The New Customer Experience: Immersive Shopping for Online Retailers
Tangiblee
Tangiblee
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January 24, 2024
If you haven't taken the plunge into immersive shopping yet, 2024 is your year to dive in: 61% of US-based retailers have developed a virtual store, with a remarkable 91% of them subsequently seeing a moderate or significant boost in sales. Looking ahead, 55% of brands are gearing up to invest further in immersive experiences over the next three years.
Curious about what immersive shopping entails? At its core, immersive shopping leverages emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) to elevate the online shopping experience. Imagine adding a touch of reality to your virtual store, allowing customers to interact with products in a virtual space—that's immersive shopping in action. It’s a personalized touch paired with a way for customers to visualize how they’d use products in their everyday life.
Delving Deeper into Immersive Shopping
In the US, retailers are prioritizing four key areas: virtual stores, AI-driven personalization, gamification, and social shopping. While global adoption has been a bit slower, the tide is turning: A 2022 global study found that although fewer than ten percent of companies in consumer goods and retail are currently using immersive technologies, 25% are actively piloting immersive shopping initiatives.
The numbers speak for themselves—the immersive retail technology market is projected to skyrocket from $7.37 billion in 2023 to $42.5 billion by 2032. Consumer preferences are steering the immersive shopping ship: value-conscious shoppers seek deals and assurance of value, while luxury buyers crave a premium blend of virtual and physical retail. And, increasingly, consumers expect AR and VR to be integral parts of their online shopping experience.
Immersive shopping is an opportunity to add an additional layer of customer confidence, satisfaction, and engagement—and simultaneously improve revenue KPIs while cutting down on return rates.
Ready to go beyond traditional online retail with Tangiblee?
We understand the challenges of online shopping and we're here to help. Our sophisticated customer-facing AR and 3D visualization tools take guesswork out of the equation—by extracting data from your catalog, our software generates product images and 3D visualizations on the fly. Plus, our software seamlessly integrates into your backend without affecting site performance for a true plug-and-play solution.
We've expanded beyond accessories, apparel, and home decor to cover sectors like department stores, fitness equipment, and pet supplies—we’re committed to tailoring our solutions to the unique needs of each client.
The future of retail is immersive, and we’re bringing the future to you: schedule a free demoto see how Tangiblee can answer your product visualization needs for retail.
Introduction: VTO Clip vs. Classic AR – What’s the Difference?
VTO Clip and live AR work differently. These differences affect their performance and users' feelings about them.
Classic AR relies on the user's device to overlay 3D models directly onto the real-time video feed. This reliance requires the AR system to constantly process the camera's input and render virtual objects in real time, aligning them accurately with the user's movements.
VTO Clip works differently. Instead of relying on real-time rendering, it uses a recorded video of the user's hand or wrist. It is processed on a server where high-poly models and sophisticated rendering techniques are applied.
Both approaches have their strengths, especially for customers who want to see how rings, watches, bracelets, and other accessories look on them before making a purchase.
But Tangiblee's VTO Clip offers several advantages over the classic AR approach. This article discusses these benefits and shows why VTO Clip is a superior choice for retailers and brands.
1. Record Once, Reuse Many Times – The Power of VTO Clip
One of the VTO Clip's most significant advantages is its ability to record a video once and reuse it across all your products.
Imagine you create a video of your hand wearing a generic bracelet. With VTO Clip, the same video can be used to visualize different bracelet styles and sizes without recording a new video for each product. This saves the online customer time and effort and ensures a consistent experience. By eliminating the need for prolonged or repetitive arm positioning during the virtual try-on process, VTO Clip helps avoid discomfort or "gorilla arm syndrome," which can negatively impact user satisfaction.
In contrast, classic AR often requires separate recordings or real-time adjustments for each product, which can be tedious.
2. Superior Quality Through Server-Side Rendering
A significant benefit of VTO Clip is its use of server-side rendering, which allows for a much higher-quality output. While classic AR must render each frame in real-time to avoid lag (usually within 33-50 milliseconds), VTO Clip pre-renders the video on the server.
Server-side rendering allows high-poly models and advanced techniques to produce a more detailed and realistic visualization. By pre-rendering the product visuals onto the recorded video, VTO Clip can afford to take longer—up to 1-2 minutes per frame—to ensure the highest quality output. This server-side processing enables more complex models and higher resolution. It also supports advanced visual effects, like better lighting and shadows. This approach creates a more realistic and attractive try-on experience. It also allows more devices to support the technology, including cheaper or less powerful ones.
3. Interactive & Shareable Content – Engage Your Customers
VTO Clip comes with advanced editing tools that are not available with classic AR. Users can pan through the video, zoom in and out, and stop on specific frames for a detailed look at the product. These features are especially beneficial for high-value items like jewelry and watches, where seeing intricate details from different angles is essential. With VTO Clip, you can explore every angle and detail at your leisure, creating a more thorough and satisfying shopping experience.
This interactive page allows users to pan, zoom, and even stack or move SKUs. Interactivity makes VTO Clip a versatile marketing tool that can be easily shared across different platforms, driving engagement and interest. In contrast, classic AR usually relies on static images and simple links, which are less engaging and shareable.
4. Effortless Coordination and Improved User Experience
Classic AR requires precise hand and finger placement when recording, which can be challenging, especially if you want to display multiple products or move a ring between different fingers.
With VTO Clip, you don't have to worry about perfect positioning while recording. First, recorda high-quality video, then choose and adjust the products. This two-step process simplifies the virtual try-on experience, making it more enjoyable and user-friendly.
5. Accurate Fit and Realistic Sizing for Maximum Confidence
VTO Clip offers a more realistic fit by calibrating for different wrist sizes. Size calibration is particularly useful for virtual try-ons of watches and bracelets, as it more accurately represents how a product will look and fit on your wrist than Classic AR. Accurate sizing is a weakness of classic AR because it requires transmitting multiple 3D models to the user's device; this can impact performance and limit the number of wrist sizes realistically rendered.
This calibration feature is essential in the watch category because traditional AR solutions often scale the entire 3D model rather than adjusting the size of the bracelet or the watch band, leading to an inaccurate representation of how the watch will look on different wrist sizes. Future developments in VTO Clip promise to bring even better body tracking capabilities, enhancing its usefulness and appeal.
Why VTO Clip Is the Future of Virtual Try-Ons
VTO Clip distinguishes itself with its versatility, high quality, and user-friendly features. It excels particularly for products requiring detailed and realistic representation, such as jewelry and watches. Its ability to reuse content across various products, with advanced editing features, beautification options, realistic fit calibration, and superior server-side rendering, makes VTO Clip the preferred choice for brands and e-commerce retailers.
VTO Clip allows scaling across complete product catalogs and avoids the high costs of 3D models.
VTO Clip is ready to lead in technology, providing innovative solutions that enhance user experience and boost e-commerce success.
Keep an eye on Tangiblee.com as we continue pushing the boundaries of what virtual try-ons can do!
Rethink everything you know about Virtual Try-On (VTO) and traditional 3D with our new Premium Watch Bundle, available now for brands and retailers alike.
With only your existing 2D product imagery, we’re able to synthesize a variety of solutions to show off the craftsmanship and quality of your watches. Here’s what we’ve been working on:
VTO Clip
We're redefining product visualization with our latest Virtual Try-On (VTO) breakthrough. Go beyond live AR: with VTO Clip, users just need to record once—then they can share or re-use that try-on experience later.
The VTO Clip process records with your phone camera and uploads seamlessly to your computer, giving you the freedom to save and share the experience with family, friends, and loved ones. Customers get the best of both worlds: a convenient try-on experience from the comfort of their home coupled with the freedom to pair any watch with their own unique style and preferences.
360° Rotate
Show off your watches in their full glory with our new 360° offering—include it directly in your carousel to show off watches on a branded pillow for the full luxe experience.
In tandem with our virtual try-on solutions, we wanted to retain some of the classic gravitas surrounding the watch buying experience and landed on the classic watch cushion display. Elegant yet functional, customers can examine the watch face, strap, and craftsmanship from any angle they prefer.
Wrist Roll
Our Wrist Roll technology is the ultimate 3D-like offering: a hyper-realistic visualization solution, available for any watch in your catalog. Superimpose your watches on a model's wrist to showcase your pieces the way they're meant to be worn.
Testimonials
Here's what one of our colleagues had to say about our 3D experience:
Connect With Us
Ready to give your watches the spotlight that they deserve? Schedule a demo with us to see how our solution will work on your website.
