How Augmented Reality can increase eCommerce sales?

augmented-reality-in-ecommerce

Online customers want to see how a product looks on them. When a customer is buying any product online, they may have several questions, such as: How might this table look in my room? Does this foundation compliment my skin tone? Is this dress look good on me?

Customers have photos and descriptions of the products to help them find answers to these questions. This traditional method will not always help online customers. Augmented Reality (AR) is the hottest technology that enables customers to access a 3D rendering of a product. One of the Augmented reality benefits is that by using a phone’s camera, they can virtually place furniture in their living room, such as a lounge chair, sofa in the living room, try dresses, and rings, and use lipstick color

Implementing Augmented Reality in eCommerce allows customers to determine whether the size and style of the products are a good fit. This cutting-edge technology can be used for eCommerce stores looking to gain more customers. The last two years of the pandemic have changed how customers engage with online retail stores. Customers were encouraged to shop online. E-commerce sites have incorporated Augmented Reality technology to assist customers in making decisions and have gained more sales.

In this blog post, I will share how any brand can increase eCommerce sales using Augmented Reality. Continue reading if you want to discover more.

You can also read this article on the SCRIBD

https://www.scribd.com/document/766058166/Tmd-How-Augmented-Reality-Can-Increase-ECommerce-Sales

Tmd How Augmented Reality C… by jrahul25

What is Augmented Reality?

With real imagery, augmented reality can improve client experiences. AR apps could make this possible. Let’s look at how it works:

global augmented virtual reality-market size source statistics

Source: Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/591181/global-augmented-virtual-reality-market-size/)

  1. An AR-enabled camera-equipped device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or pair of smart glasses, is the foundation of augmented reality. The program uses computer vision technology to examine the video stream and identify objects when a user points the device at it and looks at it. Users can shoot a picture using an augmented reality app.
  1. The gadget then downloads data on the object from the cloud, just like a web browser would do when loading a page from a URL. A key distinction is that instead of being given as a 2-D page on a screen. The AR information is presented as a 3-D image superimposed on the item. So, the user sees it as a combination of the real and the digital.

In essence, augmented reality in eCommerce enables users to experience the real-world environment with a virtual augmentation overlay of photos, audio, or text, which furthers your perception of reality. It does not work as Virtual Reality (VR), where users wear a VR headset to experience Reality, for instance, underwater or space reality.

How Augmented Reality Helping E-commerce Businesses To Increase Their Sales?

Augmented Reality Bringing Revolution in Ecommerce Business

Augmented Reality has helped multiple brands to drive more sales during the pandemic. Several reasons why brands are successful in using AR apps are:-

Detailed Product Description

One of the most challenging components of eCommerce is describing a product’s purpose and appearance to customers. Some customers returned products and attributed the reason to not being as described items. AR capabilities help customers time to view the images and see how the product appears in their photos or houses. E-commerce apps can enhance customer engagement by providing more product details and possibly raising your customer lifetime value.

Increased engagement

Implementing Augmented Reality into apps helps companies to increase user engagement by 20%. Facebook partner, Vertebrae (an AR company), has launched a 3D modeling platform, which allows customers to see 3D images of products and create 2D models with their photos.

Improved conversion

E-commerce Augmented Reality websites can improve customer experiences and reduce visitor bounce rates. Customers who are visiting an app experience a better shopping experience. Also, vertebrae report a 90% boost in conversion rates for brands that integrated Augmented reality technology. Some brands, such as Shopify, have experienced up to a 250% increase in conversion.

Examples of Brands using Augmented Reality in E-commerce to Increase eCommerce sales

E-commerce Augmented reality is a critical tool for organizations looking to increase sales from traditional and digital storefronts. AR and VR are being used by major firms such as Toms Shoes to improve client experiences. We will, however, concentrate on using digital augmentation to increase eCommerce sales. Here are some instances of augmented reality eCommerce:

IKEA

IKEA is the first company to release an AR app that allows customers to buy furniture using AR technology. It enables customers to try and buy thousands of items in their homes. You can point the camera in any direction and see how a product appears. Any item from the IKEA catalog that the user selects will be displayed. The product can be adjusted and rotated to fit any space. Users can move around to see things from different perspectives.

This technology allows you to offer an option: Try Before You Buy. Customers can test the size, shape, appearance, and features of a new product without ever leaving their living room. Over 98% of people use AR technology to search and buy products for them.

Sephora

Sephora is one of the best-augmented reality eCommerce examples to understand how AR apps may help increase eCommerce sales. You can try on several cosmetic appearances, photograph clothing to match the hue, explore full-face looks, and learn how to apply makeup via virtual instructions. Sephora consumers have access to a plethora of augmented features.

Whether a newbie or an expert make-up artist, you can use augmented reality capabilities to test and purchase make-up products that best suit your style. People can enjoy their shopping experience while utilizing the Sephora AR app. Customers at Sephora are more confident in their purchases because they can try on a variety of cosmetics, which is likely to increase conversions while decreasing returns.

Gunner Kennels

This eCommerce store sells dog crates online that ease the traveling for pet owners. Gunner Kennels uses AR for customers to check the right size of crate for pets. By seeing how it looks in a room, make sure that the size they choose complements their space.

After Gunners integrated AR, the eCommerce store has seen a 40 % increase in conversion rate and a 5% reduction in return rate. Higher conversion rates show that Gunners’ sales have increased and returns reduced.

These are the best-augmented reality eCommerce examples for you to understand how the integration of AR is helping thousands of brands already.

How Do Mobile Devices Supporting Augmented Reality?

Mobile Devices Supporting Augmented Reality

Customers with iOS or Android devices can use AR apps[3]. If you have an android phone such as Vivo, oppo, or google pixel, you can use any web AR or application. You don’t need to install ARCore from Google Play services as it is the default. AR is supported by these android phones, LG, Lenovo, Motorola, One plus, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi, and other android brands.

IOS phones supported are versions of iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14. You can enable the AR feature from the settings on your IOS device. As both android and IOS support AR, it has increased the influences on eCommerce store sales in a variety of ways; let us take a look at some of the ways.

● Increase Conversion and Sales

Based on Shopify reports, Retail conversion rates were increased by almost 250% for brands employing Augmented Reality. Customers can pick up an item and move it around the house or try it on. Furthermore, clients who used AR-enabled mobile phones used the app over 2.7 times longer and made 11 times more purchases.

● Drive Sales of Certain Products

AR-enabled phones can boost sales for furniture eCommerce stores. AR-based apps allow consumers to check if a particular product [4] of the furniture fits into a room. This makes it easier for them to select a design, color, style, and size-based room and space decor.

● Attract New Customers

The Pandemic has changed the lifestyle of people, and a large percentage of the population chooses apps to buy products. AR-supported mobile phones attract new customers on e-commerce websites to shop online more.

● Buy Expensive Products

Customers are likely to be afraid to buy expensive products online. By using AR to explore new things, customers feel more at ease and calm. With this technology, they can look at expensive products in a real-time environment and increase their confidence regarding specialized or expensive products.

● Reduce Product Returns

Customers are more likely to be pleased with a product when they can visualize how it will appear in their homes or bodies before making a purchase. As a result, people are less likely to return the item once they receive it. Businesses can increase conversion rates and decrease product returns by 40% after implementing this try-before-you-buy method.

How to Implement AR in an eCommerce site

9 Steps to create  eCommerce Augmented Reality App

1. Understand your requirements: 

If you are a retail online store owner and planning to implement AR, it is important for you to first know your customer expectation and business requirements. Also, ask yourself the question that does it will optimize the performance of your eCommerce site and increase conversion sales. However, if you want to implement AR on your site, the physical products need the AR model.

2. Allocate budget: 

Easy to develop an AR app for your eCommerce website. But you still need to plan the budget. However, you can allocate the budget depending on the app’s functionality, its set features, and the designs. You should also determine the platform for the preferences of the target audience. 

There are many free and paid AR libraries available on the internet. You might hear Google AR, Ar.js, and ArKit these are some of the free augmented reality libraries and Vuforia Expert Capture, Vuforia Engine, and ZapWorks are paid. If you are starting with Augmented reality then you might be considered to work with free libraries.

These have all kinds of examples, documentation, a dedicated community to support each other, and intensive code written to get the most out of work that can be done easily. In the below video, Google’s representative speaks about their AR library.

3. Identify products: 

Find the products that you want to convert AR into visibility. Augmented Reality helps to create a product’s virtual visibility by highlighting its top features, usability, affordability, and market advantage. So, choose the products that improve customer experiences and the visibility of your brand identity.

4. Select Products: 

You can use an offline way to display products that are in 3D CAD files. You can use AR tools to create content and upload them to the eCommerce website: ARloopa studio to move 3D objects, ARize to upload the website, and other services and tools. You can create your tool to help you select products to upload on the AR website. 

5. Hosting the AR model: 

Host the best common 3D image model to the website using GLTF models. You can use the USDZ format to host 3D models to add content to the website. Other online platforms help create AR models and embed them on the eCommerce website.

6. Increase Product Interaction: 

Add a 3D AR model to the product page for improving customer interaction. Use a screen viewer to enable 3D and AR experiences from your website or Android app. It allows Android mobile device users to quickly preview, place, view, and interact with 3D models hosted on the web.

7. Add tags: 

Using AR analytic tags you can track unique users, call-to-action buttons, views, average time spent on the page, dwell time, and more. You can use analytical tools to track, analyze, and performance of the campaigns. 

8. Ask for feedback:

You can enquire about the specifics of your products and what your customers want to know more about. Product Reviews can inform you of how consumers view AR models when making purchases from eCommerce websites.

9. Track the sales: 

Use Web analytics for Augmented Reality Apps to track the performance of your website. You can run AR campaigns to understand users’ behavior and track the performance of the campaigns. 

How to Test Augmented Reality in Ecommerce

 6 Steps to Test Augmented Reality eCommerce App functionality

Augmented Reality has become popular because of its use of AR-capable smartphones for shopping online. An augmented reality shopping app allows customers to test products before finalizing their purchases quickly. What are the fundamental techniques for testing augmented reality? The most effective method is crowd-testing.

Crowd Testing: 

Because it enables you to enhance your application and reduce costs, it can successfully handle all the challenges in the quality assurance process. Learn what types of testing can crowd testing offer:

● Functional Testing: 

This type of crowd-testing is employed to ensure that every component of the AR application is implemented by its functional requirements.

● Internal Testing: 

This testing method is used on internal members of an organization that how they perceive AR models and what they expect from added augmented reality functionality. 

● Usability Testing:  

This testing method is used to double-check that products look perfect to the customers. It meets the expectations and demands of your customers.  

● Screen Orientation and Device Coverage: 

This testing allows you to determine whether or not AR apps function on different devices, not only smartphones. As a result, it provides responsive and dependable functionality with a variety of operating systems, screens, and technological specifications.

● Testing By Real People on their Devices:


E-commerce apps that support augmented reality are built on successful human-digital interaction. Therefore, crowd testing should not only be a way to test an AR in an eCommerce website. A human helps to assure the quality of the application on their device in the real environment. It will function properly and meet the expectations of the customers. A human tester is an effective way to test augmented reality. No computer or piece of technology can beat this testing type.

How to Monitor the Analytics of AR Websites?

Augmented Reality Analytics measures customer engagements and no. of sales on eCommerce websites. By using website analytics, it is possible to track new customers, call-to-action, time spent, and conversion into sales. Here are the metrics used for web AR analytics:

●     Engagement Rate

 How many consumers choose to use the AR experience? This is the first approach for calculating augmented reality engagement rates. You can determine the level of involvement by manually entering the experience URL into their mobile web browser or scanning the activation QR code. The overall number of encounters might help you understand client involvement. Another metric of involvement is the number of click-throughs. You can set the number of clicks to websites within the augmented reality experience.

● Dwell Time

How much time did people spend interacting with your AR experience? If a user spends more time on eCommerce time, it increases customer engagement, and they spend more money on buying products. Longer dwell times indicate more engaged customers.

The Final Thought!

Augmented Reality in eCommerce can create an unforgettable shopping experience for customers. It offers so many benefits that it is hard to neglect this technology. Increasing user engagement with this technology helps eCommerce businesses succeed financially.

Our company is the official partner of OpenCart. You can contact us for any ecommerce website development service. We created more than 300 modules and 30 themes for OpenCart. An OpenCart multi vendor extension is also created along with its addon to operate the multi-seller platform with ease. You can visit our TMD OpenCart Extension website.
Just create a support ticket, and our support team will get in touch with you as soon as official.  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.