Desperate times call for desperate measures. The global retail industry went for a complete toss as soon as the pandemic hit and, in turn, called for brands to look for alternative solutions to deliver safe and secured shopping experiences.
This situation led to the growth in the usage of immersive technology which not only transformed the entire shopping experience for consumers but also led to the creation of a whole new dimension of delivering customer delight altogether.
Major retail brands such as IKEA, Home Depot, Kendra’s Scott’s jewellery outlets were observed to be making use of Augmented Reality aka A.R. to amplify and transcend the entire ‘try before you buy’ experience onto the digital medium.
Using A.R., consumers can view products in a 3D environment within their smartphone. Thus it closely mimics the equivalent experience of an individual walking into a store to take a closer look at the items they wish to purchase.
Analyst firm Reporter Linker in their recent publication about the Global Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) Industry pointed out that the market space of mobile augmented reality is currently valued at $10.7 billion. The report also highlights that the AR market will quickly skyrocket to $230 billion by the year 2027, growing at a CAGR of 55% over the analysis period 2020-2027. All thanks to COVID-19 for accelerating the adoption of this immersive technology.
Now, besides being what can only be called as a need of the hour, one of the primary reasons why the usage of immersive technology has increased is because there’s no requirement of any hardware. This led to retail brands being enabled to implement it with ease and start driving conversions as quickly as possible.
Currently, the leading market where this technology is shaping up is China, followed by the United States, Japan and Germany.
The widespread pandemic observed companies such as CamOnApp which is a startup part of the venture capital of Telefónica Movistar rising to the occasion and providing solutions to global retail brands in the areas of enhanced advertising campaigns and better shopping experiences.
Immersive technology has been able to awaken the interest of several giants in the e-commerce, automotive, beauty, heavy machinery and interior decoration space. As of now, many brands are using this technology to create solutions such as ‘virtual fitting rooms’ wherein a consumer will be able to sample a real product in a practical way sitting at their couch!
Lastly, with the arrival of 5G, it is currently being expected that the adoption of immersive technologies will further expedite as it relies quite heavily on superior connectivity and factors such as low latency in data transmission.
All in all, one can expect to see a lot more of augmented reality and virtual reality being used to enhance the overall user experience a consumer through channels such as digital advertising and e-commerce apps. There’s no doubt that browsing content which relies on these technologies will indeed become more satisfactory in the near future and contribute to the next big leap in CX aka consumer experience.
Let us know in the comments if you have interacted with this technology via any particular product or service, and if it delivered on the rave-worthy delight, it promises. We will keep you updated on future developments. Until then, stay tuned.
