Customer pains solved with augmented reality

Care to share?

As augmented reality is becoming a mainstay in online sales, we decided to check how much of it is just fun and entertainment, and how many AR solutions solve actual problems that customers are encountering when shopping online. 

Examples of how augmented reality is solving pains of online customers:

Checking shoe size with AR measurement tools 

In North America alone, over half a million people complain about purchasing the wrong shoe size. Some of them select their usual size and then exchange it trying to find the right size. Some others order several shoe sizes, pick the right size and return the rest. Others simply avoid ordering shoes online. In any case, customers experience a poor and limited shopping process. This is also an unpleasant problem on the business side as it generates additional return processes, delivery costs, and possible complaints. Nike solved this by enabling an AR-powered feet measurement tool in Nike Fit. The combination of computer vision, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, recommendation algorithms and augmented reality allows customers to measure the full shape of both feet and find matching shoes. What’s more, it visualizes how the shoe looks on the customer’s feet thanks to the virtual try-on option.

More at: https://news.nike.com/news/nike-fit-digital-foot-measurement-tool

Shopping for the right ring with a finger size measurement tool

Selecting and shopping for the right size of earrings or necklaces online is kind of easy, but when the user intends to buy a ring, the whole process gets much more complicated, as the customer must know the right ring size. For many of them, measuring the finger size is tricky. TRYON, an AI-enabled start-up, solved this by adding a finger measurement tool in their virtual try-on solution for jewelry companies. Thanks to this tool, the customer can browse various rings, measure ring size, and buy the desired ring with low risk of a poor fit. 

More at: https://tryon.jewelry/main

Checking the luggage size before the flight with AR

luggage size before the flight with AR

Luggage size is a pain for anyone traveling with airlines. Each airline company has different regulations and fines for those who don’t meet them. Kayak.com, a global fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine, solved it with an AR-powered mobile app. Travelers have their smartphones with them. With the KAYAK’s Bag Measurement tool, they first scan the floor, then point it at their carry-on luggage, capture its size and calculate whether it fits in the overhead bin (or not) before getting on the plane. The tool compares all airlines’ baggage policies and significantly improves the traveling experience. 

The bag Measurement tool is available for free on Apple’s App Store. 

Read more at:  https://www.kayak.com/news/size-up-your-baggage/

Seeing furniture at home before buying it

Seeing furniture at home before buying it

Customers buying home decor products online often have a problem with visualizing new products or their scale in their future location. This especially concerns larger products like furniture or home decoration. For furniture brands, it is a struggle as it generates additional costs in returns. Some of them, like Love or IKEA, have solved it by enabling augmented reality in their mobile apps. Thanks to these solutions, customers can browse a product catalog in the app, and if they like the product, they can easily see how it fits in their home on their mobile screen. Once the product is selected, the customer can walk around its three-dimensional image, which remains the actual size from various angles.

More at: https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/why-lowes-is-doubling-down-on-ar-for-mobile/519558/

Learn more about augmented reality in eCommerce

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Published November 28, 2019