Luxury and home retailers are increasingly using augmented reality to help shoppers visualise purchases and enhance customer experience.

People today are consumed by technology in all facets of their lives, from dating on mobile apps to banking on smartphones. The expectation is no different when it comes to shopping. The Amazon effect has meant that retailers have integrated technology into the purchase funnel, but rather than just pushing consumers to buy, it’s about providing a galvanising experience that goes beyond the product.

High-end and luxury retailers, in particular, are committed to making sure each touchpoint of the customer journey is as quality as the product experience itself.

By embracing new technology, these brands can captivate consumers’ imagination even before they step into the store. But what exactly is it that’s driving evolution of the customer experience?

Embracing augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is leading the evolution. AR technology takes the customer’s journey to the next level by bridging the imagination gap and letting consumers visualise products in their lives. Mercedes-Benz is a perfect example of this.

The luxury automotive brand developed an AR app that transforms a piece of paper into a 3D model of a customer’s chosen car, letting prospects customise the colour to their preferred taste.

It’s not about the product here, it’s about delivering experiences with technology and showing customers how their lives can be enhanced.

Trying to imagine how a new sofa will look in their home isn’t easy. Personalising a product and placing it into consumers’ lives makes it harder for them to walk away

Simon Silva, Bang & Olufsen

Augmented reality increasingly is an important tool for home and DIY retailers. In the very near future, plans won’t start with blueprints, instead AR will allow consumers to walk around the property and have a real-time experience.

Interior retailers like Dulux and Ikea are good examples of brands that have capitalised on augmented reality to better connect with their customers’ lifestyles.

Even when consumers are armed with precise measurements and specifications, trying to imagine how a new sofa will look in their home isn’t easy.

Personalising a product and placing it into consumers’ lives makes it harder for them to walk away, as they can visualise how it will fit in and enrich their world.

Unique multi-sensory experiences

Technology is reviving the bricks and mortar retail experience, allowing brands to showcase their products and fully immerse consumers.

This is particularly valuable for luxury retailers, as consumers need to get a real feel of the product before making a significant investment.

Luxury brands need to offer carefully considered interactive environments. They should strive to give consumers a one-of-a-kind experience they can only get at that location

Simon Silva, Bang & Olufsen

Luxury brands need to offer carefully considered interactive environments. They should strive to give consumers a one-of-a-kind experience they can only get at that location.

Luxury fashion brand Burberry, for example, is developing new ways to encourage customers to engage with them in-store by introducing screens which turn to mirrors in its flagship branch on Regent Street.

It has also incorporated microchips in some of its range, which transform mirrors to show the clothes on a catwalk.

Retailers such as Burberry understand the importance of combining the intimacy and immediacy of an individualised experience with the scale that online brings.

Within the next decade, there will be fewer stores, but the ones out there will be flagships that deliver compelling, tangible experiences.

Retailers need to anchor these stand-out stores in big cities to ensure today’s and tomorrow’s customers have access to innovative, multi-sensory experiences and their visits are purposeful and beneficial.

By doing so, brands will be able to deliver a truly unique experience, securing not just a sale but a relationship with longevity.

  • Simon Silva is global customer experience manager at Bang & Olufsen