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5 Ways Augmented Reality Can Increase Ecommerce Sales

May 8, 2023

Ultimately, the success of an ecommerce business depends primarily on its ability to attract and retain customers. One way to attract and retain customers consistently is to provide a great customer experience. In recent years, augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a powerful tool for achieving this goal.

AR can help boost ecommerce sales by offering innovative ways of providing customers with extensive product information. Customers are more likely to purchase when they have an in-depth understanding of a product. According to research, creating AR experiences for products can increase conversion rates by up to 94%.

In this article, I’ll explore five ways in which AR can increase ecommerce sales and transform the ways in which customers shop online.

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1. AR Can Provide Better Product Details

Augmented reality provides a unique opportunity for customers to understand products better. Unlike traditional product images and descriptions, AR offers customers an immersive experience that lets them see the product from multiple angles and in different lighting conditions and even lets them interact with the product virtually. This makes it a lot easier for customers to understand the product’s features and how it would fit into their life, ultimately leading to increased confidence in their purchase decision.

Traditional product images and descriptions have some inherent limitations, which AR technology can overcome. For example, it can be challenging to depict a product’s size, texture, and color accurately through images and descriptions.

With AR, however, you can overcome these limitations by creating 3D models that customers can explore in real time. When you visualize a product in a realistic setting, customers can make more informed decisions about their purchase, reducing the likelihood of returns and increasing customer satisfaction.

Several ecommerce businesses have already embraced AR to showcase product details and features. For example, IKEA’s AR app lets customers place virtual furniture in their home to see how it fits and looks. This app demonstrates the potential of AR to revolutionize the way people shop online by providing an engaging and informative shopping experience that benefits both customers and the business.

When incorporating AR technology as part of the shopping experience, it’s important to prioritize security to protect customer data and avoid potential data breaches. To ensure the safe transfer of customers’ sensitive information, you should always look for a file-transfer service that offers security features such as TPN (Trusted Partner Network) verification and ISO 27001 certification. This would ensure that customers’ personal and financial information isn’t at risk when they’re using an AR shopping app.

2. AR Can Personalize the Shopping Experience

There are various ways in which you can use AR technology to personalize the shopping experience for your customers. For example, with AR, you can create virtual try-on experiences that let your customers see how a particular garment would look on them before making a purchase.

Plus, you can use AR together with machine learning (ML) technology to create personalized product recommendations that are based on a customer’s previous purchases or browsing history. Research shows that generating customer insights is one of the top use cases for ML as well. In fact, a recent survey of small-business owners found that 37% of respondents cited insights into their customers as their primary use case for ML-based technology.

By combining these two technologies, you can achieve a level of personalization that not only improves the customer experience but also increases the likelihood of purchase. Studies support this finding by showing that customers are 80% more likely to purchase when an ecommerce app offers them a personalized experience. Personalization can also help a business better understand their customers’ needs and preferences, enabling you to create better targeted marketing campaigns and product offerings.

You can even take things a notch higher by combining augmented reality with CallPop software, which displays a pop-up of relevant customer information when a customer calls for support or service, allowing you to better personalize their experience.

Many companies have already started using AR to create personalized shopping experiences. For example, with Nike’s AR app, customers can customize their shoes by selecting colors and materials to create a unique design. Similarly, Ray-Ban’s AR app lets customers try on glasses virtually and select the frame and lens options that best fit their preferences.

3. AR Can Enhance Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is crucial in driving sales because engaged customers are more likely to make a purchase, then return to make future purchases. AR can increase engagement by providing a more interactive and immersive experience.

With AR, customers can explore products in greater detail, interact with them, and even try them virtually. You can make the shopping experience even more engaging by incorporating interaction design principles into the augmented-reality experience. This level of engagement helps keep customers on your online store longer, ultimately increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

Examples of ecommerce businesses using AR to enhance customer engagement include Lacoste and Home Depot. Lacoste’s AR app promotes engagement by letting customers view a virtual fashion show and explore new collections in an immersive way. Home Depot’s AR app lets customers see how products would look in their home, while also providing detailed product information.

While investing in augmented reality can be a powerful way of boosting customer engagement, it’s important to keep your business’s financial health in mind as well. According to recent statistics, we can trace 30% of small-business failures back to issues with generating sufficient monthly cash flow. Therefore, before investing in AR for an ecommerce business, carefully consider the costs and potential return on investment. Assess the costs of implementing the technology and determine whether the resulting increase in customer engagement would positively impact the bottom line.

4. AR Can Increase Customer Confidence and Reduce Returns

By providing a more accurate representation of a product, AR can increase customer confidence in their purchases and reduce the likelihood of returns. One of the biggest challenges of online shopping is that customers cannot see or touch a product in person, which sometimes leads to uncertainty about the product’s quality and fit.

AR can help overcome this challenge by providing customers with a virtual try-on experience or the ability to see how a product would look in everyday use. This level of detail and accuracy helps customers make more informed purchasing decisions and ultimately increases their confidence in the product.

The benefits of AR apply even outside ecommerce. For instance, car dealerships have leveraged AR technology to give their customers a more immersive, interactive car-shopping experience that lets them visualize how a car looks in 3D. Therefore, these dealerships have an inherent advantage over private sellers who cannot offer such an experience.

Besides increasing customer confidence, AR also helps reduce the likelihood of returns, which can be costly for businesses—both in terms of logistics and lost sales. By providing a more accurate representation of the product, AR helps customers make more informed purchasing decisions. So customers are less likely to end up with a product they don’t like or one that doesn’t meet their needs, reducing the likelihood of returns. By delivering products that meet or exceed customers’ expectations, businesses can save money and improve customer satisfaction.

Several businesses are already using AR to increase customer confidence and reduce returns. For example, Sephora’s AR app lets customers virtually try on makeup, helping them choose the right product and reducing the likelihood of a return. This ultimately benefits both the business and its customers.

5. AR Stands Out from the Competition

You can incorporate augmented reality to differentiate an ecommerce business from its competition by providing a unique and immersive shopping experience. By offering AR features, your business can demonstrate that it is innovative and technologically advanced, which is a great way to attract customers looking for a more engaging shopping experience. This is particularly important for a business that operates in a crowded ecommerce niche.

Plus, AR lets you give customers a unique and memorable shopping experience by providing a level of engagement and interactivity that traditional ecommerce platforms simply cannot match. This, in turn, creates a stronger emotional connection with your brand and increases customer loyalty.

When implementing augmented reality for an ecommerce business, it is always important to keep the user experience in mind. Adhering to UX design principles during AR development helps ensure that an AR experience is user friendly, engaging, and effectively drives sales. It is also important to understand how the user experience influences the overall customer experience.

Conclusion

Augmented reality is no longer a futuristic technology. It’s a tangible, practical solution that ecommerce businesses can use to drive sales and increase customer loyalty. AR offers ecommerce businesses a unique opportunity to stay relevant and connect with their customers by providing a new level of customer engagement and a personalized shopping experience.

To ensure that a business thrives—even as the ecommerce landscape becomes increasingly competitive—consider leveraging AR to revolutionize the ways in which customers can interact with the business and its products. With AR, you can do this by providing better product details, personalizing the shopping experience, enhancing customer engagement, increasing customer confidence, and reducing returns. AR can also help you differentiate an ecommerce business from its competitors and leave a lasting impression on customers. 

Freelance Copywriter and Ecommerce SEO Specialist

New York, New York

Magnus EriksenMagnus works as an independent copywriter and ecommerce search-engine optimization (SEO) specialist. Before embarking on his copywriting career, he was a content writer for digital-marketing agencies such as Synlighet AS and Omega Media, where he mastered on-page and technical SEO. Magnus holds a degree in Marketing and Brand Management.  Read More

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