COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation in all industries. Be it in industry or in companies – with a view to home office and virtual collaboration – or in retail. One technology in particular is increasingly used in retail: Augmented Reality.
Shopping in the so-called “New Normal” is no longer the same as it was last year. With masks, distance regulations and hygiene rules, people want to spend as little time as possible on shopping. The ideal moment for an experience medium like Augmented Reality.
Augmented Reality awakens the creativity of retailers
Retailers all over the world became creative and looked for alternatives for the partially closed or restricted stores. AR-Tools was a particularly popular solution. For example, cosmetics retailers developed augmented reality applications that allowed users to test current cosmetic products despite the restrictions in the stores.
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Dior AR Makeup Holiday Look 2020 – Peter Philips x Inès Alpha (Source: Dior Makeup)
Augmented Reality is better accepted by customers than many other technologies. Be it via their own smartphone or terminals installed in stores – consumers are grateful that they are shown possibilities in the current situation. According to the Harvard Business Review, eCommerce company Shopify discovered that interactions with products containing AR have a 94% higher conversion rate than products without augmented reality.
Augmented Reality will bring a special highlight to retailers’ shop windows this year, especially at Christmas. They are using the technology to make the store front even more interactive and individual and to bring a new experience component to the winter decoration.
Smart Mirrors for more hygiene in retail
With hygiene in a stronger focus than ever before, there are also increasing approaches to the use of smart mirrors at the point of sale. These smart mirrors enable consumers to try on clothing virtually without having to put on any clothes they may already have worn.
REVEALING SMART MIRRORS Show What You Would Look Like Wearing (Source: Lastest News)
The virtual fitting solutions are probably the most common application scenarios for Augmented Reality, but they fit perfectly into a world changed by Corona. These are just a few examples of how the future of retail will change and how digital and stationary retail will grow closer together.
Which other Augmented Reality applications in retail do you know? Please feel free to leave the use cases in the comments.
Post picture: Skywell Software
