Coronavirus has reinforced the rise of e-commerce, with online retail orders up 146% by this April. And as e-commerce grows, it is increasingly incorporating augmented reality into its sales pitch.
Augmented reality allows people to see digital information superimposed on the physical world around them. It often makes use of the camera function on a smartphone. Companies like Google and Microsoft have also released smart glasses that feature first-person video, directions, health sensors and more.
As e-commerce overtakes brick-and-mortar retail, augmented reality is expanding in tandem. Spending on augmented reality is projected to jump to $18.8 billion worldwide in 2020, a 78.5% increase from 2019.
E-commerce is creating an opportunity for augmented reality developers to update the way consumers shop. A marketing study of consumer preferences found that 35% of respondents said they would shop more online if they could try on a product virtually. Now, with the help of smartphones, companies are rolling out augmented reality apps and campaigns and changing the process of shopping.
To bring augmented reality experiences into being, companies often work with external design studios. Chicago-based product visualization company Threekit Inc. has been developing augmented reality products since 2005. Threekit’s software grew out of the CGI (computer-generated imagery) software that was used to animate movies like “Harry Potter” and “The Avengers.”
Early on, companies had to enlist a team of 3D artists and web developers to realize their ideas as augmented reality concepts. But Threekit launched a software platform that enables clients to dabble in augmented reality without prior experience or background knowledge.
The platform, also called Threekit, allows for the programming of interactive 3D visuals. Threekit imports the most popular 3D formats and does the conversion itself.
“[Augmented reality] mixes virtual images with reality to create an immersive and interactive shopping experience,” Threekit founder Ben Houston said. “Many people still prefer to shop in-store for products they can ‘try on’ such as clothing, makeup and accessories. AR can offer a digital substitute.”
Houston is betting that retailers who adapt quickly to the shift toward e-commerce will be most likely to emerge from the pandemic in a strong position. Advances in AI have also enabled companies to use customers’ purchasing data to make informed product recommendations, which can boost customer loyalty, he said.
“Now that people are becoming more accustomed to shopping online, we predict that retailers will use AR to mimic the experience of working with an interior decorator or stylist,” Houston added.
Some companies have created augmented reality experiences that require the use of smart glasses, not just a smartphone camera. Microsoft is one example. The company launched its first augmented reality project in 2016, the HoloLens. A Microsoft spokesperson said augmented reality is now used widely across the commercial sector.
“Among the things we learned with the original Microsoft HoloLens is the commercial value this device delivers to customers in a variety of industries,” the spokesperson said.
With Microsoft’s help, the Italian furniture company Natuzzi rolled out the Natuzzi Augmented Store, a virtual showroom that displays furnishings created by Natuzzi designers as seen through HoloLens smart glasses. The Augmented Store allows customers to change the colors, finishes and materials of the furniture they view.
Beyond retail, Microsoft’s augmented reality products have proved useful for clients in the manufacturing, architecture, construction, automotive and healthcare industries. As technology advances, Microsoft has also moved into the mixed reality space.
There are key differences between augmented reality and mixed reality. Augmented reality doesn’t give customers the ability to manipulate objects based on environmental awareness. Mixed reality blends the digital and physical worlds and lets people interact with objects in real time.
Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 is one example of mixed reality technology. Aerospace company Airbus used the HoloLens 2 to help with the design and manufacture of its aircraft.
IKEA has taken a slightly different approach with IKEA Place, an app that allows customers to model IKEA furniture to scale in a room photographed by their smartphones. The app takes into account fabric, lighting, shadows and texture in what it displays.
IKEA spokesperson Haley Mayer said IKEA built the app on Apple’s ARKit, a software kit that allows developers to make augmented reality apps for iPhone or iPad, and Google’s ARCore, a set of software tools that help build augmented reality apps for Android phones.
“IKEA Place gives people the confidence that they’re making the right choice,” Mayer said. “It lets you explore various styles and colors, experiment with placement in the room, and visualize how it complements what you already have in your space.”
Augmented reality is even expanding into the realm of food. For its multiple augmented reality campaigns, café chain Panera turned to the AR agency QReal, a New York-based 3D modeling company.
One recent collaboration featured a virtual breakfast wrap rendered in augmented reality through the smartphone camera, with nutritional information inserted over the wrap. Another involved a Snapchat lens that let customers combine two menu items and visualize how they would look tossed together in a bowl.
Panera Vice President of Marketing Scott Nelson said the company is constantly seeking ways to apply new technologies to its customer experience. On each of Panera’s augmented reality projects, he said, they went from concept to launch in a matter of weeks.
“Augmented reality and its ability to drive transparency and craveability in [our] food-driven business is a massive opportunity for us,” he said.
Panera estimates that it managed to reach 9.3 million potential customers with the virtual breakfast wrap campaign. The effort garnered 47,000 total shares on Snapchat and Facebook.
“We are just getting started with AR and have some amazing buildouts coming that will not only add value to our guests, but also enable transparency, knowledge and of course entertain them along the way,” Nelson said. “In a mobile-first world, technologies like AR are becoming more and more relevant.”
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