Highlights of our Research

Why Commerce and Augmented Reality must meet

Commerce is one of the oldest and one of the most universal activities of the human species. Since the birth of civilization, people have been engaging in trade for survival and profit. Technology has continuously improved critical points and processes in the chain between raw materials and customer satisfaction. Now, one of the newest forms of converged technology, Augmented Reality, is ready to be applied in a variety of ways to assist businesses and consumers.

Design, Discovery, Details, Desire and Delivery

By enhancing five critical phases in the chain of commerce, Augmented Reality will enrich customer experience, increase engagement and improve the impact of brands and their offers on consumers.

Design

The report examines the opportunities to use Augmented Reality to accelerate a wide range of industrial and user experience design processes and to reduce costly delays which can be introduced when a product does not meet the needs of the user or cannot be easily manufactured. With Augmented Reality, designers can test their concepts in the manufacturing environment or in the end user environment with a system that provides rapid and precise visualization of information. Augmented Reality for design has been repeatedly shown to be a good investment for companies from automotive industry to retailers laying out the shelf space in the store.

Discovery

Every business with a product or service to offer seeks to capture the attention and to communicate with prospective customers. The digital world is increasingly used by consumers who have network-connected stationary (desktop) or mobile devices to
search for the solutions to their problems or to find a special product which matches
specifications. Search or “find for me” is one of the extremely compelling
applications for Augmented Reality.

Manufacturers routinely use the Web as a digital window on their “storefront” by having their products appear in the search engine results. Search engine optimization is the first step to engaging with consumers. Augmented Reality is a new way for cucstomers to search on the real world. Since every company which has a real world product also maintains a digital world presence, it is only natural that there be a place and a time where the two meet. Augmented Reality provides the platform upon which the digital and physical worlds will intersect permitting the new opportunities for discovery.

Details

The early developers of Augmented Reality tools and applications understand that one of the values of AR is to show (to illustrate) the unique attributes of an object or service using an animation which is controlled by the user in their context and following their individual interests. Since the user can “see” a product in the user’s setting, discover the attributes (read the back of the box) without ever losing sight of the object, AR is a natural tool for marketing physical objects as well as experiences.

Desire

Knowing the specific details or features of an object does not, in and of itself, produce the desire to purchase. For many discretionary purchases, the opinions of other users or customers are the most compelling form of marketing and inform the decision maker. In repeated studies, the engagement of friends and “taste neighbors” through social features assist in making a choice, therefore, it is only normal that the opinions of others would be included in Augmented Reality applications.

Recommendation platforms for real world products and services are increasingly offering real-time information and ratings. With Augmented Reality-assisted interfaces, the user does not need to leave the real world setting or the shopping environment to obtain the opinions of peers. Once again, the fusion of the physical and digital worlds is more powerful and useful than either of the experiences taken separately.

Delivery

Products and services should be self-evident to use but sometimes, a consumer needs a little assistance with getting started. With Augmented Reality manuals which are easy to download and are based largely on the detection of the new product in the consumer‘s real world setting, instructions on how to install or explore new features are more interactive. For many products, the interactive AR manual could save a service call to the home or office.

Using Augmented reality applications after the sale can increase customer satisfaction, improve loyalty and feed the virtuous cycle of positive customer recommendations to other consumers who have yet to make their purchasing decisions.

In each of these five points between conception to delivery, Augmented Reality can provide valuable insights, increase relevance and loyalty of customers. All that remains outstanding is the ability to make purchases within Augmented Reality applications. Although not available in early 2011, this capability is also approaching and will complement the many other benefits of having Augmented Reality well integrated in the chain of commerce.

Who is in the mobile AR retail ecosystem?

• Designers of products and services
• Web commerce and mobile-commerce professionals
• Marketing and sales professionals
• Retail and commercial space management professionals
• Digital brand managers
• Advertising professionals
• Augmented Reality technology providers
• Mobile network operators
• Mobile phone hardware and software developers

Learn more

When, where and how can Augmented Reality applications using custom
and off-the-shelf systems, with in-house and hired experts really have
an impact on sales?

A complete report will shed light on how to design an Augmented Reality
application for retail, to select an Augmented Reality partner, to experiment
and be successful with Augmented Reality in retail and commerce.

Table of Contents*

1. Introduction
1. What is Augmented Reality?
2. A short history of Mobile AR in Retail and Commerce
2. Stationary and Mobile AR applications in Retail and Commerce
1. Design
2. Discovery
3. Details
4. Desire
5. Delivery
3. Professional-purpose AR technologies
1. Instrumented environments
2. Head-mounted displays (Eyewear)
3. Precision AR
4. Technologies for consumers
1. Desktop applications with Webcams
2. Mobile phones/Smartphones
3. Mobile Networks
4. Accessories
5. AR Developer tools
1. Content preparation and publishing tools
2. Tools for trigger recognition
3. Tools for designing interaction
6. Guidelines for Consumer AR in Retail and Commerce
1. Designing AR for indoor
2. Designing AR for outdoor
3. User experience management
4. AR Content management
5. Finding partners for AR development and content
6. Bringing AR experiences to the customer
7. Using Social AR
7. Future Trends in Mobile AR
1. Risks and Challenges
2. Drivers and Opportunities
3. Mobile AR Market Forecast
8. Conclusion
9. Appendix 1: Companies mentioned

* The contents of this report can be customized to meet client interests and time constraints.

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      All rights reserved - Christine Perey, 2011