Retail Technology
| Log in | Subscribe



Subscribe | Log in
Retail Technology
Subscribe

Ovum retail technology analyst, Christine Bardwell examines the top three uses of augmented reality live in retail today

Ovum retail technology analyst, Christine Bardwell examines the top three uses of augmented reality live in retail today

 

As viral campaigns linking to YouTube videos containing augmented reality product demonstrations are sent to inboxes around the world, augmented reality (AR) is being tipped as the technology for retailers to watch in 2010. Whether for online, mobile or kiosk, Ovum is witnessing innovation from which the future standard augmented reality applications for retail will grow. In this piece, we discuss the top three AR applications for retail that are live today.

 

Augmented reality is a tool, which combines both the real and the virtual, providing an interactive user experience by superimposing computer-generated 3D items onto live video streams using the camera on a mobile handset or webcam. Although the term ‘augmented reality’ was coined nearly 20 years ago, the technology is only now coming to the fore because of advancements in areas such as GPS and analytics, combined with the growth of the smartphone market. For retailers keeping an eye on developments, Ovum believes the potential benefits will become apparent before the year is out. It said the top examples of AR in use in retail now:

 

Virtual fitting rooms for e-tailers help mitigate product returns

 

Etailers experience a large number of product returns, anything between 10% up to 40% of all shipped items, because of the variations between product images on commerce sites, and the actual product colour, quality and fit. Developers of augmented reality applications are looking for new ways to minimise retail returns, providing opportunities for increasing turnover and enhancing the online customer experience.

 

Currently live on eyewear retailer websites such as Ray-Ban and GlassesDirect.com is a tool for trying on glasses in real time using video images through a webcam. The application uses advanced facial recognition technology and face mapping to ensure the virtual frames can be viewed at every angle as the face rotates. Designed by FittingBox, it is in our opinion the most developed augmented reality retail fitting room solution.

 

Another example of an online shopping fitting room, ‘The Webcam Social Shopper’ by Zugara, is live on fashion retail site Tobi.com. The application allows online shoppers with webcams to place items of digital clothing over their own image giving an experience close to an in-store fitting room. However, the image hovers over the moving image rather than matching the shape of the body, so in Ovum’s opinion, development work is required around the application can recognize body proportion and rotation before it can be of any real use to retailers.

 

Kiosks featuring augmented reality enhance the in-store experience

 

Lego is using augmented reality in kiosks to show how Lego Technic sets will look when built. When the product box is held up in front of the kiosk, the screen displays a video image of the box along with a 3D image of the assembled Lego set. The interaction with the customer via the kiosk may well be the key to converting a potential customer into a paying one, making a well considered interactive touch point such as the Lego kiosk an innovative and enticing proposition.

 

AR challenge to 2D barcodes for product information and promotions

 

Knowing where products are sourced, particularly food products, is becoming a key issue for the ethical consumer of today. Now consumers can use the camera on their mobile handset to scan a 2D, or QR barcode, to access information about the product such as the best before date and carbon footprint. With AR, the barcode is not necessary because the software can recognize an image, a product label for example, and display the same product source information. Although there is no clear case for this particular use of AR at the moment, there are certainly live applications of the same ilk.

 

Rather than decking window displays with tinsel this past Christmas, Hugo Boss took a more innovative approach to visual merchandising by using an interactive window campaign to attract customer into the store, and carry on the brand engagement after store closing. A handout was distributed to passers-by which when held up to the front of the store window, interacted to produce catwalk video content and information about a competition and in-store promotion.

 

Similarly, in August 2009 Best Buy experimented with AR through a campaign it called ‘Best Buy in 3D’. The electrical retailer distributed fliers which, when held up to a webcam, launched a 3D image of a laptop. Bardwell said Ovum believes this use of AR will drive out market potential for consumer QR barcode scanning in retail marketing and advertising, particularly in markets like the US where 2D barcodes have low market penetration.