Shopping is one of the most favorite habits of today’s modern generation. Shopping can be done by e-commerce platforms or offline stores. Both are the best methods at their place. But undoubtedly e-commerce shopping is soon going to take over the in-store shopping methods. Nearly 3 billion people buy online worldwide. eCommerce in retail: The share of eCommerce in total worldwide retail sales is greater than 20%. Money earned in online sales: $6.51 trillion in 2023. These stats are from last year and we would see that by the end of 2024, these stats are going to increase more for e-commerce shopping. Generally, e-commerce shopping refers to modern shopping.
But still, it seems too many things are missing in this advanced world that could enhance the modern shopping experience for the customers. Many technologies can increase the efficiency of modern shopping and augmented reality technology is one of them. With augmented reality (AR), users can project digital things onto the actual world. The use of augmented reality in retail refers to the incorporation of this technology into the in-store and online retail shopping experiences. This is not a new idea to integrate AR into shopping as it has been used for the last three or four years. The augmented reality (AR) shopping market is estimated to be valued at US$ 4.9 billion in 2024. Augmented reality (AR) shopping is predicted to rise at a CAGR of 28% from 2024 to 2034. The global augmented reality (AR) shopping market is anticipated to reach US$ 58 billion by 2034.
Related Statistics to Augmented Reality
Augmented reality has also established individual market size at the global level as the global augmented reality market size was USD 77.98 billion in 2023, accounted for USD 108.00 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach around USD 2,804.82 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 38.5% from 2024 to 2034. These stats show the domination of this technology while enhancing the experience for many industries.
In this article, we will see how augmented reality is enhancing the modern shopping experience for the youth. We will see a few additional details like benefits, challenges, etc, and lastly, will conclude the whole discussion.
What Is Augmented Reality For Modern Shopping?
In simple words, an interactive experience that blends computer-generated 3D content with the real world is called augmented reality. Multiple sensory modalities, such as visual, aural, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory, may be covered by the material. For modern shopping, augmented reality (AR) makes it easier to gather consumer preference data. With the help of this technology and digital marketing solutions, which is helpful for businesses, companies can create engaging and tailored experiences for their customers while learning important details about their preferences, behaviors, and buying patterns.
Also Read: The Role of AR And VR In E-commerce Website Development
How Augmented Reality Can Enhance The Modern Shopping Experience?
For modern shopping, augmented reality (AR) refers to the use of digital overlays that let customers digitally interact with objects. Augmented reality has a huge influence since it improves consumer engagement, reduces expenses and time, and eventually increases sales. This gives customers an immersive feel of the real world with the products that could make them more and enhance their experience of shopping too. Overall, AR allows the buyers to have a virtual experience of owning and using the product much before making the actual purchase. There are more benefits of AR in modern shopping that we will see in the upcoming paragraph.
Benefits of Augmented Reality For Modern Shopping Experience
There are many benefits of augmented reality for a modern shopping experience as here are a
a few key benefits mentioned below.
Easy Trails
There is always a long crowd for trail rooms that could waste your time and make you feel exhausted too. With the AR technology, there is a virtual mirror where you can see yourself by virtually fitting the dress of your size. This does not waste your time and makes tasks easy for you. This can be done in both online and offline shopping. For example, if you have to trial a pair of glasses then AR software can scan your face and virtually set a pair of glasses of your choice.
Personalization of User Content
Personalization of user content is very important and can prove beneficial to attract customers. But this cannot be achieved manually. Where with the AR, it is possible to filter out the content based on the user’s past shopping, choices, checkout, etc. This saves the time of users by not wasting on other products and enhances the user experience towards the company.
Connecting Customers with Printed Content
Printed wear is one of the most trending things as many shoppers like to wear print clothes. But sometimes it is not possible to find out the information about any printed wear. With augmented reality, you just need to hold your phone camera towards the wearer and there will be all the information mentioned on your screen in no matter of time. This is a time-savvy and relaxing thing for the shoppers to find their favorite dresses.
Dissipating Barriers to Language
Many e-commerce platforms cannot contain the same language system that you know. There could be another language on the platform. And if a product that you like is available only on that platform then it could be harder to make that order. But with Google AR, there are more than 40 language transcription options that can translate the platform into your choice language so that you can purchase your favorite clothes around the world.
Increases Brand Awareness
Marketing is a tough thing and sometimes it could be costly. But with AR, a company can enhance the customer’s experience in multiple ways. A happy customer goes to his/her place and tells the other about your good service and products. This increases brand awareness very fast and at zero cost. So AR is also a valuable technology for brand reputation.
Also Read: Benefits and Challenges of Using VR and AR in Education
Challenges With Augmented Reality For Modern Shopping
We have seen a lot of benefits of AR but there are a few challenges too. Here are a few key challenges mentioned below.
- Only the implementation of AR costs too much but this is not enough. It needs to hire a 3d model developer company to make 3d models of products. So overall the initial cost is too high but worth it after implementation.
- Hardware compatibility can be a challenge as ensuring AR solutions are compatible with various devices, including mobile devices and wearables, is crucial.
- Choosing an AR development platform can be a tough task that could take so much time, so it could be a challenge too.
Also Read: How Augmented Reality Is Transforming the Retail Industry
Final Words
Customers can see the product about their surroundings by using augmented reality, or AR. This technology enables consumers to experience owning and using a product long before they make a purchase. Making more accurate and effective selections when purchasing both online and offline can be achieved by utilizing augmented reality in retail. Studies show that the AR shopping experience is preferred by 61% of all consumers. The applications of augmented reality in retail settings are practically limitless. We have seen a lot of benefits of this technology for the shopping experience and can say that this could be going to change the shopping experience in the future very soon.
