AR & VR come to retail stores all over the globe: top 5 big brands’ cases

The global expansion of AR & VR

AR & VR have been around for decades but the two technologies have been gaining significant traction in recent years. 

But before we move on to the details, here’s a quick reminder about what AR and VR stand for. 

AR enhances the real-world environment by adding digital content to it such as visual elements, sounds, and other sensory stimuli. Pokémon Go is one example that changed our perception of AR. This global craze game has introduced people to experience AR through their phones. 

VR, in turn, creates a simulated environment or world that a user can interact with through headsets. VR provides a fully immersive experience, allowing users to feel like they are in a different world or environment.

AR and VR are no longer just buzzwords but rather a part of everyday life in various fields such as gaming, education, healthcare, retail, and more. Just think of it – things that seemed to be completely impossible not so long ago are commonplace now. And every day they become accessible to a wider audience. With the rise of AR and VR, many companies worldwide are focusing on developing these technologies to enhance their business models and provide unique experiences for their customers.

The global market for AR and VR is expanding rapidly. According to a Statista report, in the AR & VR market, the number of users is expected to be 2,593.00m by 2027. Such rapid expansion of AR and VR is due to several factors, including the increase in consumer demand, technological advancements, and the availability of affordable devices.

AR and VR are changing the way businesses operate. They are helping businesses to create new opportunities for customer engagement and to provide a more immersive and interactive experience. 

AR and VR are revolutionizing the retail industry around the world by transforming the shopping experience and setting a new standard for the future of retail. As customers quickly got used to online shopping when everything is technology-oriented, retailers are keen on giving their consumers the best service ever by adopting emerging technology. Let’s dive into it deeper and discover all the details. 

AR & VR solutions for retail

Over the past couple of decades, e-commerce has been experiencing the biggest development in retailing and is considered the latest transformative milestone. With the two ​​enhancements on the rise – AR and VR – the entire shopping experience is being reshaped now. It goes without saying that these technologies are effective in terms of standing out from the competition and taking the shopping experience to the next level but there is much more to it. 

The list of applications of AR and VR is large and it keeps expanding every single day. As immersive technology is still being developed, retailers don’t want to wait but get down to business and start implementing these new features into their business models. Let’s see how AR and VR solutions are changing the retail industry and helping retailers get ahead of their competitors.

AR in retail

Millennials and Gen-Z are the most targeted audience now because they spend lots of time online and thus are more likely to shop using their phones. Of course, they want services at their fingertips. Retailers do not hesitate to respond to this growing demand. By bridging the physical and digital worlds, they are thoughtfully boosting customer experiences and unlocking new ways to interact with products and brands. 

​​AR is a powerful tool that offers a multitude of implementations and uses, from recreating the shopping process in a physical store, without the need to go there, to trying various products out and testing them as if a user had them in their home. Moreover, augmented reality opens up a bunch of groundbreaking possibilities in the physical space, from interactive games for better customer engagement in the shop to providing directions, prices, and features or even making purchases via a mobile device so customers don’t even need to go to the checkout.

AR overcomes numerous issues and changes the way we browse and pick up items. Globally, it transforms customer habits increasingly.

According to the source, companies with branded AR experiences are 41% more likely to be considered by consumers than those without AR experiences, and nearly three-quarters of consumers say they’re willing to pay more for a product that promises the transparency AR can provide. By 2025, 76% of consumers are anticipated to be using AR as a practical tool in their daily lives.

66% of people say they are interested in using AR for help when shopping.

Check out the 6 key benefits of bringing AR to retail:

• Improved user experience that leads to attracting new customers and increasing sales. Immersive shopping experiences allow for more personalization. After all, providing unique and value-adding CX has become, on the one hand, a fundamental requirement, and, on the other hand, a differentiating factor making you a market leader. 
• Increased engagement and customer loyalty. If integrated properly, AR solutions will be effective in terms of building strong and reliable relationships with customers. It gets much easier for consumers to interact with the brand thus feeling the connection. 
• Reduced customer service time. Here we’re talking about offline shops. Having a really tight schedule, people don’t feel like wasting hours in a store – these days shopping should be fast and effective. That’s right – customers expect to get what they’re looking for quickly and leave. Thanks to AR, it’s possible now with easy in-store navigation, quick try-on, etc. 
• Higher conversion rates. Augmented reality can scale up both in-store and online conversion rates and bring a meaningful difference to your bottom line. According to Shopify, retailers who add 3D content to their stores experience a 94% conversion lift, on average.  
• Contactless operations. Whether you like it or not, we are slowly leaving physical interaction behind. In some areas, of course. What we want to say is that contactless transactions are the next big thing in online and offline stores. AR also enables customers to virtually evaluate photo-realistic representations and look at a product from different angles thus saving time, effort, and sometimes even money.
• Sharable content. AR-powered solutions allowing for sharable content are not only fun and entertaining but also powerful in terms of marketing. For example, when trying on a product virtually, customers can save pictures and then share them with friends. This boosts brand awareness, educates customers, generates revenue, and provides valuable customer insights.

Top 5 successful applications of AR in retail

Addressing the source, now 32% of consumers use AR while shopping; by 2025, about 75% of the global population will be frequent AR users. AR adoption is expected to grow significantly in 4 key areas: media, shopping, gaming, and communication. 

We’ve conducted an analysis and brought together the best examples of AR implementation in retail. Take a look at them!

• Product vizualization. Shopping is no longer a tiring and time-consuming process. Retailers have recognized the need to simplify the shopping experience and turned to AR features. This transforms the way how people choose and buy things. Now consumers can visualize and project various products in a more immersive and realistic way without even leaving the comfort of their own homes. This has become possible with AR technology. Now shopping offers a new level of personalization and convenience.
• Virtual trying on. Now consumers can virtually try on clothes or makeup items to see whether it fits and looks good on them before buying a product. It saves a good deal of time as one can easily experiment with different products and styles just from home. 
• Enhancing shopping experience with AR gaming elements. Bringing a sense of gamification to the shopping process is definitely a good idea. This will affect customer loyalty positively and boost sales. People like challenges, competitions, and rewards. Trigger your customers’ competitive spirit and let them share their achievements with friends and family or motivate them to collect something and therefore make more purchases.
• Virtual in-store navigation. AR navigation systems guide shoppers through brick-and-mortar retail environments letting them easily navigate even the largest malls and department stores so it does not take an eternity to find what they’re looking for. 
• In-store displays are meant to engage prospective shoppers and drive brand awareness. Seamlessly integrated into the physical surroundings, AR-powered displays enable customers to engage with products in novel and thrilling ways. This, in turn, improves the shopping experience and drives a better comprehension of the products. Are there any more benefits? Sure there are! AR displays track and gathers real-time analytic data. Moreover, they are dynamic and thus can be updated as frequently as required.

VR in retail

AR enhances the real world but VR completely transforms it. Imagine being able to visit New York Fashion Week while still sitting on your couch. Sounds impossible yet it’s true thanks to VR technology. 

VR must be the next big step retailers will make to improve the shopping experience. The forecast made by Market Research Future expects the global VR in the retail market to reach $ 20.9 billion by the end of 2023.

So what makes VR a good match for shopping? The technology creates an immersive experience allowing customers to walk around a virtual store, interact with avatar staff, browse products in 3D, and even personalize some items before placing an order. All that customers ever need to do is to put a headset on. 

VR drives customer immersion and therefore engagement. The best thing about this technology is that it’s relatively easy to use. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find your way into a Virtual Reality space. That is why the number of retailers taking advantage of VR solutions is growing steadily. They adopt straightforward and user-friendly technology to offer their customers unique and highly immersive experiences. 

Though still in its infancy, VR proves its effectiveness and proficiency. It affects financial gaining, helps in marketing campaigns, boosts customer experience, and increases sales.

We offer you to learn more about the benefits VR brings to retail businesses. 

• Establishing a strong connection between customers and a brand. VR allows trying a product on and interacting with it in an ordinary environment. An immersive shopping experience drives engagement and affects customer loyalty quite positively.
• High level of personalization. Let customers personalize their shopping journey and experience strong and bright emotions with VR. Customized environments, personalized recommendations, product visualization, virtual try-on, and real-time feedback are all good examples of how personalization is achieved in retail. 
• VR for marketing will make your product get ahead of the competition. Marketing is all about presenting a product and showing off all the benefits. VR does it better than any other technology.
• New product testing. Many companies do this before a brand new product launch and VR is quite helpful here. For example, they organize a virtual showcase for customers from around the world leveraging the power of VR. And it’s cost-effective too! Using VR, retailers can test new products and store layouts without having to invest in physical prototypes, reducing the costs associated with product testing and design.
• Data analytics. As already mentioned, VR technology collects valuable data that is later used by marketing analytics to improve brand awareness and customer experience. For instance, VR devices provide a clear understanding of how customers walk around the store and choose items, what they find the most attractive, and so on. 

VR for retail: Top 7 successful use cases

There are multiple ways in which VR can be implemented in the retail industry. And this list is constantly being updated because on the one hand, the technology keeps advancing, and, on the other hand, retailers are becoming more open to innovations. 

Check out the examples that demonstrate how VR can enhance your business. 

• V-commerce as a sub-category of e-commerce. Recently retailers all over the world have started to take an interest in selling items through the Internet using virtual reality. Offering virtual experiences with products has helped to solve a huge problem e-commerce has had – reducing the number of shoppers that abandon their shopping carts right before placing an order. Before that, 78% of shoppers did not buy items after having selected them and added them to their carts due to doubts and a lack of product info.
• Virtual consultants bring a brand closer to its audience giving customers the opportunity to ask questions and communicate as if they had a conversation with the consultant in a physical store.
• Personalized avatars that match each customer’s own measurements are used to try on clothes without getting off the couch. People can easily experiment with outfits and mix various clothing items to create looks. 
• Visualizing furniture in your house before buying it. We’ve been waiting for it for so long and finally, it’s here! It’s a great leap forward in e-commerce because VR is used to sell products most of us have traditionally been reluctant to buy online. Furniture is the best example. We want to see the real size of items to check how they fit into our homes, and VR brings this fantasy to reality. 
• VR product configurator allows for seeing the product in the virtual settings, moderating it, changing its looks, and customizing it as per a customer’s preferences. The technology is widely applied when the products in the store can be somehow changed by a customer.
• Virtual tours allow people from different locations to visit a store, interact with a brand, and feel its culture and identity without actually leaving the comfort of their homes. 
• Staff training. Not only do customers benefit from the power of VR technology but also the staff. VR enables employee training in a more efficient and innovative way. Being just informed about potential issues and solving them theoretically is not enough. Well, it’s not as effective as experiencing it in real life. With VR, every potential situation can be lived through – coping with problems, interacting with customers, and learning more about the products ensure high-quality staff preparation. 

Big brands using AR & VR: Top 5 examples

The capabilities of AR and VR seem limitless now due to their fast pace development. We’ve shown you how these technologies can potentially be applied by retailers so it’s high time we looked at some of the best examples with famous brands. 

Nike

The company brings VR and AR to its physical stores letting customers view full information about the items they choose. Nike has also partnered with augmented reality platform providers 8th Wall and BDRG Studios to launch a prize giveaway that rewards customers for coming to the stores and playing five web-based AR games. This way Nike is inviting customers to visit select locations in the US and scan special QR codes hidden throughout the store in order to unlock the exciting games.

IKEA

IKEA Place is an augmented reality app that allows users to virtually place IKEA furniture in their home to see whether it looks good in their settings before making a purchase. The app uses the camera on a customer’s device to scan the room and place 3D models of furniture in it, allowing them to see how it would fit and look in real time. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices and is free to download. 

L’Oreal

L’Oreal has been investing in AR and other digital technologies to enhance the customer experience and showcase its products in a more interactive way.

For example, L’Oreal’s Makeup Genius app uses AR technology to allow users to virtually try on makeup products and experiment with the world’s leading beauty brands, such as Maybelline, L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, etc. The app uses facial recognition technology to map the user’s face and then applies the selected makeup products to create a virtual makeup look. The user can then see how the makeup looks in different lighting and from different angles.

Another example is L’Oreal’s Style My Hair app, which enables trying on different hair colors and styles through AR.

BMW

The German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles has been adopting AR & VR technology and receiving serious gains. Check out a few examples:

• AR for car configurator. BMW has developed an AR car configurator app that allows customers to configure their cars in a virtual environment. Users can select different colors, options, and accessories to see how the car would look before making a purchase.
• VR for showroom experience. BMW has created a VR experience that allows customers to explore its cars in a virtual showroom. The VR experience also includes interactive features like changing the color of the car and exploring the car’s interior.
• VR for the design process. BMW also uses VR in its design process, allowing designers to create and modify car designs in a virtual environment. This helps them to visualize the design better and make changes more efficiently.

Apple

At Apple, they’re sure AR is here to stay, and it’s going to play a big part in the future of the iPhone. AR Quick Look is the simplest way to present AR content on mobile devices. The app enables placing virtual content on any surface that ARKit finds in the real-world environment. Users can interact with virtual content by moving and scaling it using touch gestures, or by sharing it with others through the iOS share sheet. In other words, AR Quick Look makes it possible to showcase a virtual 3D model of a physical product within a local space. The app achieves a high degree of realism by mimicking realistic lighting conditions in a local environment.

Conclusion

These days customers are getting pickier in terms of services so AR and VR shopping are in extremely high demand. People want to get high-quality yet fast services while spending minimum effort. For retailers, making use of high-end technology and offering unique and immersive experiences is the right way to become a market leader. 

However, while AR and VR are fun and exciting, they still must have a true purpose. Making sure that this kind of immersion is not just entertainment-driven but brings some utility and real value is essential. Consider the value it provides to customers.

The world of technology, as well as the retail world, is ever-evolving. Things never stand still here and we have to keep up with the latest trends and updates. This makes it complicated even to imagine what these industries will be in a few years or decades. Even though we struggle to make predictions about the future of AR&VR in retail, we do believe that the best is yet to come.