Retailers like Walmart have begun to invest in online changing rooms. Walmart recently acquired a virtual dressing room startup that enables customers to check how clothes fit on bodies that are similar to their own. Do you want to create your online changing room? This essay will explain the principles behind virtual changing rooms and highlight the advantages they provide to retailers.
What Is Augmented Reality?
In retail, AR has a lot of potential, particularly in the eCommerce business. Even though e-commerce is expanding in popularity, some purchases still require more background knowledge. Because of this, it could be challenging to sell some product categories online. A DTC furniture retailer, Burrow, developed an augmented reality software that lets customers put Burrow sofas in their living spaces.
What Are Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality?
Despite the frequent use of the terms "augmented reality," "virtual reality," and "augmented reality," they are extremely distinct from one another.
VR Is Immersive, And AR Augments The Real World
Augmented reality is simply an enhancement of a world you already perceive. Virtual reality, on the other hand, immerses you in a world entirely made up of inventions. Virtual reality is something you cannot usually see or experience. One of the most well-known augmented reality applications that comes to mind is Pokemon Go. Users of the game could play it while strolling down the street. Additionally, they could see the actual environment through their phones while digital characters were superimposed in particular areas.
Augmented Reality Is Portable While Virtual Reality Requires Equipment
It would be best to put on headgear and, maybe, hold controllers while using virtual reality. Additionally, your immediate surroundings must be secure from you. When boxing in virtual reality, avoid punching your TV! AR requires a smartphone or, in certain cases, AR glasses. Because you will be completely aware of the surroundings, you won't need to tidy the area.
AR Is More Accessible To People Than VR
Because it requires less equipment and has fewer safety considerations, AR is also simpler to operate. Compared to the 3 billion smartphone users in the world today, much fewer individuals have the necessary equipment to experience virtual reality (VR).
Types Of AR Applications
AR technology is available in many different formats. Each class has a few little differences in capability. Here is a list of popular augmented reality uses you should consider.
Marker-Based AR
Marker-based AR, also known as Image Recognition or Recognition-based AR, detects items (the "marker") in front of the camera and shows details about them on the screen. When the AR software notices it, it replaces the marker on the screen. This enables the user to see the object more closely and from various angles.
Markerless AR
There is no need for a real-world object to trigger a markerless AR. Instead, users can place virtual objects wherever they like. The object can be rotated and moved.
Location-Based AR
Location-based AR, which does not need markers, leverages geographic data to display digital material at specified locations. One instance of a location-based AR is Pokemon Go.
Projection-Based AR
The projection of artificial light onto real-world surfaces is known as projection-based augmented reality, and users can occasionally interact with it. Holograms from Star Wars and other sci-fi movies are a few examples.
Augmented Reality In Ecommerce Statistics
Retailers, whether in retail or elsewhere, are starting to take notice of how rapidly augmented reality technology has developed. Let's look at some statistics to illustrate this.
- From around $500,000 in 2019, the global AR advertising revenue increased to $1.41 trillion in 2020-2022.
- By 2024, advertising income might total $8 billion, claims one AR research firm.
- According to a survey, more than 43 million Americans are expected to use social network AR at least once monthly. This is nearly 21% of all users on social networks.
- More than 83 million Americans will use augmented reality on at least one occasion each month. According to a study, this number will reach 95.1 million approx.
- 35% of respondents in the United States said that they used AR to visualize vehicle customizations or furniture.
- According to a June 2020 American Retailer Survey, 20% of respondents planned to invest in AR or VR for their online store. This is an increase from 8% six months prior.
The 5G connectivity is anticipated to increase store interest in AR/VR testing.
Augmented Reality: How Ecommerce Businesses Use It
Before making a purchase, augmented reality enables customers to test goods and services in their environments. AR allows customers to preview products in their environment and make better purchasing decisions.
Virtual Solutions For Try-On
"On a mannequin, it looked fantastic." - Everyone has experienced the disappointment of trying on a new item of clothes for the first time only to discover that it does not fit. Conversion rates may decline due to fear of this result. Customers want to be very sure of what they are purchasing and take all reasonable steps to ensure it is what they anticipated. Their return rates will rise if they choose to buy and the transaction is unsuccessful. AR allows online shoppers to understand the product and its potential benefits. This is feasible for clothing, accessories, makeup, and even eyewear.
Preview Placement
What size would the couch appear to be in your living room? What size television will be mounted on your wall? It can be challenging to determine even when you are directly inspecting the product in the store. By putting a product in preview placement, customers can get a sneak peek of how it will appear in their surroundings. A DTC furniture company, Burrow, employs top augmented reality company to let clients see how their couches would look in their home spaces. Using images from customers' iPads or iPhones, the Burrow at Home app uses ARKit to produce 3D models of Burrow couches.
Interactive User Manuals
Suppose you are offering a product with a challenging learning curve. An interactive user handbook is a fantastic augmented reality app to help clients better comprehend your product. Interactive user guides react to user input and offer situational guidance for using programs, ecommerce websites, or applications. Shopping Apps for augmented reality user manuals scan objects and display buttons in actual environments using animated arrows and text.
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Social Media Filters
An AR filter might have been applied if you recently used Snapchat Stories or Instagram Stories. Initially used for amusement, these filters are now used in a wide variety as marketers construct AR filters using social media filters. These are just a few of the many benefits.
- This is a great way for people to try out a product and show off the new product.
- The novelty of AR filters can boost viewer attention and motivate others to tag you in their 3D content if they have comparable interests to you.
- Social channels can make you stand out and show your uniqueness.
Virtual fitting rooms are a recent discovery. Let us know your thoughts.
What Is A Virtual Fitting Area?
Customers can try on items virtually in a fitting room without touching them. The method overlaps the item on a customer's live smartphone or mirror stream. The customer can check an item's size, style, or fit before buying it.
How Virtual Fitting Rooms Technology Works
Augmented reality is the most common way to create virtual fitting rooms. A webcam scans the body to produce a 360-degree 3D model of a person. Other virtual changing rooms are also powered by artificial intelligence. Similar to augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI) employs machine learning and algorithms to produce 3D representations of customers in front of cameras.
The 3D model created by AI or AR is combined using radio frequency identification (RFID). Radiofrequency identification is yet another tool used to scan a consumer's goods to the virtual fitting area.
Virtual reality technology overlays the scanned items on the 3D model. Then, without trying it on, they can see how they would look wearing the item. This is an excellent development method for virtual "try before you purchase" software. This software is being developed by a variety of retailers. Virtual changing rooms can be made using iOS apps, and Apple's AR Kit augmented reality framework. The "blended reality" mirror Amazon claims to have created uses augmented reality.
Virtual Fitting Rooms Offer Many Benefits
A virtual fitting room can offer retailers many benefits.
Support Online Sales
A fashion company found that 65% of AR users are more inclined to make purchase decisions after viewing a product in AR than other users. This enables retailers to set up digital mirrors in physical stores. Giving changing spaces important retail space doesn't make sense. Instead, stock displays and visual merchandising displays can be placed here.
Convenience
Did you know that 97% of consumers give up shopping because it isn't convenient? Choosing the correct size of clothing off the hanger is challenging. All of this is eliminated by virtual fitting rooms. The virtual mirror allows shoppers to quickly view the garments on their bodies.
Establish Relationships With Your Customers
Retailers aim to build customer loyalty over time. You must first build a relationship with your clients through numerous purchasing occasions. Here is where virtual changing rooms can be useful. You're resolving a significant issue by allowing customers to try products online in their homes or at a store. Online shopping is more fun when virtual changing rooms are available. This is a fantastic strategy for retaining clients.
Lower Return Rates
High return rates are a problem for fashion manufacturers. Fashion brands find this annoying, which may even hurt their bottom line if you provide free returns. An estimated 30% of returns from online retailers are due to items being too small when the consumer orders the item in a larger size, an additional 22% takes place. This issue is resolved with an online changing room. Customers can view the item on their bodies in online fitting rooms whether they are trying it in-store or online.
Virtual Fitting Rooms Have Their Limitations
Customers Can Still Not Touch The Items
If you employ a virtual fitting system for your online store, there's still a chance that customers won't buy anything. Before making an online purchase, 57% of respondents indicated they prefer to touch and view things in person. Customers cannot touch the fabric in virtual fitting rooms, despite being able to see how the products will look on their bodies.
Virtual Items That Look The Same As Real Ones Are A Source Of Suspicion
Have you ever purchased something online to receive it in the mail with a completely different appearance? Although virtual fitting room technology has advanced, many shoppers are still unsure if it can accurately portray the items as they would look in person. Some customers worry that if they set an item on top of a human body, the item may have been altered and won't look as attractive the next time they wear it.
Read More: Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality in 2023
Technology Can Be Confusing
Virtual reality technology has been applied to the retail sector for ten years. Retailers like Adidas are using virtual changing rooms.
For small enterprises, virtual changing rooms are an appealing investment alternative. "I didn't contemplate a virtual fit room because I believed it was something major brands-not little businesses-did," the creator of The Tur-Shirt Company explains. I thought AR technology was too complex for a tiny business with a tight marketing budget.
"we soon concluded that we ought to have a virtual fitting room as a forward-thinking small business. My brand may access it as well." person says that just because major brands do something doesn't mean it's difficult to accomplish. The best approach to start in augmented reality retail is with premade applications.
Virtual Fitting Room Examples
Warby Parker
DTC shop that solely offers eyeglasses for sale online. It launched an iOS app that allows customers to try on glasses online. This was to increase confidence. With the use of Apple's TrueDepth and ARKit technologies, this function displays spectacles on customers' faces. Before they commit to buying the product, they are shown a 3D model.
Knix
Before the epidemic, Knix was primarily a business that ran out of two showrooms. Customers could find the perfect fit through the retailer's exceptional customer service. It was forced to go online due to lockdowns. Customers can order the same services as those who visit Knix's actual locations thanks to the company's establishment of a virtual fitting room. On its website, Knix currently offers hundreds of virtual fits each month. The vast majority of time slots have already been reserved as of this writing.
Gucci
Gucci, a high-end store, worked with Snapchat to develop its first pair of augmented-reality shoes. It developed a virtual lens that projected a customer's foot with a digital representation of the shoe. Gucci connected the ad with a "Shop Now" button that led users to its website. It connected with 18.9 million Snapchat users and declared profitable advertising investments (ROAS).
Charlotte Tilbury
Virtual fitting rooms are not only for fashion retailers. They can also be used to engage shoppers in-store. A virtual mirror was erected by the beauty companies in augmented reality Charlotte Tilbury in its flagship London location. Potential customers could view a variety of well-known cosmetics looks in the mirror in real-time. A photograph of the customer's preferred cosmetic look and a list of the materials used might be sent to them. Charlotte Tilbury discovered that shoppers are more likely to buy cosmetics in-store after using virtual mirrors.
Augmented Reality Can Help You Grow Your Store
E-commerce has a lot of restrictions. Three-dimensional actual products are challenging to depict in a virtual setting. Augmented reality (AR) can close the gap between in-store and online buying by simplifying the representation of goods and improving consumer knowledge of the products. These are just a few of the many things AR can do for you:
Customer Engagement Can Be Increased
Because AR is interactive, keeping visitors on your website is simple. The longer people stay on your e-commerce site, the more likely they will buy something. Even if they don't purchase while on your website, they have built a connection with you and your brand and most likely left an impression that will remain. They are more likely to remember you in the future if they do this.
Reach New Customers
In a world that is becoming noisier, you need to generate buzz in order to get people's attention. An interesting augmented reality campaign is one method to accomplish this.
Reduce Returns
A static image or video can't provide clients with all the information they want. But AR can. You can also depict how a product might appear in a client's home. This reduces the possibility that the consumer would be dissatisfied after receiving the merchandise.
Augmented Reality For Your Ecommerce Store
Here are some steps to follow if you have decided to use AR in your business.
Clarify Your Business Goals
What are you trying to accomplish? What does it have to offer your clients? You are not required to respond to the opening query. Your AR application might excel if you answer the second question. Knowing exactly how you want your ecommerce customers to feel is crucial.
Define your vision and objectives before you begin working on the technical components of AR apps. Once you have a clear vision, choosing the technologies and methods you need to get there will be simpler.
Find Augmented Reality Tools That You Are Interested In Using
You may start identifying the tools you'll need once you know exactly what you want. These are the things you should be thinking about:
- License Type: An AR platform with a free license can be a suitable choice if you have a limited budget. Many AR systems provide both paid and unpaid licenses. Free software is not as feature-rich as paid software.
- Compatible Devices: Make sure the device you select supports the hardware needed for your app, whether your AR software runs on smartphones, computers, or AR glasses.
- Supported Operating Systems: Make sure the ecommerce experience platform you select is compatible with each operating system if you plan to create apps for different ones.
- Capabilities: Make sure each platform has the functionality you need by carefully evaluating it. Suppose you want to build an AR app that employs location-based augmented reality. In that case, these platforms won't be able to help because not all of them enable geolocation.
Promote Your New Tool
It's time to share your tool with the world after putting so much work into it. Here are some strategies for spreading the word.
- Create A Demonstration Video: Create instructional and promotional videos that show how your app works.
- In-App Instructions: Provide clear instructions, so users know what to do to get the most out of your software.
- Share Your Content With Others: Let users tell friends and other social media connections about their augmented reality (AR) shopping experiences.
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Wrapping up
On e-commerce websites, some physical product categories can be challenging to sell. This is due to the difficulty in comparing how the products appear in person to how they would appear on a computer or mobile device. Apps that use augmented reality development are becoming more and more common, especially since the rise of social distance.
Your knowledge of the many kinds of augmented reality, their applications, and their advantages has improved. This will enable you to assess whether it is your best choice. To make your AR application come to life, follow the above mentioned steps.
