The global AR and VR market in 2022 is expected to reach US$37.5 billion, but the upcoming years will accelerate the growth by multiple folds as companies are betting big on the next wave of technological revolution.
Augmented and virtual reality have been turning heads all over the globe since the beginning. These technological innovations not only captivated the hearts of people who use smartphones, but they also succeeded in grabbing the attention of both emerging and established companies, making marketers and entrepreneurs looking to invest in AR/VR to unlock the real potential of these technologies.
This was, however, only the beginning!
In the last few years, the advancement in technology has had transformational effects on the world of business. The technological advancements in AR/VR in the next decade will require each business owner to consult the experts and get into this field to take a larger share of the market forecasted to be hovering at USD $114.5 billion by the year 2027.
The experts believe that the global growth of AR and VR would be led by the strong demand for AR devices and applications in the healthcare segment. Companies are fast unlocking the true potential of AR devices and increasingly leveraging them for on-site advancements and digitization.
Governments in many developed and developing nations are aggressively adopting various automation & new technologies for the development of manufacturing plants. The plans can not be executed without AR devices and apps being at the core of their execution strategy. Hence, a great push from government agencies will also help the global AR market to clock 25.% CAGR between 2022 and 2027.
Augmented reality and Virtual reality have been there in the market for more than five years, but the impact of Covid-19 forced the world to look at these technologies from a different perspective. The need for remote working has changed the whole dynamics of universities, colleges, and corporates, which led to a boom in the AR and VR market due to unprecedented demand for virtual training, meetings, immersive shopping experience and supervision. When putting together AR and VR devices and applications are capable of creating a real-life virtual experience eliminating the need of being present physically.
Asia-Pacific will drive the global AR VR Market 2022 – 2027
While North America accounted for the largest share of the global augmented reality and virtual reality market in 2021, the Asia-Pacific region will play a vital role in the growth during the forecasted period. China, Japan and South Korea have started focusing on training, medical assistance and e-learning for customers with the use of virtual reality technology.
The scenario in India – all eyes are set on the country amid the fear of global recession – is slightly different. The demand for VR headsets and technology is yet to translate into a considerable revenue figure, as the country is on the verge of embarrassing these technologies. On the brighter side, it also depicts that it will record a faster growth rate in the upcoming years given the size of the country’s IT sector which has emerged as the world’s largest supplier of technologies.
Retail & eCommerce sectors: Drivers of the growth
The pandemic has totally redefined the shopping habits and styles of people across the countries. The booming e-commerce and retail sectors are witnessing the major impact of the changing shopping culture. Companies are discouraging returning habits of consumers and no more offering return policies in a bid to acquire customers. Instead, companies are investing in virtual fitting rooms, and virtual experience zones to let customers identify if the products really suit them before placing the offer.Â
Augmented reality facilitates customer satisfaction, ease of shopping and buying satisfaction, hence leading to increased demand in the sector. This, in turn, created a huge demand for augmented reality technologies.
The flip side
AR and VR technologies, undoubtedly, offer multiple inevitable advantages. But on the flip side, it comes very many concerning factors that have a direct impact on the well-being of humans.
Gamers are reporting various health issues that are caused due to AR-related gaming devices and technologies. The immersive experience offered by these AR games keeps the users glued to the system for much longer than usual time, causing issues such as anxiety, eye strain, obesity, stress and lack of concentration after wearing the AR or VR headset. But that’s not all.
AR devices are also responsible for extremely harmful electromagnetic frequency radiation, that could cause illness. These are worrisome tested findings of researchers from none other than the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an inter-agency program under the National Heath Institution (US).
There are few reports that paint an even more promising picture of the AR and VR market. According to Valuates Report, the global Ar and VR market will touch $455 billion by 2030, cloning over 40% CAGR between 2022 and 2030.
The forecasted numbers from different research agencies could differ, but all of it points to a big window for opportunity for companies and startups operating in the space of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
