The use of augmented reality technology can allow you to try on clothes and to decorate the living room of your home from your cell phone

Leer en español: Compras con realidad aumentada disminuirán los casos de recibir la talla equivocada

Until now, the experience of shopping online could be a headache. Not being able to taste the products that we wanted to buy frequently led us to buy incorrect sizes in the case of clothes and furniture that do not even fit in our homes.

Since the advent of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, these problems may start to linger in the past, as companies like Walmart, Ikea, and Amazon have begun to improve their online shopping experience in ways that will life easier for buyers.

Augmented reality, as used by Amazon, for example, allows customers to see through their phones a representation in real size of the product they intend to buy. Through this technology we can know if the TV we intend to buy fits in the furniture we want to put it in, or we can even know what shoe size suits us best.

In the case of Ikea, we can see our house through our cell phone as if the furniture were already in place, allowing us to see a remodeling without making a single purchase.

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The giant of the commerce, Walmart, was the last one in investing in this technology, including a tour in virtual reality of an apartment decorated completely with its products, where the client can buy any of the things that are there.

Beyond that, companies like Sephora, specialized in cosmetics, and Ray-Ban, which sells lenses, have begun using this technology to develop 'mirrors' with augmented reality, which allow their customers to use their cell phone's camera to instantly see how the products shine without ever going to a store.

A bright future

The rapid implementation of AR and VR technology in shopping platforms has opened a world of possibilities for buyers and sellers, which can now eliminate many of the limitations that made online shopping uncomfortable. According to the enormous utility of these technologies, the value of the industry that produces and markets them has skyrocketed and projects to have a bright future.

According to Business Insider, which cites a study by MarketsandMarkets, the market for augmented reality technology for trade can reach 7,951 million dollars by the year 2023. A figure that will be supported by a growing adoption of the technology required to take advantage of the augmented reality and a marked tendency to opt for on-line purchases over going to physical stores.

Although large trading companies such as Walmart, Ikea, and Amazon develop their own AR and VR technology for multimillion-dollar figures, an English company named EyeKandy has an AR platform for trade already developed and for sale, so that smaller companies can Incorporate augmented reality IGNORE INTO your e-commerce sites.

As companies like EyeKandy make AR and VR technology more accessible, more small and medium-sized companies will be able to make use of it. There already are tools to massify this phenomenon, it is a matter of time to close the gaps that separate online purchases from purchases in physical stores.

Latin American Post | Pedro Bernal
Translated from “Compras con realidad aumentada harán que nunca reciba la talla equivocada otra vez”