12 ways AR (Augmented Reality) can impact eCommerce

INTRODUCTION

Does everyone remember Pokémon Go?

You know, the game that had everyone walking across freeways, toppling into water fountains and into other people's yards to capture Pokémon?

It's probably the easiest reference as to what Augmented Reality (AR for short) is.

AR is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. AR has been applied to entertainment (virtual reality gaming), industrial design, medicine, and education. Many have predicted that AR will enhance many industries from eCommerce to architecture. AR sales are projected to reach $80 billion by 2025.

However, AR also brings with it many of the same concerns that arise when introducing new technology to your business. How will AR be used in eCommerce? Will AR be worth the cost of implementation? Will AR cause us all to be staring at our phones so much that we eventually walk off the edge of the (flat) earth ?? ?

If you're still on the fence about AR, then continue reading.

What are the benefits of AR for businesses?

AR has many potential benefits for businesses, including the ability to create more engaging and interactive marketing materials, increase customer engagement and loyalty, and improve brand awareness. AR can also help businesses to better understand their customers, as well as provide a more immersive and engaging customer experience. AR in marketing can also help to improve SEO and increase conversions on websites while delivering important messages about their products or services more effectively.

AR experiences allow you to better engage with your customers. AR marketing has been shown to generate up to three times as many leads as traditional ads, simply because AR provides a unique experience that gets audiences’ attention (Showpad, 2020). In fact, 78% of people think AR is “cool” – this number grows even higher among Millennials at 90% (Vertebrae 2018).

12 ways you can use AR in your marketing strategy

AR is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal for delivering an immersive, engaging experience to your customers. Here are 12 ways you can use AR in your marketing strategy to get ahead of the curve.

1. Use AR to create more interactive and engaging marketing materials.

AR for eCommerce can help you create more interactive and engaging marketing materials. By overlaying digital images on top of your customers’ view of the real world, AR can help you to create materials that are more engaging and relevant.

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2. Increase customer engagement and loyalty with AR experiences.

Augmented reality has the potential to create more engaged and loyal customers. With AR, customers can interact with your products in a new and exciting way. This can create a more personal connection with your brand and encourage customers to return again and again.

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3. Use AR to better understand your customers.

Augmented reality can help eCommerce and brick-and-mortar businesses better understand their customers. AR allows you to superimpose digital content on top of the real world, which gives businesses potential data for a more immersive view of their customers. With AR, you can see how they interact with your products, make purchase decisions and get a better idea of what they want.

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4. Deliver important messages about your products or services more effectively with AR content.

AR can help you to create more effective and engaging content that will leave a lasting impression on your customers. This type of content can be used to highlight the features and benefits of your products or services on a more granular level than just traditional pictures, images, and text. This will no-doubtingly help you to stand out from the competition.

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5. Create a more immersive and engaging customer experience with AR technology.

When customers can interact with products and see how they would look in their own homes, it creates a more immersive experience that can keep them coming back for more. AR can also help customers make better purchasing decisions by giving them a more realistic idea of what they're buying. This is especially important for larger purchases like furniture or appliances.

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6. Improve website conversions with AR integration.

Augmented reality can improve website conversions in a few ways. AR can help customers visualize products in their own space, providing a more realistic idea of what they're buying. This can lead to increased confidence in the purchase, and as a result, higher conversion rates. AR can also help improve your site's SEO ranking (more on that later) which drives more qualified traffic to a website. More qualified traffic generally means higher conversion rates.

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7. Increase product sales with effective AR advertising campaigns.

Augmented Reality advertising campaigns are a great way to increase product sales. AR allows customers to view products in a new way and can help them to better understand how the product works or what it looks like. This can lead to increased interest in the product, and more sales.

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8. AR will help make your marketing strategy more cost-effective.

By using AR in advertising campaigns, businesses can save money on video and content production costs by putting the "content production" in the hands of the shopper. They can "place" the product in their own environments to determine whether it's valuable to them or not. This creates an active experience that also more deeply engages the audience.

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9. AR can significantly enhance a user’s experience with a product or service.

Augmented reality can significantly enhance a user’s experience with a product or service by providing an interactive and immersive experience. AR can help businesses create an engaging and memorable experience that will keep customers coming back. For example, IKEA has used AR to allow customers to preview how furniture will look in their home before making a purchase. This helps reduce the risk of buyers being disappointed with the final product and can lead to increased sales for IKEA.

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10. AR is a low-cost investment with a high return on investment (ROI)

As AR technology becomes more popular, the costs of implementing AR into a business are going down. This means that businesses can get a higher return on investment for their AR initiatives. AR offers a unique and engaging experience that can help businesses stand out from their competitors. With the low cost of AR and its high ROI, businesses would be wise to consider using AR in their marketing campaigns.

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11. AR can improve your eCommerce website SEO

AR can improve a business’s SEO AR not only has the potential to draw in new customers, but it is also a valuable tool for businesses looking to climb up the ranks of Google. AR can help increase user engagement with a site and improve the way they interact with brands. AR experiences encourage users to explore sites more thoroughly than traditional marketing methods such as banner ads and email newsletters. As AR technologies continue to develop, there will be increased opportunities for businesses wanting to take advantage of its benefits while mitigating risks.

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12. AR improves customer service

AR technology gives consumers access to information that was previously difficult or impossible for them to get on their own. AR allows companies to provide more detailed information to the shopper in real time, thus reducing pre-purchase customer service needs. Additionally, a better-informed customer means more positive purchase experiences, which leads to fewer post-purchase customer service needs.

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What are the risks associated with using AR

There are a few risks associated with using AR in business. One of the main risks is that AR can be initially expensive to implement and may not offer an immediate return on investment. While costs are going down, and long-term ROI is a probability, AR's cost may be too high to justify the investment for smaller companies. AR technology is still relatively new, so there are not as many AR marketing campaigns that can be used for businesses to model or reference. Additionally, AR marketing initiatives are fluid and continue to change over time. So not only is it difficult to predict AR marketing costs, but AR technology continues to develop over time.

Overall AR offers a cutting-edge market opportunity for businesses with the right resources to take advantage of this innovative form of marketing within their industry.

Examples of how businesses are using AR successfully

There are several businesses that are using AR successfully to engage with their customers. Some examples include IKEA , Amazon , and Lowe's .

IKEA has been using AR for several years to allow customers to preview how furniture will look in their home before making a purchase. This helps reduce the risk of buyers being disappointed with the final product and can lead to increased sales for IKEA.

Amazon has also been using AR for some time, specifically with their app called "The AR View." This app allows customers to see what a product will look like in their home before they make a purchase. This is beneficial for customers because it allows them to get an idea of what the product will look like in various environments.

Lowe's AR app allows users to try out various paint colors before they make a purchase. AR allows customers to accurately predict how the paint will look in different lighting situations, which makes them more likely to buy it.

CONCLUSION

AR technology is still relatively new, so businesses should be cautious when implementing AR into their marketing plans. While there are risks associated with using AR, such as the cost and the potential for AR technologies to change over time, there are many benefits that warrant taking the plunge. AR can improve a business's SEO, customer service, and eCommerce website experiences. Additionally, AR offers a unique and engaging experience that can help businesses stand out from their competitors. With the low cost of AR and its high ROI, businesses would be wise to consider using AR in their marketing campaigns.