Why should an eCommerce outlet invest in AR and VR technology? - Relevance in 2021

According to a study, search engines are one of the biggest inspirations behind online shopping. Marketplaces like Amazon saw a usage rate of 52% and were ranked first among all search engines for shopping.

The world of eCommerce is expanding exponentially; in 2021, the number of online customers stands at 2.14 Billion, making 27.6% of the world's total population!

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Business giants are shifting their focus drastically towards enhancing their shopping experiences. Websites like Google and Amazon are doing extensive research to improve their customer journeys. As per the data provided by Google almost 63% of shopping occasions begin from a search engine. Huge, isn’t it?

With the growing demand for online shopping, more and more businesses are optimizing their channels to gather more customers and boost customer engagement. Brands and companies now understand the importance of providing a unique experience to their customers.

Since customers have a wide bandwidth in terms of choice, products, product categories, etc., it has become increasingly crucial for businesses to capture their attention while utilizing exciting technologies like Augmented and Virtual Reality.

In 2020, one of the biggest reasons behind the skyrocketed online sales was the COVID-19 pandemic. It brought a drastic shift in the buying behavior of customers. It can be considered the most significant impact of the decade and one of the biggest impacts of the century.

Countries had to implement a lockdown phase under which the growth of online shopping became limitless! From groceries, clothing, electronics, education to even online streaming platforms, saw tremendous growth. Amazon surpassed 150 million prime PAID subscribers. The business of home groceries has seen an accelerated shift. As per a survey, 42% of the customers bought groceries from an online platform at least once a week.

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Brands are emphasizing boosting personalization, values, and service quality on their applications and websites. Is pandemic the sole reason? To a large extent, yes. But there are other important points that we realized.

Online shopping is all about convenience, and customers get to buy their desired products within a few clicks. They don't need to spend hours at a shopping mall or a grocery store as online stores have significantly shortened the buying process, and made it even more convenient.

Brands and businesses don't just need to strategize "what to sell?" but they need to focus on "how to sell?". The quality of shopping plays a significant role in customers' process of decision-making. As new technologies arrive, we expect them to improve the shopping experiences. In today’s world, online shoppers adore immersive experiences that bring them closer to reality via a phone screen.

They want to enjoy virtual reality and augmented reality-enabled shopping experiences. 61% of the consumers believe that they would prefer a retailer that provides an AR experience over other retailers in the market. Due to the same reason, Augmented Reality's market value is expected to hit the $50 Billion mark by 2024.

However, Apple CEO Tim Cook says that the global adoption of such technologies will take time, but he believes these technologies will become a part of our lives in the coming future, much like eating three meals a day.

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When talking about the relevance of AR and VR technologies, from the perspective of a retailer, it can help them in -

• Building brand awareness. Businesses that'll use AR and VR technologies to promote their marketing campaigns will create digital noise because these businesses are likely to stand out from the crowd. Hence. More brand awareness!
• More traffic, more sales. Well, it’s a job well done if you were able to draw a high amount of traffic to your website. But the story doesn't end here. You need to engage them to convert them into your high-value customers. Providing AR and VR features can help you in providing an immersive experience to your customers.
• Reduction in drop rates. Why do people scroll, add items to their cart, but never buy them? The inability to touch and feel the product makes online shopping a bit risky for them. That leaves them in two minds. Introduction to AR and VR can help them experience the product before buying it. Customers will be able to virtually try the product leading to a drastic drop in return rates. Retailers will also be able to save a lot of money on operational costs that come with a physical store.

How will AR and VR enhance your user experience? Will it help you shop better?

1. Convenience via virtual environment - Visiting a physical store seems to be a challenge now. Therefore, brands are now creating virtual showrooms that resemble physical stores. Such virtual stores can offer convenience and smoothen the ease of purchasing because shoppers can directly buy a product from the comfort of their homes. It saves their time and makes online shopping eventful.
2. Virtual try-on experience - The most significant disadvantage online stores earlier had was skepticism among buyers. AR and VR eliminate this disadvantage to a large extent. They get to try the product using their selfie camera via smartphone. E.g., they can virtually try spectacles on their face, the shade of lipstick on their lips, and sneakers on their feet.It is through personal experience that I know the extent of virtual try-on experience and how implementing this technology made customers flock to our client’s store. It helped the brand smoothen its online business because its customers were able to make confident purchases.
3. Customers will enjoy the buying process - Shopping is an emotional experience! Customers enjoy visiting a shop; they take their own sweet time to try products present in the store and decide what to buy. They want the same feeling while shopping for a product online.They want excellent customer service, or else they'll switch off to the next best option. The eCommerce businesses can implement AR and VR technologies to hold their attention and boost customer satisfaction. Both of these technologies are enough for fulfilling a buyer's expectations because they make the buying process more action-packed.
4. Exciting technologies force the customer to visit again - Well, there is nothing as stimulating as seeing a physical store until and unless online stores provide the same amount of thrill.

The growth of eCommerce stores isn't stopping anytime soon as they continue to offer interactive content and convenience. The right kind of shopping experience with the help of AR or VR, eCommerce websites can bring them back again.

There are several brands that have adopted the usage of AR and VR tech to amplify their user experience. The best of the lot in my opinion are- 

1. IKEA - IKEA uses Augmented Reality that helps customers to figure out whether a particular piece of furniture will look good with their home interior. By using the IKEA app, users can scan their room using their smartphone's camera. It will capture the room's dimensions, and then the customer can place the furniture in their room. IKEA's Augmented Reality-based app has an accuracy of 98%. If you are an eCommerce business that belongs to appliances, furniture, electronics, etc., you must incorporate such technology on your website or mobile application.
2. Dulux Paints - Dulux paints uses Augmented Reality to paint the walls of the customers' house virtually. They do this by offering a visualizer app through which a shopper can try more than 1200+ varieties of colors on his or her wall. 

Now you don't need to try different patches of colors before finalizing your favorite one. The same technology can be used to choose wallpapers, curtains, makeup, and whatnot!

Some potential AR and VR technologies for eCommerce stores

1. Virtual Try-on of products - It allows the customer to try the product on themselves virtually through AR-based features. The eCommerce store or app can also save this data, collect it and analyze it to deliver other suggestions to their customers. Such recommendations not only improve their consumer satisfaction but also boosts their website's engagement.
2. Fashion and styling - eCommerce websites that sell fashion and beauty products can implement AR and VR technologies on their website to virtually allow customers to try the makeup on their faces. They can try different shades of lipstick, kajal, eyeliners, and more. This helps consumers visualise their faces with makeup and increases the chances of conversions drastically.
3. Consumers love to feel confident while choosing a product - Consumers love to feel satisfied while they shop for a product they want to buy. AR-based stores can provide loads of information to their customers about the product. It will smoothen the process of digital interaction between products and customers. Many eCommerce brands are also working towards the development of stores that provide personalization. 
4. The navigation system in a physical store - Brands are utilizing the power of AR and VR to deliver navigation services to their customers present in the retail store. A lot of times, you spend hours looking for the correct store department or clothing section. Such an app will help you navigate where they are and which way to go.
5. Providing product guides and tutorials - AR-based technology can simplify the process of reading a manual. You can use your phone's camera or screen to watch the tutorial. It will help the customers to save a lot of time. For example, some major motor companies provide an interactive AR-based tutorial of the car to their customers. Customers can scan a particular part of the car to know more about it.

In this ongoing pandemic, even though we all practice social distancing, we are nowhere far from the physical stores. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are two powerful technologies that are putting these physical stores in front of us on our smartphones.

Technological advancements and global adoption of these technologies will not only boost consumer engagement, but they'll convert engagement into high returns and revenue too. I highly recommend onboarding the AR VR to all budding entrepreneurs and retailers out there.