, and lived experience with a brand.
Still shy about integrating AR into your content strategy? Don’t miss the opportunity to flex your brand’s creative muscle this year. Have a look at our AR showreel and grab some time on my calendar Here.
