Demand for Augmented Reality is set to grow during 2022. The use of AR devices and applications is expected to peak, especially in the corporate and online shopping environments.
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a watershed, accelerating the already ongoing technological change. In fact, in order to stem the crisis, many sectors have gone back in the game, investing in digital transformation.
According to a new study by Statista.com, the Augmented Reality market will reach 198 billion dollars by 2025. Another important figure concerns mobile AR users, who will grow to 3.5 billion this year.
This is a very promising outlook, indeed. So what are the trends for Augmented Reality in 2022? Let’s have a look at some of them together.
Retail Shopping: 71% of Consumers Prefer the AR experience
Shopping is increasingly moving online. Analysts expect the share of digital sales to reach 22% of global purchases next year (source Statista.com).
The digital purchase journey also includes consumers’ predilection for AR, an experience which they perceive to be comparable to that of a physical store.
Therefore, users, and especially Millennials, will continue to prefer AR. This preference is in line with a general trend: 70% of those surveyed by thinkmobiles.com would spend more on retail purchases if they could use Augmented Reality.
Hence companies need to focus on this immersive technology, assisted by other tools and devices, to be more competitive and improve the customer experience. A path that e-commerce and retail platforms have already taken.
A Stronger Manufacturing Industry with AR
In the year 2022 companies will complete the technological innovation process they undertook during the pandemic. To ensure the production cycle and the work of employees – even remotely – they have invested smart glasses and collaborative platforms in AR, such as Eye4Task.
This has generated a great demand for immersive technologies with Augmented Reality, with 60% of the demand for industrial applications.
The International Data Corporation study predicts that by 2025, manufacturing industries will spend $816 billion on digital transformation globally.
The advantages deriving from AR, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality in their productions constitute the reason for these companies’ investments.
Benefits include:
- Increased performance and workers’skills
- Advantages in design and competitiveness
- Ability to respond more quickly to user requests
A smart process that can make a real difference, increasing revenue and reducing costs. You become more competitive, with positive effects on Brand awareness.
Augmented Reality Solutions in Healthcare
To overcome the difficulties that emerged especially during the first phase of the pandemic, the company relied on hi-tech, with healthcare, telesurgery and telemedicine applications.
AR is estimated to generate $1,565.1 million in the global healthcare market by 2026 (source Research Dive). Moreover, within Healthcare, Augmented Reality-based technology on mobile devices is expected to reach $409.7 million in 4 years.
According to Research Dive analysts, Augmented Reality is more “user-friendly”. Therefore, in 2022 the number of companies in the bio-medical and healthcare sector that want to use it also to communicate and engage with healthcare professionals will grow.
A transformation is underway that involves moving beyond the traditional multi-pronged healthcare approach. This is made possible thanks to the use of diagnostic tools (such as AI) and wearable devices, such as HMD glasses in Augmented Reality. These devices are useful for medical diagnosis, treatment and surgery.
Augmented Reality solutions are also paramount for remote patient support and to contain hospitals costs.
Conclusions
The adoption of Augmented Reality will certainly move beyond gaming, which, nonetheless, still retains the largest share. This immersive technology is conquering several sectors, such as insurance, real estate, construction, healthcare, e-learning.
All these cutting-edge solutions are supported by the Eye4Task collaborative platform: an innovative software equipped with AR smart glasses, the use of which improves the performance of experts, reducing travel costs and increasing profits.
For more information on the HeadApp software, contact us for a free consultation or visit our Solutions page.