Augmented Reality’s ability to seamlessly place computer-generated images over a real-world scene has proved tremendously beneficial in driving sales and solving customer problems in the furniture retail space. Reports suggest that customers are more likely to visit furniture stores offering virtual reality (VR) technology that allows customers to envision products in real time by using a virtual environment, or by creating virtual stores.

The retail sector has actively experimented with AR and VR. Lego stores have AR mirrors that animate the contents of Lego boxes to show the expected results to shoppers. VR headsets are being used to preview custom kitchen installations. Several clients are seeking alternatives to banner ads, so that they can increase interaction with customers. Enhancing user engagement using 360-degree AR/VR technology raises click-through rates and increases sales.

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By Michelle Grant, Head of Retailing, Euromonitor International

Some companies choose to create a branded app for the mobile, while others prefer a web-based AR experience, and some companies use both. The creation of AR experiences through mobile apps has helped in raising sales. Customers have stopped requiring separate applications to experience AR on their mobile devices. This has eliminated the barrier in viewing and interacting with AR advertisements, allowing them to be used more freely.

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Some retail companies have apps that aid customers in assembling purchases, purchasing furniture that suits their home decor, or remodeling bathrooms. Visualizing how a piece of furniture would appear in a certain environment as opposed to the showroom was initially difficult—the large retail space makes everything appear smaller in comparison. This makes it difficult to picture dimensions and arrangement. This problem is solved by AR, which allows customers to virtually place objects in their home before buying it, thus giving them a clear idea of what they are purchasing, and how it will look in their home in real time. Apps that allow customers to test items by placing them in their homes virtually before making an in-store purchase with scheduled delivery, or allow online shopping, have become extremely popular today.

These applications allow customers to decide on a piece of furniture on the basis of whether it fits into the available space and how it will look in there to help them buy branded products with confidence. This is highly convenient to the modern-day customer who is short on time, and cannot afford the risk of buying something that is either out of place with the current home decor, or too large (or too small) for the corner they want to fit the furniture in. AR and VR technology have proved highly beneficial to the furniture retail sector.

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