Mobile technology is developing fast, and so are the associated technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT). Thus, mobile apps are being developed for almost all industries, and retail industry is no exception. While earlier AR was a mirage on the retail horizon, the Pokemon Go phenomenon brought forward the possibilities for mass and rapid adoption of AR. Digital marketing has got stirring lessons to learn from the extreme popularity of the game at its peak, the reason being its ability to blur the lines between the real and digital world.
AR is now coming out of the shadow of VR
AR has been around since the late 1960s, but it lacked a shared platform with mass acceptance. The standalone apps of retailers with AR features, such as Google Glass, thus failed badly. So, though augmented reality app development company may earlier be using it under the shadow of VR, as evident in Sony’s Playstation VR and the acquisition of Oculus Rift by Facebook, the popularity of Lego’s digital box, furniture retailer IKEA, and eyewear’s Warby Parker are recent examples that point to the increasing number of live followers of AR. While VR takes you to an altogether new virtual world with unique immersive experiences, AR has the potential to bring these experiences to our actual, existing world.
With Lego’s AR Digital Box, the customers can hold the product box close to the screen and “see” the finished products using the in-store kiosk. Using IKEA’s app, customers can place and check the digital furniture and other products from the catalogue in the pictures of their rooms. Pokemon Go can be credited for opening the consumer’s mind to similar experiences, feeding the imagination of the customers for a still more connected future, and transforming consumer experiences in the physical world. Physical retailers have now understood the competitive advantage provided by AR as compared to online-only retailers.
AR introduces brick-and-mortar experience for online customers
Though e-commerce has gained instant popularity due to the convenience it provides by making shopping easy, cheap, time-saving, and facilitates in-depth research and comparison of products; physical stores are still preferred by some customers as they provide customers with the advantage of live physical touch, smell, taste, or sight of the product live. However, AR allows physical store retailers with the additional advantage of taking this experience online and blend the digital and physical shopping experiences. Brands that deploy AR provide a virtual layer to an online shopping experience that improves communication enhances engagement and personalizes customer experiences.
In the highly competitive environment today, brands are experimenting with different platforms and trying to understand the needs and expectations of their customers. AR is bound to enter its growth phase in the next two to three years, and companies that will be able to figure out the distinctive offerings and integrate them into their Omni channel strategies are bound to be successful in the coming years and create new experiences. Thus, retailers need to experiment with key tactics and strategies in the coming years to benefit using AR technology in their mobile apps.
AR provides unmatched consumer awareness creation
Retailers spend most of their marketing budget in making the customers aware of their product and brand, and actually, most of it is wasted on non-target customers. For more refined and targeted marketing, AR can be used to adjust what is presented to create interactive retail experiences for a customer based on their in-store behaviour and demographic profiles. A greater degree of personalization of in-store product recommendations can be expected as AR becomes more powerful. For example, when the customer will point towards a shelf in a clothing store, they will get all information ranging from the origin of the fabric to all special deals tailored to your profile. In future, the integration of AR with big data and machine learning is bound to provide customers with intelligent, personalized information on recommending products and special deals and coupons based on the preferences and behaviours of the users.
AR can be used by brands to increase consideration
Retailers can provide powerful multidimensional experiences to customers using AR to enhance engagement, such as the virtual “try-on” experiences. This not only creates memorable in-store experiences by combining the online and offline environments for the customers but also makes retailers think hard about how they can provide the customers with the ideal shopping experience, regardless of the medium.
AR also has potential to convert consideration to action
Effectively motivating customers to make the jump from consideration to purchase is very important in the purchase funnel. Brands have started using AR to increase conversion. By providing customers with localized deals using geofencing and other technologies like beacons, the customer experience can be highly personalized and augmented with recommendations based on the predictions of their future behaviour. Brands may display online reviews on products and integrated with social media purchase buttons to upsell related products.
AR will help build enduring loyalty
AR will provide retailers with numerous opportunities to attain customer loyalty that is otherwise unattainable. As customer loyalty is a powerful retail tool, so the more proficient a company is at creating loyalty, the more will be the sustainability of its marketing efforts in the long term, and proportionately higher will be the ROI. By using advanced technologies in conjunction with AR, retail stores will have a much better idea of the customer’s behaviours and choices to allow them to use loyalty programs in a more targeted manner, both online and offline.
Final thoughts
Retail has always been a dynamic industry, with trends and fashion coming and going quickly. However, regardless of what is selling today, the means using which products are being sold today are evolving rapidly. One such dynamic aspect transforming retail is AR and retailers need to integrate seamlessly with it to translate foot traffic into the desired action.
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