Shopify Augmented Reality gives merchants the ability to create truly unique shopping experiences. Whilst AR is still relatively new, there are some big brands taking advantage, with AR evolving and becoming more accessible to smaller merchants, Shopify Augmented Reality is definitely something you should be considering in your Shopify store.
One of the biggest hurdles for shoppers to get over is not being able to feel and touch the physical product that they’re looking at buying. This can often leave some visitors hung up on your product page, desperately trying to find something that will fill the void.
Long-form product pages are a great way to get around this if you don’t have the capabilities for AR just yet. But what about the brands that truly need AR in their store?
Here’s everything you need to know about Shopify Augmented Reality.
What is Shopify Augmented Reality?
Shopify Augmented Reality gives users an interactive experience to view your products in the world around them. It lets your visitors superimpose digital content such as images, sounds and text over a real-world environment.
Shopify Augmented Reality gives merchants the ability a truly unique way to interact with your products.
Imagine being able to purchase online from your smartphone and seeing a three-dimensional image of an item right in the room you’re in. You can rotate it, examine it more closely, and even see if it matches your home’s decor. That’s just one great example of how your brand can take advantage of AR.
For apparel, it gives your visitors a chance to try on your clothing, see how they look, or maybe a new pair of shades.
Whilst it may sound like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, it’s a technology that’s here and now becoming more common in our lives. The gaming industry spearheaded AR and put it on the map with the release of Pokemon Go a few years ago.
AR for e-commerce stores
As we mentioned earlier, an online shopping experience can hold some consumers back. Due to not being able to see, try on and feel products in your store.
AR adds a whole new level to the online buying experience. Product descriptions, images and gifs are great, but they can only take your visitors so far in such a tech-driven world.
Giving visitors the opportunity to try and feel your product is great, but there are so many upsides to having AR in your store. For one it keeps users on your pages for longer (Google loves that), secondly it gives you an advantage over your competition.
We’re seeing more customers stay loyal to the brands they buy from, AR is another way to increase buyer confidence and engage shoppers with your brand and products.
Should I use Shopify AR?
Shopify AR can be a great addition to many brands, but it isn’t for everyone. Brands that should be using AR are ones that have products with extra functionality that they need their consumers to see or higher ticket items.
Furniture brands should definitely be considering AR as part of their tech stack, along with high-end jewellery brands, apparel and accessories such as sunglasses or prescription glasses.
As we mentioned, Shopify AR isn’t for everyone and if it isn’t the right fit for your brand and visitors then you may just end up turning some potential customers off by overcomplicating the buyer journey.
Alternative to Shopify AR
For those that don’t feel Shopify AR is for them, but still want to create a unique experience, long-form and pre-sell product pages are a surefire way to engage your visitors and increase conversions.
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