Introduction to Augmented Reality
For all its ease and convenience, online shopping can’t fully recreate the in-person shopping experience. While browsing an internet store, a customer can’t hold or try on a product to come to a decision whether or not they wish to purchase it. Luckily, augmented reality (AR) helps bridge this gap. Augmented reality layers virtual information right into a customer’s real environment, giving them a option to interact with a product or brand.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality is a technology that blends the digital and physical worlds by layering virtual objects on top of your real-world environment. For example, an internet makeup brand lets users virtually try on blush to find out which shade works best with their complexion. This technology is accessible through AR-enabled mobile devices, tablets, or specialty headsets like XReal Air or the discontinued Google Glass.
Creating Immersive Shopping Experiences
Give shoppers a brand new option to experience your products while you add augmented reality (AR) to your online store. With AR, customers can interact with products in a more engaging and immersive way, helping to extend sales and customer satisfaction.
Augmented Reality Examples
There are many desirable augmented reality applications, from education to marketing. Here are 11 augmented reality examples to take inspiration from:
- HORNE’s AR-rendered products
- Amorepacific’s AR mirror
- Rebecca Minkoff’s AR-rendered products
- Gucci’s Virtual 25 shoes
- Nomatic’s 3D models
- Glenlivet’s interactive game
- The Smithsonian’s AR dinosaurs
- QuiverVision’s AR books
- Ikea Place
- Pokémon Go
- 19 Crimes’ AR wine labels
1. HORNE’s AR-Rendered Products
The high-end home décor company HORNE wants customers to make use of its products for years to return. However, an internet shopper may need trouble making a long-term commitment to a product that isn’t physically before them. To help customers visualize the products of their space, HORNE’s AR tech lets mobile visitors place a lamp or a chunk of furniture of their homes with their smartphones to get a greater sense of how it can work for them.
2. Amorepacific’s AR Mirror
One of augmented reality’s strengths is its ability to work in real time. In Amorepacific’s flagship store in Seoul, the sweetness brand installed an AR mirror that lets customers try on makeup with no need to make use of tester products.
3. Rebecca Minkoff’s AR-Rendered Products
The fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff was an early adopter of augmented reality. The company incorporated 3D modeling and AR technology into its website. A client could use their smartphone to interact with 3D- and AR-rendered products before buying them, helping to visualise these objects of their on a regular basis life.
4. Gucci’s Virtual 25 Shoes
Gucci innovatively blurred the road between the human body and its digital representation with Gucci Virtual 25—a pair of digital shoes former creative director Alessandro Michele designed so users could “wear” them online.
5. Nomatic’s 3D Models
The travel gear company Nomatic prides itself on making durable and functional products. Through AR, customers can interact with its backpacks and other gear by moving 3D models, inspecting the stitching and hardware up close, or virtually placing them side by side with real-world bags to check the sizes and styles.
6. Glenlivet’s Interactive Game
A 200-year-old Scotch whisky company won’t be what you associate with cutting-edge digital technology, but Glenlivet used AR to supply its customers a novel experience. Users could hold their smartphones as much as the whisky packaging to see a presentation from its master distiller, then engage in an augmented reality game that tested the shopper’s taste buds.
7. The Smithsonian’s AR Dinosaurs
The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum, education, and research institution. In a large-scale application of augmented reality, the National Museum of Natural History displayed dinosaurs of several sizes, letting visitors see a large digital T. rex come to life and roam the constructing.
8. QuiverVision’s AR Books
The AR company QuiverVision has built applications that may turn a child’s coloring book drawings into three-dimensional, moving animations. AR experiences like this may also help kids engage with topics and academic material in a way that jumps off the page.
9. Ikea Place
With Ikea’s augmented reality app, Ikea Place, you possibly can place anything from recent computer desks to couches and dressers in your room, then use your cell phone screen to maneuver around and get a feel for the way it could fit. The AR app uses digital information in your smartphone to robotically scale furniture and place it in your private home.
10. Pokémon Go
Through Pokémon Go, players can live out their Ash Ketchum dreams and catch Pokémon in the true world. This mobile game arrived just as AR apps were becoming accessible with smartphones, making it a pop-culture phenomenon.
11. 19 Crimes’ AR Wine Labels
The California wine brand 19 Crimes deployed augmented reality to construct storytelling into its packaging. A customer could point their smartphone at a 19 Crimes label and the brand’s AR app used object detection to sense which bottle it was (no QR code obligatory).
Augmented Reality FAQ
What is the Difference Between VR and AR?
Virtual reality uses goggles to dam out a user’s environment and create a completely immersive experience. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality blends digital and real life.
Where is Augmented Reality Being Used?
Many industries use augmented reality technology. For example, the Smithsonian uses AR to construct interactive, educational museum exhibits, and the style brand Rebecca Minkoff lets consumers digitally interact with its products.
What are the Benefits of Using Augmented Reality in Marketing?
Perhaps the largest advantage of using augmented reality in marketing is interactivity. AR allows potential customers to interact together with your products or brand without having to buy in-store. From the comfort of their homes, they will get a feel for the way your products fit into their on a regular basis lives.
Conclusion
Augmented reality is revolutionizing the way in which we shop, learn, and interact with the world around us. With its ability to mix digital and real-life environments, AR is providing recent and modern ways for brands to attach with their customers. As the technology continues to evolve, we will expect to see much more exciting applications of AR in the long run. Whether you’re a marketer, educator, or just a curious consumer, augmented reality is certainly value exploring.
