The Retail business can enormously benefit from Augmented Reality. These benefits generally involve both cost reduction for retail companies and a better shopping experience for customers.
Travel restrictions enforced because of the pandemic have also changed the ways people shop, with a surge in e-commerce and home delivery, two types of retail showing the opportunities of the digital transformation under way.
Indeed, with the use of innovative apps and hi-tech tools such as smart glasses in Augmented Reality, retail is trending with positive repercussions on the logistics sector.
Discover how in this HeadApp article.
Retail, What It Means
Retail is nothing but the retail trade. This segment of the sales market is investing in the opportunities technological innovation has to offer, which are many and tangible. So much so that Retail, focusing on advanced apps, wearable devices in AR and Virtual Reality, has transformed logistics, production and sales.
But with a strong focus on the customer’s shopping experience. In fact, as production and products on the market grow, so do the needs of consumers. To meet these new challenges, Retail has invested in new Augmented Reality technologies, thus revolutionizing the purchasing habits of prospective customers.
As a matter of fact, the physical stores of the best known and most innovative brands have changed the way they approach their consumers to better satisfy and personalize their shopping experience.
Some examples of Retail in AR? Take the transformation of Retail stores in the fashion sector, with hi-tech applications, tablets and interactive screens. Tools that allow customers to try on a clothing item as if they were in the store fitting room. All while staying at home.
AR’s Positive Trend in Retail
From trying on a garment to buying it, the step is simple. Only a click away. This is true for all retail segments, whose most trending activities are e-commerce or home delivery.
But how do consumers perceive AR technology? In the last year, our habits have changed, including the way we purchase things. While online shopping was already surging before the pandemic, with the outbreak of Covid-19 and the restrictions it brought about, the percentages have risen sharply. To satisfy the buying experience of customers purchasing from home, hi-tech has greatly improved the emotions attached to the buying process and the opportunity to customize the purchase.
According to a recent study by thinkmobiles.com, 71% of people surveyed said they would buy more often if they could use Augmented Reality, while 40% would consider paying more if they could see a product better through Augmented Reality technologies.
The Benefits of Retail with Augmented Reality
Let’s now focus on retail employees. What are the benefits that, in this sense, Retail can draw from Augmented Reality? Let’s have a look.
AR technology can provide significant information, for example, on:
- Product and inventory management
- Price control and article position
- Order in-store pickup
- Product shipment
One of the crucial aspects concerns warehouse management, from pickup to storage operations. The operator does not always remember where the items to be shipped are located. This is also due to the fact that logistics is often handled by temporary employees who need training.
A valid support comes from wearable devices integrated with Augmented Reality. In fact, they improve the learning curve of the employees, so as to guide them in real time with check lists and provide all the data they need. Reducing time and improving performance with “hands-free” solutions is paramount for all logistics workers.
Smart glasses equipped with innovative Augmented Reality software, such as Eye4Task, make it easier for the operator to quickly find a product on the shelf; to scan and read barcodes and integrate the ERP with data about the goods.
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