In my enlightening tome, “Extended Reality In Practice,” I present over 100 ways augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are reshaping our world—sort of like how a bulldozer reshapes a garden, but with fewer flowers and more pixels.
Today, let’s take a leisurely stroll through the retail sector, where AR and VR are not just sprucing up the customer experience but also giving conversion rates a hearty boost. Imagine shopping without pants! Oh, wait, that’s wishful thinking—what we really mean is an entertaining virtual shopping journey.
10 Best Examples Of Augmented And Virtual Reality In Retail
Adobe Stock
Long before we needed high-tech solutions to avoid human interaction during a global pandemic, retail was just screaming for a transformation. Let’s face it: buying furniture online is like trying to judge a pizza by its picture—it’s often a regrettable surprise. Thankfully, retailers have embraced AR to allow you to project that hideous lime-green couch straight into your living room to guarantee both laughs and buyer’s remorse.
But don’t stop there! Now you can virtually try on glasses that may or may not make you look like a distinguished professor or a confused raccoon. What a time to be alive!
My Top Ten Ways Retail is Entering the Virtual Age
So, let’s dive into my favorite highlights of how AR and VR are spicing things up in retail:
- Nike is taking steps to keep you glued to their brand. Scan shoes and clothing for info, or enter VR to explore the supply chain—because who wouldn’t want a virtual tour of cardboard boxes?
- IKEA equips you with The Place App—because nobody has ever returned a piece of IKEA furniture post-assembly regret (or at least, very few).
- Warby Parker lets you try on glasses from home. You won’t even need to change out of your pajamas to see if you look as fabulous as the model in the advertisement!
- L’Oreal offers AR-powered makeup try-ons via Facebook, helping you experiment with looks that may or may not work in daylight. Welcome to the future, where you can avoid mirror-based disappointments!
- WatchBox is a luxury watch retailer letting you try on different sizes virtually. Because who wants to make such life-altering decisions in actual physical form?
- FaceCake presents an Infinite Virtual Closet where you can fill your wardrobe with unachievable goals. Just remember, the clothes won’t magically appear in your closet, despite all that spending.
- BMW employs AR to allow car shoppers to customize vehicles like it’s a Tinder profile—swipe right for the fanciest colors!
- Apple brought their stores online with AR technologies for those who miss touching all the overpriced gadgets. Just don’t watch too closely, or you might feel compelled to buy a new iPhone every week!
- Toms has VR experiences bringing you to Peru virtually. It’s like a vacation without the plane ticket—or the sunscreen, which is everyone’s favorite aspect of travel.
- Asos now features simulated models for you to dress up using AR. Because dressing a virtual body is definitely easier than maneuvering your actual self into last year’s fashion!
The Future Is Here—And It’s Virtual!
These cutting-edge examples of AR and VR in retail illustrate how these technologies can enhance shopping. Who needs reality when you can transform your shopping experience into a virtual escapade?
If you’re curious about more ingenious applications of AR and VR in our lives, look no further than my book, “Extended Reality in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Are Changing Business and Society.” You might just discover that reality is highly overrated.
