5 Ways You can Accelerate Your eCommerce Business with Reality Technology

01/05/2019 By Karolina Sposob Reading Time: 5 Minutes

In the world of evolving technology, there are many aspects of eCommerce, where Artificial Intelligence steps in. Consider advancements, such as machine learning, natural language processing and visual recognition, which are currently transforming the world of eCommerce.

Nowadays, shopping is not just about shopping anymore. AI-powered tools are letting retailers put the right products in front of the right costumers, as well as provide excellent customer experiences. Some of the new innovations in eCommerce are influenced by Virtual and Augmented Reality, which is said to be the future of online shopping.

A lot of sales are lost or delayed because of the shopper’s inability to visualise the product or fully understand its purpose. In fact, 77.24% of shoppers abandon their carts before completing the purchase. The disadvantage of online shopping is the disappointment caused after the purchase, because most of the customers want to try before they buy and have a chance to pick the best option. This is where reality technology has its purpose.

In this rel="noopener noreferrer" post we will discuss what Augmented Commerce is as well as the ways that will help you to accelerate your eCommerce business with reality technology.

Benefits brought by reality technology

Reality technology brought massive improvements in sales online, as well as customer service and experience. Let’s start with an overview of the reality technology and its purpose in eCommerce.

Augmented Reality

This AI-powdered technology allows consumers to visualise what they want to buy in a real-world environment, before making the actual purchase. More brands are turning Augmented Commerce to increase customer satisfaction and engagement, as well as boost sales.

Imagine that you are looking to buy a new sofa and you want to see how it is going to look like in your living room. Augmented Reality helps you to envision the product in the context of the physical space they’re going to be used/placed in. What a better way to make your customers feel more comfortable before making a purchase, than giving them an opportunity to see how it looks like in their homes?

Virtual Reality

This slightly different newest technology offers users a 360 degrees video of a real-world scene. Many online retailers have been integrating it to their marketing strategies. You can simply experience a different world by wearing a headset. What changes does it bring in eCommerce?

Virtual reality allows shopper to make purchases using their eye movements. Think about it: what’s more effective, reading a product description or virtually trying on the item in different colours and accessories? VR is redefining customer experiences, allowing you to provide a replication of a physical in-store shopping journey without the need of leaving the house and going to the physical store. Online retailers should definitely consider investing and planning for VR, before they are going to be left behind with the technology.

What Brands are doing it right in the world of AR and VR?

You should now have a better understanding of reality technology and benefits that it brings to eCommerce. Let’s have an overview of the best reality technology examples adapted by big brands.

Sephora

Their developed AR feature called Virtual Artist that allows people to find the perfect make up and match it with their skin. This amazing tool scans user’s face and lets customers try a wide variety of beauty products available on their site, such as mascaras, eyeshadows, lipsticks and many more. Bridget Dolan, VP of Sephora’s Innovation Lab says:

“When it comes to augmented and virtual reality, it can only be successful if it’s truly useful.”

IKEA

This furniture and home accessories seller knows how to add value to the shopping experience. With their successfully launched IKEA Place AR-powered app, a retailer has found a way to showcase their furniture in a better light. The app allows shoppers to visualise the furniture they want to buy inside of their homes. A customer can build a whole living room and add several accessories from IKEA’s catalogue and find what will work best together.

eBay

The online marketplace created the first visual department store in May 2016, teaming up with an Australian retailer, Myer. This feature allows shoppers to browse through the products using the VR app and a VR headset, without leaving their homes. The app relies on the consumer’s sight, instead of using controllers.

After entering a virtual store, you are able to browse through several electronics and clothing. As you browse, the algorithm should analyse your behaviour, and understand what products you like, in order to adapt the store to match your needs.

Top 5 Ways to Use AR and VR to Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Augmented and Virtual Reality helps many brands to boost their sales and provide excellent customer experiences. We will introduce you to the top ways that will help you understand how you can accelerate your eCommerce store with reality technology.

Personalised Shopping

With the technology advancements and augmented reality eCommerce, you are now able to provide your customers with personalised shopping experiences. AI-based tools allow customers to try on the clothes, without leaving their homes.

Instead of reading product descriptions and seeing items on models, shoppers will be able to see if they fit the clothing, experiment with different colours and decide what outfit would work best. This is definitely solving many problems of online shopping experience.

Enhanced Shopping Experience

Trying different looks online is much easier than going to a physical store, and it also spares the effort of trying on and removing the clothing or make up products. Using Sephora as an example, we can see how their Virtual Assistant feature is helping many customers to decide whether the beauty products and their tones will suit their face.

Reality technology provides better experience than in-person shopping. Applying make-up in stores can be time consuming, so why not try an app that just scans your face while you sit on the sofa at home? Consider it as a comfortable and effortless experience, that is definitely making a purchase decision much easier.

Try Before You Buy

Sometimes it is difficult for all of us to imagine how some decorations, accessories or furniture will look in our house. Augmented Reality helps users to see how the items will look together and whether they fit or not, using the newest apps to visualise the products in their homes.

Why is it beneficial? It not only spares customers the time of going to a physical store, it also reduces the chances they will return an item. This next level of interaction with customers will not only leave them satisfied, but also boost your sales and decrease cart abandonment.

AR-Powered Marketing

Apart from excellent shopping experiences, AR can offer benefits and more opportunities in digital marketing aspects of your business. Many brands have already started creating user-generated content via AR apps.

AI-powered tools and reality technology are able to understand your consumer better, analyse their behaviour and help you create user-generated content that improve your marketing efforts. As a result, you can drive more traffic to your online store and win this never-ending battle with your competitors.

New Reason to Come Back to Your Store

Happy and satisfied customers mean return on investment! Reality technology helps your business to prevent user dissatisfaction after the purchase and brings new customers in, keeping the loyal ones at the same time.

Online shoppers want to experience something different and more than just shopping itself and with so much competition you have to offer something that your competitors can’t. Acquiring a new customer is much more expensive than keeping the existing one, that is why reality technology can help you bring them back after this excellent experience you could provide.

Summary

Reality technology is a promising feature of AI-powered advancements and will soon be available to wider audiences. Augmented and Visual Reality are taking over customer experiences and shopping in a physical store, as a result it is transforming the world of eCommerce and the way retailer think. If you have not thought of implementing this technology within your retail marketing strategy this year, don’t wait any longer and consider these ways to benefit your business: