Augmented reality and 3D visualization.

Augmented reality and 3D visualization tools offer huge opportunities to increase engagement, enrich the customer experience, reduce returns and tailor individual purchases, said Chris Yin, Global Creative Director at Redstage and Gerda Verbickaite, Head of Marketing at Sayduck.

“The integration of 3D and AR in ecommerce is more important than ever,” said Verbickaite “Soon it will be seen not as a nice-to-have feature but a requirement when shopping online.”

The duo said that pictures alone are not enough to show scale and product details at different angles, something that retailers particularly found during lockdown. Younger customers, meanwhile, don’t want to visit stores to see products, they said.

Yin said that research shows that 61% of consumers prefer to shop with retailers that offer AR. “AR is the biggest disruptor in ecommerce in the last 20 years,” he said.

Verbickaite said the technology offers multiple opportunities since it encourages customers to spend longer on the product page. “Pages with AR pique customer interest to interact and explore the product, which gives more time to educate the consumer about your product and more time to make smarter purchasing decisions,” she said.

“Tomorrow is now today,” said Yin, arguing that early adopters would reap the benefits of being bold in their adoption of the technology.