When it comes to creative ideas to engage customers, the fashion and beauty industry is undoubtedly one of the most forward-thinking and quick-moving sectors. Imagine a powerful and alluring technology like Augmented Reality for fashion. Result? Improved customer involvement and marketing efforts that increase sales. Fashion retail frequently finds early adopters in anything considered trending or the next big thing, whether in the offline or virtual marketplace.
The way fashion brands interact with their customers is changing due to Augmented Reality for fashion. Customers can virtually test products, making it simpler to match customers’ expectations by assisting them in understanding what they’re purchasing.
How is AR used in the fashion industry?
Almost a decade back, Augmented Reality made its way into the fashion industry. Back then, it was primitive. Its use has evolved so much in the past few years. So, today, how do fashion brands use Augmented Reality?
Fashion firms can increase their client base and product lines, making shopping more involved and enjoyable for customers. Let’s look at some of the most significant Augmented Reality applications in the world of fashion retailing.
1. Authentic Marketing In-store:
Augmented Reality influences in-store experiences by boosting the consumer experience with visually appealing material. Customers can “shop the look” by putting their phones up to the window and in-store displays with the Augmented Reality experience, available across popular fashion brands. Then, bringing digital models to life unlocked certain apparel lines, enabling buyers to make seamless phone purchases. Other companies are employing Augmented Reality to produce unique marketing content that engages clients in person and goes viral online.
2. Developing Brand Loyalty:
Making consumers feel like they are a vital part of your company is essential for fostering brand loyalty and increasing sales in the social media age. By enabling larger audiences to come closer to the action, Augmented Reality assists fashion firms in doing this and democratizing fashion experiences.
By embracing digital storytelling, Balmain’s Behind the Scenes app leverages Augmented Reality to blur the boundaries between fashion and entertainment. It provides its audience with a front-row view of its catwalk presentations and an immersive behind-the-scenes experience.
3. Virtual Catwalks:
Forward-thinking fashion companies are realizing more and more how Augmented Reality for fashion can come to use to create original and unforgettable catwalk experiences.
Designer Steven Tai, for instance, provided the London Fashion Week audience with a visually beautiful live Augmented Reality (AR) experience. Alongside actual models, a virtual model also debuted on the runway.
4. Fashion Shows Virtually.
For their autumn/winter 2021 collection, the fashion label Balenciaga conducted a Virtual Reality runway presentation. “Afterword: The Age of Tomorrow,” a Virtual Reality game, was used by the corporation to present the event. Three hundred thirty people from all across the world received Oculus glasses to see the event.
Organizers may use these virtual events to let attendees experience the occasion up and personal from the convenience of their homes. They can offer even more specialized material, like a virtual backstage tour. Ultimately, these events foster strong brand associations and high client involvement.
5. Product Launches
Product introduction is becoming more varied with Augmented Reality. A virtual product launch, whether app-based or web-based, Augmented Reality, is a novel concept that places the product in customers’ hands without needing in-person demonstrations. It is a cost-effective way of presenting a product as clients can try it on without incurring expensive shipping and return fees.
AR product launches allow businesses to seize a customer’s full attention. Customers are less likely to be distracted while immersed in Augmented Reality, allowing them to give the product their full attention. With Augmented Reality for fashion, brands are thriving with better ROI, and shoppers making a confident buying decision virtually testing with Augmented Reality for fashion, brands are thriving with better ROI, and shoppers making a confident buying decision virtually testing products. AR product releases provide businesses with complete control over interior design. They may design brand-new, captivating environments and settings for customers to interact with the product.
6. Virtual Try-Ons and Fittings
The biggest drawback of internet buying is the unpredictability involved in determining if products will fit well and be flattering, not to mention the bother of setting up returns if items fail to live up to expectations after being delivered.
Augmented Reality solves this problem by providing businesses with a cutting-edge sales tool that enables potential customers to experience it before they purchase. Luxury brands use customized filters to overlay photographs of users’ faces with the brand’s sunglasses and other cosmetic items so that potential customers can virtually put them on.
7. Virtual Clothing:
Fashion companies are also developing ground-breaking digital apparel to create new revenue streams rather than merely utilizing Augmented Reality to engage with potential buyers. Social networking is a significant contributor to disposable clothing and, thus, to the fashion industry’s rising pollution and environmental harm.
Environmentally responsible fashion companies like Carlings are paving the way for digital clothes from AR fashion apps at a time when many consumers are purchasing apparel to wear just once to make photographs for their social media accounts. It has produced a limited edition; cheap Augmented Reality clothing can be customized to match each unique purchaser’s digital picture. By doing so, everyone wins from AR fashion since it’s healthier for the environment, enables companies to develop and expand their product lines, and enables internet fashionistas to dress in inexpensive, limited-edition designer apparel to become avant-garde.
What are the advantages of using Augmented Reality in Fashion?
As per studies, people remember up to 80% of what they see, but only 20% of what they read and 10% of what they hear. These statistics demonstrate why businesses must use new technologies to offer more aesthetically pleasing experiences. The following are just a few of the numerous advantages of applying Augmented Reality to the fashion industry:
1. Make the Product look unique and rare
Consumers are intrigued by AR’s novelty. Many people will find AR rewarding and enjoyable. They frequently desire to return and recommend others. Companies can eliminate pricing as a competitive tactic by using AR to provide the impression that there is no perceived product equivalent. Customers are more likely to keep your brand in mind when making purchases when they feel there is no replacement.
2. Drives greater Sales Revenue:
Businesses that use Augmented Reality see a boost in sales. Customers’ sense of ownership increases when they try things before buying them. Consider a salesperson in the fashion industry who is eager for you to put on a new pair of shoes. You are 80% more inclined to buy them after trying them on.
The AR experience is a fantastic way for businesses to inform clients and provide more content than what is on the box and labels. Additionally, it offers the ideal chance to upsell related goods or accessories. Physical stores might attract customers through immersive experiences. Customers may stop by the shop to learn more about potential purchases from the business, ask questions, or see things in person.
3. Provide Rich and Immersive Customer Experience:
Emotion, a critical component in a consumer’s choice to buy a product, is evoked via immersive experiences. In marketing and advertising, the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is crucial. With Augmented Reality in fashion, a user can try a product in a digital setting rather than being forced to guess how it would appear.
4. Add Virality factor:
Immersive experiences are frequently worth discussing. It has a shareability element just from that, which makes people want to spread it around. When something goes viral, people constantly share it with their friends and relatives. Using Augmented Reality can provide you access to a broader market for your goods.
Brand recognition rises as a result of virality. For their brands to gain acceptability and trust, fashion firms require brand awareness. Customers are more willing to test the experience for themselves and to become customers once confidence builds. Going viral also has the potential to lower marketing expenses. Shareable experiences encourage customers to advertise your goods on your behalf.
5. Reduce Product Returns:
The fact that the goods fell short of the customer’s expectations is one of the critical causes of returns. They made a purchase based on a stock photo, only to discover that the item differed from what they had anticipated upon delivery. Customers may determine if they would appreciate a product by being able to use it in Augmented Reality.
6. Enhances Consumer Confidence
Customers want to feel secure in their purchase choices. According to research, 47% of customers would be prepared to spend more for a product if they could tailor or customize the immersive experience.
7. Brand Immersive Experience
The fashion Augmented Reality gives businesses an immersive experience while enhancing brand recognition. Companies may design these settings so customers can uniquely interact with their brands and have an immersive shopping experience. Through AR, they get the opportunity to get to know the brand better.
What is the future of Augmented Reality in the Fashion Industry?
Despite certain firms’ experiments with fashion AR apps, the industry needs to be more active in adopting immersive technology. However, as consumer habits change, Augmented Reality will become more attractive for fashion firms to showcase, advertise, and sell items.
Technology advancements are essential to adoption. The aesthetic and experiential brilliance that drives the fashion business must mirror the immersive experience. High-quality AR material will be easier to obtain and, most importantly, more realistic thanks to the introduction of 5G. The introduction of LIDAR on the iPhone 12 also suggests that users may eventually utilize body-scanning technology to build digital twins, which would revolutionize virtual dressing rooms by enabling entirely customized individual experiences. These developments provide a glimpse of what it would mean to blur the lines between the physical and digital worlds on a large scale.
Using PlugXR to integrate AR in fashion
PlugXR’s use case in fashion extends from recreating virtual stores to product visualizers to customizers and virtual try-ons. You can recreate each product in 3D and then into an AR experience that your users can view, customize for sizes, colors, and material, rotate and view in 360 degrees, and more.
Using PlugXR, Craig Shelly’s recreation of their Swiss luxury watch and jewelry in a 3D and AR experience is one of the best examples of how you can integrate AR into fashion. They improved buyers’ confidence and influenced their decision-making. As a result, Craig Shelly experienced a 45% increase in sales and a 70% reduction in product returns.
Final Words
Fashion brands and online retailers increase customer engagement and experience through AR technologies, increasing sales. Above all, fashion Augmented Reality retail gives customers a fresh method to interact with the items, which today’s more discerning customers appreciate.