Enhancing the In-Store Experience
Goldman Sachs forecasts the market for AR and VR in retail will reach $1.6 billion by 2025. VR is proving a great fit for use cases where the retailer wants to put the consumer into a completely new environment, like behind the wheel of a car, while AR layers images over the consumer’s immediate surroundings, such as projecting a new outfit on an image of the shopper standing in the store.
According to Forbes, the future of AR and VR in retail seems to break down into two major use categories. On one hand, AR lends itself well to consumer applications that answer questions such as, “What will it look like in my home? What will it look like on me? Tell me more about how to use this product.” VR, on the other hand, is finding a home in business uses such as store design, shelf assortment and layout, as well as in contextual store walks and real-time store performance, which allow executives to see store data in the context of how the store looks, rather than simply as a chart or list of numbers.