From research conducted in 2017 just as ARKit and ARCore were on the rise it was clear that AR was at a critical turning point. As experiences became mobile first and app-less there was an inflection point where the technology became more ubiquitous than ever before. One critical differentiator between retailers though is the quality of their content.
One paper in the field (Is Augmented Reality Technology an Effective Tool for E-commerce? An Interactivity and Vividness Perspective) proposed five key insights into how AR impacts attitude towards AR - and thereafter conversion events. Let's take a look at some of these insights below.
Does it fit? Will it suit? These anxiety inducing questions are what shoppers ask themselves every time they think about purchasing a large or expensive item, especially online. KPMG estimates that up to 10% of homeware is returned each year - costing UK retailers over £60,000,000 per year.
Immersive content is key to perception of the experience as successful. The more realistic the item is rendered, the better the chance the shopper will convert due to their confidence in the asset and their sense of immersion.
Creating new and novel experiences is critical. This means staying up to date with the latest feature sets of AR and staying ahead of the curve. If consumers begin to see AR as just another thing, then you'll see a drop in conversion rates.
Ultimately we see our retailers get at minimum over 100% increase to conversion rates and oftentimes it's a lot more. We can attribute this increase through this paper and our research to show how important creating realistic assets is to the process.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1094996817300336
