The ongoing shift in how we shop for products online...
* Immersive shopping has gained significant popularity, especially recently with developments in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and 3D visualisation enabling online retailers to blend the digital and physical realms, providing a more personalised and interactive shopping experience.
The benefits of the technology visible in use cases such as try-before-you-buy are not a secret to anyone with some of the most common ones being
- Higher conversion rates: A study by Shopify showed that implementing AR and 3D visualisation tools resulted in a 94% higher conversion rate for online retailers in 2023
- Increased customer satisfaction: 80% of customers who engaged with immersive shopping experiences reported higher levels of satisfaction compared to traditional online shopping methods
..and its sustainability impact
- An often-overlooked aspect of the shift to visualisation and immersive shopping in commerce is the environmental impact. Giving consumers more confidence when it comes to purchases could lead to a big reduction in both bulk-buying and returns.In fact, according to Shopify, returns are reduced by 40%+ due to accurate product visualisation- an impressive result, which not only helps retailers save costs, but also educes CO2 emissions and packaging waste
- To put the scale of the problem into perspective, in the United States, item returns contribute to over 11 billion kilograms (24 billion pounds) of landfill waste, and 15 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Meanwhile, in Europe, total packaging waste in 2016 reached approximately 87 million tonnes, which equates to around 170 kg (374lbs) per individual
- Recent developments in the space clearly demonstrate the opportunity for technology to transform the issue. For example. Snap introduced AR Enterprise Services to help brands and retailers implement AR and Al into their shopping
