The cost of returns is huge, both for online retailers and for the environment. Using augmented reality (AR) in the online shopping experience can help by giving consumers the opportunity to try out products digitally. This is shown by research: 66% of consumers who use AR are less likely to return their purchase because of it.
The return percentage in the online retail sector is stubbornly high. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) states that approximately 12% of all packages ordered in the Netherlands are returned . This amounts to tens of millions of returns per year. The costs for this are high. More and more webshops – including Zara, H&M and Wehkamp – are therefore (partly) passing on these costs to their customers. However, there is also the fear that customers will switch to the competitor who does not (yet) pass on return costs.
It is not only financial costs that are a cause for concern
The European Environment Agency states that on average a third of all returned clothing items are destroyed, as the daily newspaper Trouw recently wrote . And this while CO2 emissions are already skyrocketing due to unnecessary transport and packaging of all those returns. How can convenience go hand in hand with a flourishing e-commerce and the climatological reality? A simple tool may provide the answer.
AI & targeting
Online shopping, and perhaps even more so social media platforms, have opened up a wide range of new products and brands to consumers. The online marketing funnel has changed as a result. AI allows for highly targeted product recommendations, and targeting is much more finely tuned to the consumer’s personal tastes.
What is still missing in the online shopping experience? Trying out products. Typical online shopping behavior is buying different sizes to make sure that at least one of email data the ordered sizes fits well. Not being able to physically try on before purchasing results in high return rates. At the same time, retailers need to ensure that the total customer experience is competitive. For example, it has become very easy for consumers to return products, but difficult for online retailers to process them all.
Also read: Indispensable in every social campaign: augmented reality filters
Augmented reality: the return of the (digital) fitting room
Augmented Reality, or AR, started out as a Για παράδειγμα, χειριστές ταυτόχρονα technology to make your selfies more fun. Now you can use it to try on and try by lists out products virtually. Fashion brand Versace is doing this, for example, with the launch of the Mercury sneaker collection. The new shoe was revealed in an interactive way using AR technology.
