Who hasn’t heard of the Pokémon Go phenomenon yet? This game, born in the late 90s, is back like never before: crowds swamping Central Park, cemeteries full of people hunting “pokémons” phone in hand, and similar stories in every newspaper. The police have even published a “good practice guide” for playing this virtual reality game safely. Why all the craze? Simple but fun: you walk around catching pokémons with your phone or tablet.
This is what we call augmented virtual reality, and all you need to use it is a phone and an Internet connection.
Smashing every expectation, Nintendo’s game has more downloads than any known app. Not Tinder, Twitter, WhatsApp or adult sites have had as many downloads as this game that’s catching young and old alike. Since the app sends users to the places where pokémons appear (from cemeteries and churches to Civil Guard stations), we expect a new way to advertise where the hunters roam and stand out on the map: “Come to my store and try catching pokémons“… In fact, chains like McDonald’s have already confirmed they would be willing to pay to have people end up playing in their restaurants.
Pokémon Go’s success may well be the final push augmented virtual reality needed.
But augmented reality is nothing new.
Augmented virtual reality: a reality beyond video games
One of eCommerce’s big challenges was convincing users to buy products they saw online without being able to touch or test them first. Now that this fear of buying online is fading, we’re moving on to a new experience where virtual reality is starting to take center stage in both eCommerce and retail.
Augmented reality lets brands reach the end consumer by simulating something: from virtually driving a car to experiencing the feeling of flying or playing in 3D. So far the uses seem fairly clear, but eCommerce also has a part to play.
Brands know they need good images to bring products closer to end users. Zoom and 360º photos have allowed users browsing the Internet or an online store to understand and check the product on offer without touching it. But,
What happens when the product needs to be tried on (clothing, cosmetics, jewelry…)?
Augmented virtual reality arrives to answer the doubts of shoppers who want to try a product without touching it. In its drive to reach users through the screen, Google bought Moodstocks this July, a French start-up specializing in recognizing objects shown to it through a smartphone. By pointing a phone at an object, Google would identify it through object recognition (similar to voice recognition —Cortana or Siri). It’s yet another step toward augmented virtual reality, which may soon reach eCommerce.
How can augmented virtual reality help eCommerce?
In online clothing and shoe stores, doubts arise: will this garment go with what I already have? Will these shoes fit me?
In online shopping, the augmented virtual reality developed to date makes it possible to:
Connect eCommerce with retail: because it works across multiple screens (from phones to life-size displays in stores), users interact with them and can end up buying there after trying the product virtually.
Some may think this science fiction is still far from reality…. But it isn’t.
In countries like Japan, trials keep coming, and sportswear brand Puma even offered a virtual fitting-room mirror that lets users change outfits without ever touching the product they’re trying on.
That’s what this 3-minute video shows: the customer picks the garments she likes, places them over her image projected on the screen and instantly sees how they would look. The selected garment also shows its sizes, reference and price in case she wants to buy it right away. Even in a physical store, customers may prefer to interact and enjoy a different shopping experience rather than queue for the fitting room.
Higher average order value: if customers can try more products, they’ll be more likely to increase the average order value (always depending on the type of business). One of the most effective campaigns using this technology comes from cosmetics brands such as Sephora, where, thanks to a simulator projecting the customer’s image in a mirror, she can change eyeshadow colors, see how they look and try as many as she likes, adding products and potentially increasing the purchase value.
Faster purchase process: if you let customers experiment with a simulation of what they want, they’ll probably be easier to convince than with just a product image. Case in point: in 2014 Ikea created a catalog that let you virtually place furniture in your home to see how it would look alongside the other items in the room. Customers could design their home with every item in the catalog and then buy everything they liked.
Fewer issues: when users can experience and simulate what they’re about to buy, they also understand the experience and feel of the purchase. If customers better understand what they’re buying, they’ll be more confident in their decision.
Fashion brands: pioneers in trying this technology
With fashion being one of the highest-revenue sectors online, it was only to be expected that it would be among the first to jump on the augmented virtual reality bandwagon. Tommy Hilfiger invited anyone who wanted to see its new fall 2015 collection to take part, through virtual reality screens installed in its main stores in European and American capitals. Using 360º headsets, customers could see everything happening on the runway and backstage at New York Fashion Week.
American designer Rebeca Minkoff also wanted her followers to see the show and feel part of it from different viewpoints, filming it from the spectator’s perspective to the model’s on the runway. Within hours of going on sale on her website, the Cardboard (Google’s cardboard headsets) sold out.
Other luxury designers, such as Jimmy Choo, went a step further by creating a virtual showroom, similar to the brand’s real space at Milan Fashion Week. Users could feel as if they were at the Italian runway show without leaving home, and could also order online the piece from the collection they were viewing.
Who is behind augmented virtual reality?
Twitter has just hired a new head of virtual reality to develop these kinds of experiences and bring them to social media. Meanwhile, Facebook has already bought Oculus Rift, the company that makes virtual reality headsets, while Apple and other tech companies keep working to make this new technology more accessible, affordable and easy to use.
Do you think the future lies in shopping from home and trying on clothes through augmented virtual reality? What’s clear is that users are looking for new experiences that are fun and unique, and what better than a game to attract the audience your business needs.
