Many traders are fighting for their business and online trading seems to be growing unstoppably. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get visitors into the store. But due to cost structures, jobs and the like, the retail trade must not die! Augmented reality in stores is a way to make a store visitor more attractive.
What are the options?
Augmented Reality is already widespread in e-commerce, but AR is rarely thought of in stores. In-store experiences, from AR games to virtual fittings, can be a magnet for visitors. Here is an overview of AR projects in retail:
1. Gamification
If you have a physical store, an AR game is a great incentive to visit a store and see what you sell.
To play, we recommend a web solution. This means that only a QR code has to be scanned and the experience is started on the smartphone.
AR images then appear on the phone screen, overlaid on the real image of your store. If you've ever played Pokemon Go, you know what we're talking about.
This option works well, especially when the target audience is children.
2. Big Screen
Similar to gamification, big screens are another way to attract more customers to the store. For big screens, however, a larger free area is required.
A camera and canvas or screen are installed in which shop visitors see themselves as if in a mirror. Meanwhile, you can interact with virtual objects. The meaningfulness or the storytelling behind it, which must fit your industry, is always important.
In order to encourage customers to take part, sweepstakes or competitions are always very well received.
3. Virtual Try On
A perfect way to increase in-store engagement is Virtual Try On. A large number of shoes, for example, can be tried on within minutes without having to laboriously put on and take off different models. Of course, the favorites can still be tried on physically to briefly test the fit. Aside from shoes, many companies in the beauty industry use this solution for makeup.
However, AR Virtual Try On in shops is ideal for bridging the waiting time for a personal consultation.
Zara even went a step further. With the help of innovative AR technology, you can even experience entire outfits virtually:
4. In-Store Navigation
By integrating in-store navigation into the shopping experience, customers can find what they are looking for without wasting time.
Multiple technology platforms are available to retailers to implement navigation in malls and physical stores. The Mall of America, Harrod's and Target have used beacon technology for indoor navigation and proximity marketing.
For example, one solution is to use in-store Wi-Fi access points to triangulate a shopper's location. This method is convenient because stores usually have Wi-Fi networks installed for employees and customers to access the Internet.
Apple developed a Wi-Fi-based mapping program in 2014 that is offered in malls and retail stores in many countries. Because the locations of deals and product displays were uploaded to servers, customers could find their own location and navigate to the products they wanted. While multi-story buildings made the process more complicated, it still worked. Google launched its own service, mapping the locations of IKEA, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and other major retailers.
Costs and Benefits?
Of course, the question always arises, how much does it cost and what does it bring. The most important thing for AR in retail is to consider which target group you want to address.
Experience has shown that AR is particularly popular with younger audiences. Properly advertised, more shop visitors are almost guaranteed. An effective concept for this is "user-generated content".
Of course, it is difficult to make a general statement about the costs given the multitude of options. A big screen experience with 3D models, interaction and co. could be realized with Mazing from €3000,00, for example.
Virtual fittings are usually charged based on monthly usage. With us you can do this from as little as €19,00 per month.
