How AR Mobile App Development Services Boost Your E-commerce Business?

After COVID-19, the competition among online shops continues to heat up. Getting a customer's attention is becoming increasingly difficult, not to mention crucial. Modern shoppers are more demanding than ever before, thanks to a vast selection of options and high customer service standards. It indicates that getting ahead in the market requires more than merely publishing high-quality product images.

As per the latest stats about AR in the e-commerce market:

According to Statista, by 2029, the number of users in the AR & VR market globally is expected to reach 3.7bn users.

According to Brand XR stats, 80% of retail brands will use AR for customer engagement by 2025.

As per the ThreeKit, AR eCommerce experiences are 200% more engaging when compared to their non-AR counterparts.

According to the ThreeKit source,  71% of consumers say they would shop more often if AR were an option available.

Therefore, Online stores want to be required to stand out in the competitive edge and should be more innovative and digital. Augmented reality (AR) mobile app development delivers a significant promise in revolutionizing the whole e-commerce business in this aspect.

We'll discuss why it's past time to include virtual reality and augmented reality in your e-commerce business in this blog post. We'll also talk about how these tools can help you convert more leads, conversions, and generate ROI.

What is Augmented Reality(AR) in eCommerce?

AR in Ecommerce plays a significant role in digital transformation.It allows customers to visualize and interact with items before making a purchase. Furthermore, AR enhances the online shopping experience for customers,undoubtedly increasing sales by assisting shoppers in their decision-making process. AR devices and smartphones help customers make more confident purchasing decisions, get greater satisfaction and reduced product returns rate.

Why Should E-Commerce Stores Use Virtual Reality And Augmented Reality Now?

Today, online buying is on the rise globally. Since the beginning of the year, statistics reveal that e-commerce platforms have seen unparalleled growth in traffic. As per the growth of eCommerce market and ThreeKit research, 61% of customers say they prefer retailers with AR experiences.

As a result, many users now avoid going to physical stores to avoid the rush, reduce physical costs, and protect their health, especially in the post-COVID period.

Customers are becoming more accustomed to purchasing items with a few clicks rather than spending a lot of time visiting shopping centers for the same reason. It improves the buyer's experience by allowing them to purchase their products more quickly and conveniently.

Here, we are explaining the top 5 reasons why eCommerce stores should use Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

#1. Reduce Customer Returns

Are your customers returning products from your online ecommerce stores? Also, according to market research firm Mintel, 49 percent of UK internet buyers returned things purchased in the previous year, with that number jumping to 60 percent among those aged 16 to 34.

Another reason is customer dissatisfaction, as most customers discovered that 30 percent of consumers returned goods because they were broken or damaged, but that this was closely followed by 27 percent who stated they returned things because they were 'not as described.'

Solutions: Based on the above reasons, developing an Augmented app helps to reduce return rates. AR enables customers to better visualize products before purchasing the item, leading to higher customer satisfaction and reducing the return rate after purchasing the products.

#2. Increasing Client Satisfaction

Do you want to increase client satisfaction?

AR's immersive experience allows eCommerce firms to not only engage with new customers but also to create long-term and trusted relationships with them.

Solutions: Augmented reality technology can help boost consumer interaction with e-commerce firms, which can lead to higher conversion rates.

According to research from Facebook's augmented reality partner Vertebrae, shops that used AR technology during the COVID-19 era saw a 19% increase in customer interaction.

#3. Virtual Try-On Options Are Available

"On the mannequin, it looked fantastic." -At least once, after trying on a new piece of clothes for the first time and realizing it doesn't fit you.

Conversion rates may be lowered as a result of the dread of that very scenario. Customers want to know exactly what they're getting and take every measure to ensure that it's exactly what they want. And if they do decide to buy and it doesn't work out, your return rates will increase.

Solutions: Online buyers can use augmented reality to better grasp what they're buying and how it will benefit them. Clothing, makeup, accessories, and even eyeglasses can all be used in this way.

#4. Take a Test Placement

If you purchase any product from the store, do you want to get a real time preview of that product?

Have a lot of questions in mind? like that:

What would your living room look like with that couch?

On your wall, how big will that television screen be?

Even when looking at the physical item in the store, it can be difficult to determine, let alone when looking at it on a small computer or mobile screen.

Customers can get a real-time preview of how a product will look in their own area using preview placement.

Solutions: Burrow, a DTC furniture manufacturer, employs augmented reality to enable clients to see how their couches would look in their living rooms. Burrow's Burrow at Home app makes use of ARKit to place true-to-scale 3D representations of Burrow's couches in images taken with customers' iPhones and iPads.

#5. Increased Sales

Do you want to increase e-commerce sales from online stores?

Yes, but E-commerce enterprises can't rely just on attracting visitors to their websites to succeed. You must interact with and persuade your prospective customers.

Furthermore, Immersive and amazing are two words that come to mind when thinking about virtual reality and augmented reality. They encourage people to interact with the virtual environment.

Customers that engage in an online VR experience are more likely to stay on a web page or in an app for longer periods of time, just like when they play VR games.

Visitors will view more products and make more purchases, which is good news for online businesses.

Solutions: All these benefits become reality when you implement AR and VR technology in your ecommerce store, which is a fantastic way to increase the number of loyal customers who return to your brand and your sales.

How AR App Development Benefits for Online Shoppers?

AR mobile app development services are useful to both e-commerce enterprises and their customers. Many individuals prefer to shop in physical places because they don't want to squander money on something that appears to be fantastic in photos but is quite different in person. The use of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) can help to alleviate this phobia.

Let's look at 4 benefits of how virtual and augmented reality can assist digital shoppers in making smarter purchasing selections.

#1. Convenience

Why is an AR virtual store convenient for customers when purchasing products?

There are various way through convenient for customers, here our expert app developers explain the benefits:

1. Because visiting a virtual store or showroom is similar to visiting a physical store, it makes online purchasing easier and stress-free.

2. People can examine things in a virtual environment in the same way they would in a physical store, but from the comfort of their own homes.

3. Customers can save a lot of time while still getting most of the benefits of traditional shopping by using such simulations of real-life encounters.

#2. Satisfaction 

How do customers get satisfaction when purchasing products in a virtual store? Customers get satisfaction when purchasing products in a virtual store  from different factors such as:

AR and VR are ideal tools for accomplishing this goal. These technologies can make the entire process of buying things online gamified, in addition to making shopping more convenient.

Getting customers to not just want to buy things, but also to want to come back later since they had a good time while doing so.

#3. Real Product Visualization

Do you want to see the visual image of the product?

AR technology allows shoppers to visualize products (such as clothes, furniture, shoes, beauty products, etc.) in their environment before making a purchase, providing a real experience and the best visualization to understand the products, see, and fit.

#4. Customer Personalized Experience

Why is a customer's personalized experience important for shoppers?

With AI app development services, shoppers can customize products by selecting size, colors, features, or arrangements, resulting in a more stunning, engaging, and visually appealing experience.

#5. Personal Data-Driven Insights

With the help of an AI app, stores can store the data from buyer interactions, which helps vendors to make a customer personalized experience as well as a great product offering, and optimize product marketing strategies.

What are the Real-World Examples of AR used in E-commerce?

Several brands are using AR technology in their businesses to increase the brand's visibility, enhance customer experience, boost sales, and increase return customers.

Here's are detailed real-world examples of how the brands are leveraging AR:

1. Amazon AR View

Amazon is the world largest online retailer and marketplace. Amazon's using AR view to allow customers to visualize a wide range of items from clothes to electronics, furniture, etc. to show in their own home before purchasing and get real experience.

2. Nykaa ModiFace Makeup Virtual Try On

Nykaa is an Indian beauty, wellness,fashion ecommerce company. Currently AR technology is trending and they want to increase customer experience with brand visibility for their makeup products so as per the customer want real high visualization experience they integrated AR ModiFace Makeup virtual try-on of beauty products that boost buyer experience, confidence and customer satisfaction.

3. Gucci Snapchat AR filters

Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion house and offers handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration etc. Gucci wants to enhance its brand presence and engage more customers so it has utilized Snapchat AR filters.

These AR experiences allow users to virtually show and try products such as footwear to handbags with unique theme filters and lenses.

These Snapchat AR  filters through Gucci brand showcasing new collections and offering various sales, quizzes and offers and more.

Wrapping Up

It's difficult to picture the e-commerce industry's future without augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality. Although these technologies have yet to gain widespread adoption among online retailers, this is predicted to change in the near future. It means with an experienced VR mobile app development service provider like ManekTech; you'll be able to reap all of the benefits of incorporating immersive experiences into your business before the rest of the market does.

Frequently Asked Questions of AR in eCommerce Stores

Q 1. What is Augmented Reality (AR)?

Ans: AR (Augmented Reality) is an immersive technology, also known as mixed reality. This Augmented Reality technology enables users to visualize the real world by integrating digital information, such as images, text, and 3D models.

AR technology is rising globally, hence many industries such as gaming, education, consumer retail, home design, and manufacturing are widely adopting AR to provide users with immersive real experiences of their products. This helps enhance brand identity, boost user engagement, and increase sales.

Q 2. What’s the Difference Between AR and VR?

Ans: Both are immersive technology but here are the following difference:

- AR creates real world experience for users allow to control their presence in the real world.

- VR creates a fully virtual world for users controlled by the system.

- AR technology can be accessed with a smartphone device , and VR uses a headset device.

-  AR mostly used in applications like design, maintenance, and healthcare, and VR most popular in gaming and entertainment industries.

Q 3. How Much Does It Cost to Develop an AR App in eCommerce?

Ans: Here are the following cost factors considered for building an AR app for an e-commerce store

1. Project Requirements & Objective
2. AR features, such as virtual try-on or 3D models
3. App Development Team and Location
4. Project Delivery Timeline

The estimated cost provided by the AR app development company depends on these factors. Generally, the cost to develop an AR e-commerce app starts at approximately $30,000 and increases with additional complexity and feature requirements.

Q 4. What Are the Types of AR Applications in Ecommerce?

Ans: There are 2 types of Augmented Reality platforms but 3 are subtypes:

Marker-based AR and Markerless AR platforms. But Markerless AR is categorized into 4 subtypes:

1. Location-based AR
2. Project-based AR
3. Overlay AR
4. Contour-based AR

Q 5. What Are the Advanced Features of AR App Development?

Ans: Here are the following some advanced features found in AR app development for eCommerce  and other sectors:

1. AI Integration and Support
2. Chatbot and Virtual Assistant
3. 3D modeling and rendering
4. Virtual Try-on
5. Multi-User AR Experiences
6. Spatial Audio Integration
7. Real-Time Analytics

Q 6. What Are the Key Challenges of Implementing AR in E-Commerce Stores?

Ans: Here are 5 key challenges of implementing AR in e-commerce:

1. Higher Cost
2. Technical Complexity
3. Data Privacy
4. Integrating with Existing System
5. User Adoption