Top 5 Augmented Reality Apps for Creating Immersive Shopping Experiences

Customers always want to be sure that the product they’re buying will meet their needs. For example, imagine purchasing a new sofa for your living room—it can be hard to picture exactly how it will look before making the purchase. Will it match your walls and existing décor? Will it fit perfectly in the space?

So, how can we know if a product is right before buying? Thanks to augmented reality (AR) and virtual try-on technologies, we now have access to "try-before-you-buy" features. Many retailers are releasing AR apps that help customers make more informed shopping decisions by visualizing products in their real environments.

Key Insights

AR Enhances the "Try-Before-You-Buy" Experience: Augmented reality (AR) apps give customers the ability to visualize products in their real-world environment, offering a highly immersive "try-before-you-buy" experience. This helps shoppers make more informed purchasing decisions, reducing the risk of returns and increasing customer satisfaction.

Leading Brands are Investing in AR to Solve Challenges: Top companies like Amazon, Nike, and Warby Parker have integrated AR into their apps to solve challenges such as choosing the right product size or visualizing how items like furniture or glasses will look in real life. These AR features streamline the shopping process and build confidence in the products.

AR Drives Higher Engagement and Brand Awareness: AR experiences not only improve customer decision-making but also drive brand engagement. Warby Parker, for instance, has seen customers use their AR app to share selfies while virtually trying on glasses, leading to increased brand exposure and social media engagement.

AR Reduces Returns and Increases Efficiency: Apps like Nike Fit, which uses AR to determine exact shoe sizes, reduce customer friction and help prevent returns due to poor fit. This efficiency not only saves time and resources for customers but also benefits businesses by reducing shipping and handling costs.

AR is Becoming a Standard in the Retail Industry: More companies, like Wayfair and Pure Cycles, are adopting AR to give their customers better product visualization. As AR continues to grow, it is becoming a standard tool in online retail, giving businesses a competitive edge by offering a more personalized and interactive shopping experience.

Top AR Apps for Shopping Online

Here are 5 of the best augmented reality apps for shopping that you can use today:

1. Amazon

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer by market cap, so the company is constantly experimenting with new ways to create experiences that delight its customers.

"Amazon enhances its augmented reality feature with the addition of Room Decorator tools to provide customers with an even more immersive shopping experience from the comfort of their own home or on the go,” an Amazon spokesperson said about the new feature.

2. Nike

No one wants to buy the wrong size when purchasing shoes. However, according to Nike, three out of every five people are probably wearing the wrong size shoe. In 2019, Nike launched a new AR solution called Nike Fit to find the perfect shoe size in line with its high-tech company vision.

Nike Fit makes of cutting-edge technologies such as computer vision, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and recommendation algorithms to measure the size of both your feet.

All you have to do is to open your smartphone camera, and then Nike Fit will find your recommended shoe size with accuracy within 2mm.

Nike Fit is a transformative solution and an industry-first—using digital technology to solve massive customer friction. In the short term, Nike Fit will improve the way Nike designs, manufactures, and sells shoes—products better tailored to match consumer needs. A more accurate fit can contribute to everything from less shipping and fewer returns to better performance.

3. Wayfair

With global offices and an extensive network of logistics hubs and customer service centers, Wayfair is a leading brand that sells furniture and home goods. We all know that many people have a difficult time when it comes to the fit between new furniture and their existing room decoration.

Without seeing the furniture in your room, we can't imagine how they fit the room, right?

Thus, Wayfair has transformed its mobile app into an AR app, so customers will now be able to see, spin, move, and understand a product from every angle.

4. Warby Parker

How do you find the right glasses when shopping online?

The key to finding the right glasses is all about the "Opposites Attract" rule. What I mean by that is to choose eyeglasses that contrast with your facial contours and bring symmetry and balance to your prominent features.

Considering this issue, Warby Parker developed the face-mapping tech on Apple's iPhones (iPhone X and newer models), which enables you to virtually try any eyeglasses for making smarter decisions before buying them. It works perfectly on your face, and there is no doubt that the new app of Warby Parker is one of the best AR apps at all.

The company also announces that customers often take selfies while trying on glasses in an online store, and then they share those photos with their friends through social media, which means that you can increase your brand awareness by having an AR app.

5. Pure Cycles

Pure Cycles was an early adopter of Shopify AR and sold affordable fixed-gear bicycles online and through physical retail.

Typically, bikes have many moving parts from different manufacturers, and it isn’t easy to see them online with images. However, through augmented reality, customers can zoom in to see the bike parts, such as the drivetrain and handlebars, without stepping foot into a bike shop.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, more and more companies are integrating AR features in their apps hoping to catch up with the big brands we mentioned above.

But these tech giants have been around for a long time, and the AR experiences they offer are a product of thousands of experiments and months of development. However, it's always a good idea to look up to them and set targets accordingly.

Integrating AR into your business model might be the first step to success. If you want to boost your online retail business, you can easily book a demo today!

FAQs

How does AR improve the online shopping experience?

AR allows customers to visualize products in their real environment, whether it’s trying on virtual eyeglasses or placing furniture in their living room. This immersive experience helps customers make more informed decisions and boosts confidence in their purchases.

Which companies are leading the use of AR in eCommerce?

Top companies like Amazon, Nike, Wayfair, Warby Parker, and Pure Cycles are leading the way with AR. They have incorporated features like virtual try-ons, room previews, and product interaction to make online shopping more engaging and efficient.

How does AR help reduce returns?

By allowing customers to visualize products before purchasing, AR reduces the uncertainty that often leads to returns. Apps like Nike Fit help customers choose the correct shoe size, while Wayfair’s AR app ensures furniture fits perfectly in a customer’s space.

Can AR increase brand engagement?

Yes, AR can boost engagement. For example, Warby Parker’s app allows users to try on virtual glasses and share selfies on social media, increasing brand visibility and creating a fun, interactive shopping experience.

Is AR suitable for small businesses, or is it just for big brands?

While big brands have led the AR revolution, AR solutions are becoming increasingly accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. Integrating AR into a business model can help differentiate a brand and improve customer experiences, making it a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes.