Augmented Reality is the future of Luxury
Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash
The number of mobile devices’ users is rapidly increasing globally. Luxury brands must start thinking of ways to stand out in a market that is increasingly becoming digital.
For luxury items that are normally expensive, you will expect shoppers to want to feel or touch what they intend to buy. However, the restraint of physical stores is becoming more evident in an increasingly digital world. In comes Augmented Reality (AR) to the rescue like a knight in shining armour. AR makes what was previously impossible possible, for example, the Exclusible metaverse gives users a feel of the luxury NFTs they want to buy.
We are starting to see more luxury brands adapt their strategy to boost their online presence by providing AR experiences via mobile applications like Google, Snapchat, etc. Mobile apps are also adapting to match the needs of luxury brands. For example, Snap Inc. the owner of Snapchat is introducing more Augmented Reality shopping features a year after it tried AR shoe try-on. So far, we have seen luxury brands like Prada and online luxury retailing Farfetch latch on to these features with many more luxury brands not left out either.
In 2020, Farfetch commences a partnership with Gucci that will bring a new kind of store tagged “Store of the Future” to life. This will allow the combination of online fashion technology with in-store retail technology.
Luxury brands through a platform like Exclusible can combine their physical retail stores with augmented reality to uplift the shopping experience of luxury collectors and users. Exclusible can help to bring NFT collectors of luxury brands’ items to their own Store of the Future meant exclusively for them.
Coming back to how AR changes the dimension of users’ shopping. We look at what Snapchat has been able to achieve with its various AR features that allow users to try on bracelets, purses, and clothing through advanced technology like Snapchat filters that sense and respond to motion and facial expression. There are also new tools like gesture-and-voice-controlled filters called Lenses, virtual stores where users can search for items as seen in the physical world.
Photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano on Unsplash
Brands like Prada and Gucci are not the only ones among the early movers in terms of AR. We also have BMW that incorporated AR to offer its customers the means to interact with its products innovatively using Google Augmented Reality technology called Tango. Through Tango, clients can configure the BMW i8 or i3 they want to buy in real-size visualization. What if Luxury NFTs collectors could also be offered the capacity to configure their NFTs the way they want them on the Exclusible platform. It is a possibility that is not beyond the metaverse.
Reports have it that seven out of the nine most valuable luxury brands have already released the effect of Augmented Reality on their Instagram pages. Many of them have also done it more than once as well as try it on their other profiles on other platforms. Among these luxury brands, it seems the most consistent has been Louis Vuitton and Dior. At the beginning of 2020, Dior started releasing new effects of Augmented Reality on each of their new collections.
AR has the capacity to personalize and visualize as no other medium could and that is why it stands out as a marketing medium. So, when it comes to luxury items it can allow luxury brands to connect with their clients through visualization of these items to actually try them on.
As we have seen, the future of luxury rests on the shoulder of Millennials and Gen Z, who are driving 85% of the global growth of luxury sales. It is imperative that luxury brands adapt to their unique preferences that are different from the older generations that have traditionally been the growth engine of luxury sales. To adapt is to incorporate Augmented Reality to bring about an elevated shopping experience to these new kinds of shoppers where they spend most of their time – mobile applications.