AI Shopper News
Latest AI Shopping & E-commerce Technology Updates
Latest AI Shopping & E-commerce Technology Updates
Reality is getting a digital layer. AR transforms phones into product visualization tools, and smart glasses promise to overlay shopping information on the physical world. Track the technology bridging imagination and purchase.
AR in retail has crossed the threshold from "interesting demo" to "conversion driver." IKEA's Place app, which lets you visualize furniture in your home before buying, has been downloaded millions of times. Brands deploying AR product visualization report up to 40% higher conversion rates and 40% fewer returns. The technology works because it solves a real problem: helping customers understand what they're buying before they commit.
The infrastructure is maturing rapidly. WebAR eliminates app downloads, making AR accessible through any smartphone browser. Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore provide developer tools that would have seemed impossible five years ago. And the next wave, spatial computing through Apple Vision Pro and Meta's smart glasses, promises to make AR ambient rather than intentional. Imagine walking through a store and seeing reviews, comparisons, and personalized deals overlaid on products automatically.
We track the full AR shopping ecosystem: platform capabilities from Apple, Google, and Meta; the retailers and brands deploying AR at scale; the tools and vendors enabling AR experiences; and the emerging hardware that may make AR glasses as common as smartphones. The question isn't whether AR will transform shopping, it's how fast.
AR shopping uses augmented reality to let customers visualize products in their real environment or on themselves before buying, using smartphone cameras or AR glasses.
Retailers use AR for virtual try-on (clothing, makeup, glasses), furniture placement visualization, interactive product demos, and in-store navigation.
Most modern smartphones support AR shopping through apps. Dedicated AR glasses like Meta Ray-Ban and Apple Vision Pro offer more immersive experiences for retail applications.