WebAR is becoming an increasingly popular tool in everyday life that engages retail consumers in ways they have never experienced before. Traditionally, brands and advertisers faced a barrier to entry with this technology as consumers increasingly resisted downloading a native application to run an experience. However, webAR has overcome this challenge by allowing full AR experiences powered by the web, with no need to download an application. In this post, we will discuss how WebAR has become a strong presence in retail.
With WebAR in retail, shopping goes from a passive experience to an interactive journey. Augmented reality is steadily making its way into online shopping. Think about if you have ever ‘tried on’ a pair of sunglasses or ‘placed’ a couch in your room before purchasing: this is AR in online shopping. Augmented reality can save a customer time and money by giving them an opportunity to see an almost real-life experience of wearing or having a product. Did you know that a customer is 11 times more likely to purchase a product if they have the opportunity to use AR to test the product out prior to purchase? This means that AR technology is accurate enough to persuade a customer into buying. Many retailers are beginning to incorporate AR technology into their purchasing platforms in hopes that they will see an increase in online sales.
Companies Using AR in Retail
A few examples of companies that have incorporated AR into their websites are the outdoor brand YETI, Purina, and Miller Light. YETI is a technology leader in augmented reality solutions for shoppers on their online store. Customers who visit the site are now able to place over 50 virtual products in their own living spaces to get a full view and a sense of the size of what they’re purchasing. Users are also able to see a closeup of the durability and organizational features of the product. YETI’s technology is cool because it does not require users to download an app. The AR technology can be used directly from the website. Pet food company, Purina, incorporated WebAR into their advertisement display for their “28 Day Challenge” campaign. In the experience, users are able to choose their pet from the home screen and see it come alive in their room. When the pet starts to jump around and have fun, users are able to learn about many signs of healthy pets across the 28 day cycle of using the Purina food. During St. Patrick’s Day, Miller Lite had a special page on their website where users could scan the Miller Light logo on the can of beer they were drinking. After scanning, an AR leprechaun jumps out of the can in their current environment. The leprechaun entertains the users with several funny tricks, like pulling the user’s beer can away.
Like the companies mentioned above, MVP Interactive offers its very own ARetailTM technology to other businesses hoping to engage consumers in augmented reality with a QR code that doesn’t require a mobile app. ARetail™ is MVP’s end-to-end retail solution that allows shoppers to uniquely engage with a company’s product. Using WebAR, ARetail™ bridges the gap between the online and brick & mortar shopping experience by providing spatial scale to products in a real world environment to give greater confidence in purchases. As Shopify said, “Interactions with products having AR content showed a 94% higher conversion rate than products without AR.”
MVP Interactive’s ARetail™ helps clients better understand the buyer journey by tying the experience into an analytics campaign via our QR code technology. We make your ARetail™ ideas come to life! For example, we can create a QR code that allows your consumers to try on shoes from home. We can also create QR codes that allow your consumers to see a 3-D visual of your product to learn about the cool features. Our QR codes capture total app usage and conversion ratios of product sales, retargeted ads on user devices, and track impression rates from social media. Along with tracking each touch point of the experience, brands we work with will have a clear picture of what consumers are most engaged with and ultimately what drove them to a purchase.
Interested in getting a consumer ARetail™ or other WebAR project started with MVP-Interactive? Contact us today!
