i3 - September/October 2016 - 44

Business

By Steve Smith

R E TA I L ST R AT EG I E S

Augmented Reality is Changing Retailing

F

Some of those consumers have become
competitors by using those same technologies to change the business model,
and making it easier for the rest of us
to get better deals.
Well, CE retailing never rests and
neither does technology. Augmented
reality (AR) technology apps teamed
up with smartphones and are changing
retailing for the better.
AR technology enables consumers to
digitally overlay selected products over a
picture of a real-life home or apartment
to see how the product fits in the room
before making a purchase. AR technology
is beginning to change the way retailers
make sales and help consumers make
informed decisions.
That's the hope, and based on online
reports the change has begun not just for CE

In a blog on retailigence.com, Lior Levin
says that, "while Google Glass may be the
future of AR many retailers are using it
today with existing devices. Whether it's
tools that let you try on clothes virtually,
apps that help you find your favorite
restaurant or new ways for consumers to
interact with a brand, AR is already making
dealers, but for retailers. If you've ever had to
an impact on retail." It looks like Google
struggle to figure out if that 60-inch TV will
Glass has a ton of competitors.
fit in your family room - AR apps should give
Levin says that retailers who combine
you the answer. And maybe
AR with localized SEO are
entice you to buy another
AR technology reaching customers "that,
product at the same time.
previously, were beyond
is beginning
to change the their grasp." He adds,
"Augmented reality makes
A Few Examples
way retailers
it easy for retailers to be
For instance AR developer
make sales and matched with relevant cusAugment, with offices
help consumers tomers. Customers know
in Paris, New York and
Orlando, posted on their
make informed how to localize businesses
that are relevant to them,
blog (augment.com) that
decisions.
what businesses have to
Lego, IKEA and Converse
offer, and read up on other
have used its app to boost
consumers' product reviews, all without
their retail presence and sales "through
looking further than their cell phones."
enriching their customer interaction
Elizabeth Woyke, reports for MIT
and buying experience." The developer
Technology Review, about furniture retailer
also said that you can thank AR for the
Wayfair's new AR app, WayfairView,
runaway success of the Pokémon GO app.
"which lets users place full-scale 3D
virtual models of Wayfair products in real
settings. Users select images of furniture
from Wayfair's online catalogue and use
the touch screen on their phone or tablet to
position the objects on their room's floor,
walls or ceiling."
Anyone who has bought furniture and
had to imagine how it might look at home
will be thankful for that. Woyke quotes a
survey by Walker Sands, a digital marketing
agency, which said 55 percent of consumers
think VR applications will influence their
buying decisions in some way.
The era of retailers and brands
counting on consumers to stumble upon
their websites to generate sales, not to
mention casual window shopping at a
mall, may soon seem nostalgic.
n
Steve Smith is editor at large of TWICE.

44

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

PHOTOGRAPH BY FERRANTRAITE/ISTOCK

or the brave souls who have made a living out of selling
consumer electronics (CE) products at retail, they
have been sowing the seeds of their own demise for
years. Many would say, "Yeah, by selling just on price."
That may be true, but CE retailers have been selling products for
years that have educated consumers about new technologies.
http://www.retailigence.com http://www.augment.com
i3 - September/October 2016

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