According to a recent report by SkyQuest Technology, the adoption of augmented reality (AR) by retailers is on the rise. While 24% of respondents have said they are using the technology in their business, another 26% have confirmed they are  considering its use. The most common use case for AR is product visualization, with 41% of retailers saying they are using or considering using AR for this purpose. Other popular use cases include customer engagement (34%), marketing and advertising (32%), and store operations (30%). Let’s take a closer look at how AR shopping tools enhance CX and increase sales.  

How AR Elevates Customer Experience  

When it comes to online shopping, customers don’t have the opportunity to examine a desired item before purchasing as they would in a brick-and-mortar store. AR has the power to solve this problem, since it allows customers to put items in a real-life environment and better envision how they would look and fit. According to research by Alter Agents, Snap Inc., and Publicis Media, 80% of AR shoppers feel more confident in their online purchases after experiencing the items through AR. What’s more, AR makes the shopping experience easier and more engaging for consumers. One quarter of respondents said that they had used AR as a substitute for in-person shopping across categories including clothing, consumer packaged goods, retail and travel. 

The IKEA Place application is one of the most engaging projects. It allows you to "place" furniture from the retailer's catalog in your apartment or office and check how it would look in real life. The app has attracted buyers from all over the world.  

High-end fashion brands can also benefit from AR technology for online shopping. For example, the Italian fashion house, Gucci, has added the opportunity to try AR sneakers on its mobile app. Shoppers need only choose the sneaker model and point the camera at their feet.  

AR has the power to enhance not only online shopping journeys but also in-store experiences. Considering 61% of consumers prefer to shop at stores that offer AR, integrating AR technology into in-store shopping is a good way of bringing the customer experience to the next level. For instance, brands can print QR codes redirecting shoppers to AR demonstrations of products and add them to item tags. The consumer will simply need to scan a QR code with their smartphone, and they will be able to explore a whole outfit, or separate items, in the surrounding environment. AR experience targets a common pain of shopping for apparel — the inability to envision how the clothes on hangers will look in real life. 

To give you an idea, world-renowned American sports brand Nike has launched an AR experience across its retail stores. Using their smartphones, customers can scan QR codes located at participating locations to unlock unique stories contained within a single virtual box. This AR container features a frosted glass appearance, hiding a wide variety of digital artefacts. By tapping on the virtual box, visitors can unlock 3D-scanned assets taken directly from Nike’s archives. The aim of the campaign was to celebrate the brand’s 50th birthday and to “bring the brand’s past, present, and future to life in stores globally through a WebAR experience.”  

How AR Impacts Conversion  

Recent research revealed that interacting with products that have AR experiences leads to a 94% higher purchase conversion rate. Additionally, the majority of brands who use AR state it helps them acquire new customers and drive performance metrics: four out of five brands that used AR improved their brand awareness.  

Thanks to AR holograms, shoppers can view animations of fashion pieces within a real-life environment and envision the materials in movement. To make the customer journey more engaging, retailers use AR holograms not only in online catalogs, but also in brick-and-mortar stores.  

AR experiences let consumers interact with items like they would in real life, and offer them an accurate and complete view of products. Better customer engagement both online and in-store makes customers more likely to choose your brand over that of your competitors. You can expect to attract customers through a variety of channels, with a resulting boost in sales. 

Kosta Popov is CEO and founder of Cappasity.