AR Has Reached A Tipping Point; Not Gimmick Anymore

Augmented reality has reached a tipping point, and it’s one that is increasingly affordable, accessible, and highly relevant to even the average print shop. AR has become a way to offer solutions and help your clients sell products and engage audiences in real, practical ways.

However, print experts and writer, Heidi Tolliver Walker made it known that “if anyone still skeptical that augmented reality is more than a gimmick? It’s understandable. Much of what we’ve seen written and announced regarding the metaverse seems irrelevant to the average printer. For example, Advertising Week’s article touting the metaverse as reaching a “tipping point,” with major CPG brands selling products in gaming spaces such as Fortnight and fashion trendsetters participating in Metaverse Fashion Week. If that’s all you think the metaverse is, you can be excused for tuning it out”

The popular print writer and speaker Heidi Tolliver Walker said further that Augmented reality has reached a tipping point, and it’s one that is increasingly affordable, accessible, and highly relevant to even the average print shop. Used right, AR has become a way to offer solutions and help your clients sell products and engage their audiences in real, practical ways.

According to Heidi, a webinar includes as one of its presenters Joe Zeff of Joe Zeff Design (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who has created AR campaigns for the likes of AT&T, Pittsburgh Robotics, and the Pittsburgh Zoo. His AR scenes are designed to do all of these things, and he’s a one-man shop.

Recalls that a webinar that includes as one of its presenters Joe Zeff of Joe Zeff Design (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who has created AR campaigns for the likes of AT&T, Pittsburgh Robotics, and the Pittsburgh Zoo. His AR scenes are designed to do all of these things, and he’s a one-man shop.

An excerpt, from Joe Jeff explanation on the practical side of AR:

“When you can’t pick up a product and hold it in your hands, AR is the next best thing. And it’s no longer super expensive and in the realm that only big companies can afford. With some licenses, it would take landing only a single campaign to pay for the software license for an entire year”.

Let’s look at some of the data showing the power of AR in today’s online shopping world:

  1. More than one-quarter (26%) of shoppers are more likely to purchase a product using AR. This is simply practical. If I want to buy a couch and can use an app to place that couch in my living room and see it in place, and if it looks great, my likelihood of purchasing that couch goes way up. This isn’t a gimmick. It’s basic human nature.

It’s the same reason that…

2.  Shopify found that products advertised with AR/VR have shown a 90% increase in conversion rate. I, myself, have shopped for flooring that way, and it’s incredibly helpful. A style that looks great online might look horrible in our home, with our wall colour, our furniture, and so on. Seeing flooring look just the way I hoped it would vastly increase my confidence in making a purchase. Most brands using such tools don’t call them AR, however. They call them “product visualizers.” Use your phone to check out this one from L. L. Flooring.

3. Based on its internal data, Vertebrae, an AR software developer, found that engagement with AR rose 20% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was not an uncommon phenomenon. For us now, the thing to know is that many of these pandemic-fuelled trends (including contactless payments, doctor’s visit check-ins by QR code, and, yes, AR visualization) have become permanent. Consumers have become used to the ease of use, convenience, and personalization brought by these changes. Why would they give them up now?