Augmented Reality in Retail

You might not know this, but I was a speech nerd back in school, spending week nights practicing and weekends traveling for competitions. My two main categories were impromptu speaking and informative. While impromptu, as the name suggests, doesn't let you prepare a topic ahead of time informative did. The topics ranged from medical discoveries, to discourse on entertainment, to politics and more. Maybe unsurprisingly, I gravitated towards technology topics, and one topic in particular was augmented reality. Nearly 15 years later, augmented reality is still an incredible and interesting technology. Its come a long way from an overlay on a phone screen, and if that's where you thought it stopped, check out this review of Meta's and Snapchat's AR glasses. With this next evolution in AR's form factor, we can chat about how it may fit in the customer experience, particularly in a retail environment where it can blend digital and in-person capabilities. Today, we'll review a few potential customer and employee facing capabilities that could be powered by augmented reality.

Digital plan-o-grams and facing help

Over my many years in retail, a perpetual struggle was keeping everything looking nice and orderly. Customers would pick up an item and then realize they didn't intend to buy it. Inevitably, they would leave the item wherever they made that decision. Aisles dissolve into chaos after a couple hours and throughout the day, as well as at close, we needed to 'face' the aisles so that products were back in their home and looking tidy again. I wasn't particularly good at this, even after 4 years. AR Glasses, though, could highlight when items are out of place or off kilter in a way that my brain after an 8 hour shift could not.

Additionally, when reorganizing a section of shelves, the AR glasses could highlight where fixtures, either hooks, or shelves, are supposed to go and display what the product layout will be. Instead of walking around with reams of print outs, or constantly picking up and putting down a tablet with the plan, AR Glasses could overlay exactly what something is supposed to look like, streamlining the setup and reorganization process.

Personalization, in person

Another way AR glasses can empower your employees is by helping them identify regular customers or VIPs, the same way we personalize digital experiences. Based on a customer's profile in your CRM or loyalty system, AR glasses can use facial recognition and an info pane to inform an employee of who a customer is, products or services they currently have, and a likely reason they are in the store. This can drive personalized, concierge service for your most valuable customers at scale. While this capability is promising, we need to walk a fine line and not turn the shopping experience into an episode of Black Mirror. You can read more about my thoughts on personalizing the customer experience in this article.

Product descriptions and videos

Finally, one of brick-and-mortars' biggest challenges is still that customers come in to physically experience a product before buying online. Efforts to create delightful experiences and emphasis on the convenience of bringing an item home today have helped, but AR glasses can take this a step further. Surfacing all the research a customer was going to do at home, while they are still in the store, can cut down on what may end up being multiple trips or a lost sale to an e-commerce competitor. AR glasses can even display video testimonials and product demonstrations in a more immersive environment than a cellphone can provide.

With some of the biggest names in tech working on the next generation of augmented reality glasses, its an exciting space to watch. Even if you haven't been following AR for as long as I have, its clear that this innovative technology is on the cusp of delivering on its original promise, blending our digital and physical environments. The range of applications will be wide, so I'm wondering, where do you see AR being applied in your work?