Augmented Reality Makes eCommerce Shopping a Lot Easier, and They’ve Just Scratched the Surface

Retail Brands are now slowly tapping into Augmented Reality to boost their sales. Retailers like Lowe’s and Wayfair are now using AR to help consumers see what their products will look like in their homes without buying them yet.

Using only their phone’s camera, consumers can pick an item, and virtually set it anywhere they’d like through the screen.

However, treading into unknown waters is not as easy as it seems. It presents challenges to consumers, especially when he or she is attempting to buy a product.

“This technology is still very new for people… [But] over time they get more comfortable with it … as more of these applications come out.”

Josh Shabtai, Director of Lab Productions and Operations, Lowe’s

Shabtai further explained that there are some parents who expressed their interest in playing with Augmented Reality soon after they saw their children playing with apps that use it. Lowe’s claims that it scores at least a 104 percent conversion rate when customers utilize 3D objects in its app.

How Retailers use Augmented Reality for Their Business

Ikea’s mobile AR app, Ikea Place, makes it easier for a consumer to prick products in their store by providing design inspirations.

The mobile app has over 2,000 Ikea items available for purchase on the retailer’s store official website. However, one challenge that Ikea has to face is how to make the 3D AR piece of furniture look real.

Wayfair also had the same problem with helping its consumers view it more realistically.

Head of next-gen experiences at Wayfair, Shrenik Sadalgi, believes that people still have a lot to go when it comes to AR but still remain hopeful about it. He believes that it’ll become second nature when it comes to online shopping and may even be close to mandatory at some point.

If you liked this article and would like to engage with other small business entrepreneurs selling on marketplaces, join our [the_ad id=”41560″ inline =”1″]. You can also find us on [the_ad id=”41579″ inline =”1″], [the_ad id=”41573″ inline =”1″], [the_ad id=”41575″ inline =”1″], and [the_ad id=”41577″ inline =”1″] or sign up for our newsletter below.