In the race to introduce new ways of viewing content and expanding the potential of available technology, the large tech companies have given themselves above all to interest in the potential of virtual reality. Virtual reality seems like a promising element, creating new worlds and allowing totally immersive experiences, worthy of a science fiction universe.
However, augmented reality, despite not being so ‘showy’, has tangible and already feasible applications for companies, uses that are already being carried out and that are already managing to connect with consumers.
Augmented reality does not require, as virtual reality does, that consumers buy new – and expensive – devices. This, for companies thinking about how to introduce these tools in marketing and advertising, can be quite a favorable point. No consumer is willing to pay for new terminals simply for brands to offer them their spam.
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The potential of augmented reality in brand strategy is growing, as a study by Publicis Media, Alter Agents and Snap (the owners of Snapchat) has just concluded using several countries as a sample.
Buy when you can try in augmented reality
Consumers, they conclude in the analysis, are increasingly using these augmented reality solutions both when surfing the net and when they do so with the intention of buying. In other words, augmented reality filters have become a kind of gateway to make online purchases much more comfortable.
That was, it should be added, one of the ideas that haunted companies from the outset in the use of augmented reality in customer service, marketing and advertising. The example of Ikea is one of the best to understand: the company was a pioneer creating an app that allowed you to see how the furniture in its catalog would be in the real spaces that they were going to occupy.
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Going back to the study data, consumers tend to increase their purchase probability when using augmented reality (Snapchat users are compared to non-social media users here). The categories in which this is more frequent are home decoration (73%), product customization (73%) and virtual fitting rooms (72%).
Also, the use of these tools is not generational. The study has found that members of Gen Z are the ones who know them the most, but that older millennials and Gen X are also interested in the idea.
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Future potential
The projections still speak of much to be done: In the next few years, marketers plan to further test how to use augmented reality glasses to meet consumer expectations.
In addition, we must not forget that augmented reality will be one of the technologies that will benefit in a collateral way by the 5G boom. 5G will allow higher internet connection speeds and higher quality, which will better settle those more complex experiences. This is what will happen with augmented reality. They will also do it in a much more ambitious and much more striking way.
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