Augmenting ecommerce
YouTube has recently rolled out a new feature on their branded content platform Famebit, allowing viewers to virtually trial makeup products alongside their favourite cosmetics and beauty vloggers.1 The ‘Virtual Try-On’ feature uses Augmented Reality technology to apply the look of particular makeup products over a live feed of a user’s face, alongside a video from a cosmetics reviewer. Through Virtual Try-On, users are not only introduced to new offerings from major brands like MAC cosmetics but also get to seamlessly trial them in the comfort of their own homes, or wherever else they may be watching, facilitating a frictionless experience.
What can AR add to the shopping experience?
AR platforms have the potential to address one of the most significant shortcomings of the online shopping experience- the intangibility of the product. Even as brick-and-mortar retail retains the ability to try on and physically interact with an item as a key advantage over ecommerce, applying AR to an online retail environment may bridge that gap. The effectiveness of AR technology in ecommerce has been examined,2 with consumers being found to experience greater immersion when using AR. Seeing how a product fits and functions in the consumers direct environment, whether on their bodies or their homes, allows for greater interactivity enhancing the shopping experience.
Melbourne based AR developer Platter has made strides in bringing accessible AR options to retailers.3 Implementing AR features online for products like coffee machines and furniture, shoppers are able to preview the look and style of items through the lens of their mobile devices. Customers can modify the colour and design of these products, to see how potential purchases fit into their homes, marrying the convenience of digital shopping with the visual perceptibility of a physical item.