Augmented Reality’s impact on the Retail Sector

The technology known as augmented reality (AR) makes it possible to superimpose digital content, such as pictures, movies, and three-dimensional objects, on the actual world to create the impression that you are a part of it. Pokémon Go, a 3D cartoon character that superimposes a virtual Pokémon over the actual world, is among the most well-known instances of augmented reality. Beyond the gaming industry, augmented reality presents a wealth of opportunities, particularly in retail.

The proverb “Customer Is God” is a wise maxim. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that any company that successfully resolves the issues of its clients receives the patrons’ trust, money, and loyalty. AR is quickly turning into a crucial tool for retailers looking to stay ahead of the curve and consistently amaze their clientele.

Let’s examine a few of the challenges that this industry’s clients are worried about.

Issues with Customers

Regarding Internet-Based Retail: High Time Consumption: Suppose you place an online order for clothing. The merchandise will usually take a few days to arrive. Next, you evaluate it based on all relevant factors, such as size, colour, texture, etc. Should the product fall short of your expectations, you’ll probably exchange it, which will restart the cycle.

Return Costs: Customers are likely to pay for returns if the company does not cover the shipping expenses.

Issues with large items: Trying to visualise how a new couch would look in a room takes a very creative mind. Will it complement the other pieces of furniture well? Or will it even fit in the first place?

Regarding Offline Retail: Overwhelming workload Going through dozens of stores in search of the perfect products, then experimenting with different permutations and combinations to see if they work well together, is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

Regarding Retail, Both Online and Offline: Untry-able Items: It’s not possible to try on some things. It’s difficult to picture certain hair colours on you, for instance, or to determine whether a dragon tattoo would be too much for you to wear.

Let’s examine a few of the challenges that concern the businesses of this industry.

Business Problems

Regarding Internet-Based Retail: Shipment Costs: Any firm must weigh the pros and cons of covering the shipping expenses of returned goods against charging customers for them.

Managing Retail Offline: Pay for salespeople: Due to the high degree of manual labour involved in the process, salespeople must be involved at all times, from showing customers the merchandise to closing the deal.

Issues that both offline and online retailers face

Conversion Rates: Businesses’ conversion rates are not as high as they may be because of a lack of tailored recommendations and advertisements, as well as a taxing purchasing experience.

Brand Awareness: Businesses must engage in extensive, usually highly expensive, marketing to raise consumer awareness of their brands.

Customer Acquisition: A significant amount of a company’s profits is consumed by its customer acquisition expenses. The majority of these ads are not targeted and have low conversion rates.

How AR addresses these issues Try and Purchase Functionality:

AR allows you to place any object on top of the real environment and have it appear to be a part of it. Robust Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are capable of real-time or image-based face and body recognition. Users of an app that combines ML and AR technology may virtually try on any product they want to purchase from the comfort of their homes. The ability to place virtual 3D replicas of furniture throughout a user’s home is another potential function. These features will cut down on the amount of returns the customer makes, saving them time and money.

Saves Users’ Time and Energy: Instead of having to laboriously try on every item, users can now access the whole product catalogue and try anything on with a single click.

Eliminate Hygiene-Related Issues: Using products in this new manner is far more efficient and allows for customisation to meet aesthetic needs, making the user’s experience enjoyable throughout.

Automated Processes: For offline retail, the need for a salesperson is heavily reduced. A user will enter a fitting room with a screen instead of a mirror and a camera attached to the screen. Users can touch and select their choice of clothing from the screen and can try a virtual version of it instantly. If they like the item they can ask to try the real item on. Hence the need for a salesperson is reduced considerably.

A screen mounted with a camera-enabled with AR ca n show how someone standing in front of the mirror would look like wearing a certain item. Such a setup outside a retail store will attract flocks of customers who after seeing them trying on a virtual item would want to buy it if it looked good.

Final thoughts

Like other companies, Sapizon Technologies can be your go-to partner if you’re seeking for custom augmented reality development services. Over the years, our team of highly qualified and licenced software specialists has created numerous custom solutions for our clients all over the world.

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