Recently, Extended Reality company Wool & Water conducted a 1000+ consumer research survey to “identify emerging trends, opportunities and behavioral shifts among shoppers both for individual clients and to understand the broader consumer.”
Download your complimentary copy by visiting the VR/AR Association
The report investigates consumer perspectives of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), to help brands better understand how to connect and engage with retail consumers in the Metaverse.
The following are key points from this compelling research and what they mean to brands.
85% of consumers are interested in using Augmented Reality with products
Takeaway: AR is here and easily accessible from today’s smartphones. Why miss a chance to better engage with your customers who are—by a wide majority—wanting to interact with AR?
83% of consumers believe Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality improves their shopping
Takeaway: The future of shopping is Extended Reality (XR). Do not let your competitors beat you to the punch.
86% of consumers would choose a brand that offers Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality over ones that don’t
Takeaway: Shoppable AR that delivers both confidence and convenience is a competitive advantage for retailers that can result in higher sales and strengthened loyalty vs competitors.
Just 6% of Snap users list “Buying products using AR” as their primary activity on the social network
Takeaway: Even though Snap has become the posterchild platform for Augmented Reality, brands cannot solely rely on the social network to reach consumers with AR. Companies must build their own Extended Reality programs to reach users at scale with this innovation.
Only 18% of Snap users have purchased using AR shopping
Takeaway: The significant cost of partnering with Snap to reach a small group of users buying on the platform is better spent on long-term investments into a retailer’s own omnichannel footprint to develop in-store and online shoppable AR capabilities.
What this research means: Brands must develop AR shopping capabilities quickly in order to compete in the new digital-first marketplace
Extended Reality (XR) innovations such as Augmented Reality are no longer emerging technologies. As consumers spend more time and money online, they are open to interacting with brands in new ways during their purchase research. AR in the shopper’s journey enables users to better understand and examine products before they buy whether that’s inspecting items closely in the virtual world or even trying products on themselves (i.e. glasses, makeup) or in their homes (i.e. appliances, furniture).
Brands that embrace XR for how it can impact and influence consumers as they shop will have a leg up on their competitors. Right now, there’s a gap—some forward-thinking brands are using it while laggards are missing the boat. This is the time for your brand to strike and offer shoppers immersive experiences that can steal sales from your rivals.
We also learned in this report that even though Snap has been a company synonymous with XR since its inception, the XR category is growing faster outside of the social network than within it. Simply bucketing your entire Extended Reality strategy within the walls of Snap isn’t good enough. Brands must embrace these innovations and build their own XR practices and programs in order to maximize the benefit that immersive experiences can offer.
For more information on how to build your own XR programs, reach out to Arlene today for a quick conversation.