Visiting a site, searching for what we want, seeing pictures and a description, buying: the e-commerce experience can feel very “flat” at times. Yet, technology and media can make the online shopping experience more immersive, engaging, and intuitive.
Today, we explore how leading brands around the world use Augmented Reality (AR), live video, and automation to reinvent the retail experience.
This article is the second part of a two-part series.
How does augmented reality in e-commerce work?
AR is a technology that adjusts what you see through your mobile phone’s screen. It is most famously used for features like selfie filters, but it is now being used to allow people to get closer to the shopping experience.
What are the benefits of AR in retail?
Enhances consumer experience
Snapchat is a pioneer in this area and has already enabled brands such as Gucci to let people experience their products before they buy, for example, trying on shoes or sunglasses.
The use of augmented reality in retail is also making it easier for people to accurately measure themselves and find clothes that will fit. For instance, MySize help shoppers to try clothes virtually onto an avatar with their exact measurements, to see how the clothes would look. Different clothing brands often have different fits and apps like this can take all these little differences into account. Snapchat recently bought the company Fit Analytics to integrate into its own app. Imagine the ability to store your precise measurements into an app so that you are only shown items that will fit you!
Reduces e-commerce returns
As returns represent a massive expense for retailers (often returned clothes can’t be sold again as new), anything that reduces the number of items sent back, or reduces shoppers’ inclinations to buy the same items in multiple sizes, will help enormously.
AR is not only relevant for the fashion industry. The technology is now accurate enough for people to try cosmetics. Numerous platforms allow consumers to try different colours and shades, including Pinterest, Google, and brands’ own apps.
Provides a 3D shopping experience at home
AR can also be used to produce 3D experiences, so that you can see the product in front of you and better imagine how it might fit into your home. IKEA was one of the first brands to test this, creating a dedicated app called Place back in 2017 to let people virtually place pieces of furniture in their homes before buying. Similar features now exist in several automotive apps - for example, Toyota lets customers configure a car, then see it in 3D.
The technology is also useful for more spontaneous purchases. For instance, UK retailer Argos has built the technology into its app so that shoppers can see products like LEGO sets before they buy - important to seeing how big the finished model will be!
Live & interactive shopping experiences
Perhaps the greatest potential of using augmented reality in retail is in the new live video technologies. Hopping through live video is not a new concept - TV shopping channels like QVC have been broadcasting for more than 30 years - but the concept has been updated for the mobile age, and is taking off particularly in Asia.
Commerce sites in China started allowing merchants to live stream and sell directly from the screen more than five years ago, and it has become so popular that it is estimated to have generated $63bn in sales in China in 2019, according to Coresight Research.
This has now arrived in the west, through Chinese companies creating offerings like AliExpress, which is live in several European markets, to Facebook, which has just launched a programme called Live Shopping Fridays in the US where brands like Clinique and Sephora are selling through live video every Friday. Facebook members can interact with the video just as they would any live videos, but also add items being discussed on screen to their baskets within the app to buy.
We are also seeing independent apps emerge to cover interesting niches, for example, WhatNot is a live peer-to-peer app where people go live to sell collectables like rare toys and trading cards.
Provides convenient live customer support
A twist on this use of live video shopping technology is to make it on demand by offering live help via video link, so that customers can ask questions and make their mind up more easily. The UK electronics chain Currys is doing this through a live experts feature on their site. On several of the products, for example TVs, it is possible to click on the Shop Live button and be connected to ask questions of someone on their staff.
We are also seeing the re-emergence of bot technology also guiding customers, but in a wholly automated way, using the latest artificial intelligence to try to understand queries and answer helpfully, at scale. These can be done either on brands’ own sites or through integrations with messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The bots can answer simple questions and guide people through the purchase process. One interesting example is Nestlé’s Tollhouse Cookie Coach, which can answer standard queries about baking via the brand’s own site.
Automation can also facilitate transactions
Finally, possibly the most radical solution is the Nate app, which buys things on behalf of its users. iOS device owners can download the app, input address and payment details, and then if they see something online they want to buy, simply share the item with the app, and let it handle the purchase.
In retail more than in any other industry, convenience is key. With the right use of technology such as AR, live video, and automation, brands can create more convenient and engaging experiences by making every media moment a shoppable one.
At dentsu, we have extensive commerce capabilities to support your brand. To get started or get further with your commerce strategy, contact us today.
Download Shopper DNA: The Future of Retail here.