Page 40 - June 2021

Next Level

Experiences

ith all these new digital shopping, e-commerce, live social streaming shopping and omni-channel options,
the winner of these is augmented reality. According to eMarkerter/Artillery Intelligence reports, the social
media channels catapulted AR with Google introducing AR in Ads whilst Snapchat saw a 33 per cent growth
Win a single quarter and Instagram integrated AR into account profiles and IG shopping. According to Statista
and Millennial Marketing, AR conversion rates on Instagram are up 80 per cent compared to the standard three per cent
conversion rate without AR.
Leading the pack in Augmented Reality (AR) tools for fashion’s “virtual try on” is Snap Inc. with its body mesh technology.
According to Vogue Business (21 May, 2021 by Maghan McDowell) Snap Inc. is adding more virtual “try on” for clothes,
jewellery, shoes, glasses and purses as AR shopping features races to lure fashion and beauty brands selling online away from
Instagram and Facebook. Farfetch and Prada are pouncing on AR within the Snap Inc. environment as it allows for social sharing
and making virtual shopping very personal.
Other companies in this area are India’s Bigthinx which allows customers
to scan their body with their AR and AI mobile app and see themselves
wearing the clothes. This helps one figure out what size one
would wear in certain brands and thus can reduce returns from
e-commerce transactions with fit problems.
When it comes to sneakers and the mass hysteria of Gen
Z for buying the latest and greatest, another company is
forging new frontiers with their mobile gaming app, Aglet,
a location-based commerce experience for virtual and
physical shopping. Utilising some of the same geofencing
technology as Pokémon Go, players can buy their
sneakers from the app or go on a game adventure
in their city and be led to stores that have the exact
sneaker they are looking for. Players’ physical steps are
converted into in-game currency, called Aglet, to be
used to purchase their favourite footwear. According
to Founder and CEO, Ryan Mullins, “our mission is
to capture streetwear & sneaker culture in an ‘onlife’
world, the convergence of virtual and physical. A new
commerce paradigm is upon us wherein we can create fun,
immersive experiences that don’t require the consumer’s
interaction with a brand exhausted by clicking on the buy
button.”
40 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2021