Business Opportunity with Augmented Reality for Crate & Barrel
Augmented Reality technology is reshaping the online furniture sales and Crate & Barrel can’t miss this opportunity to grow their business
When IKEA introduced their AR (Augmented Reality) campaign, I was astonished. I thought it was a brilliant idea on how they take the shopping experience with furniture to a whole new level. Unlike the traditional way where customers need to visit the brick and mortar stores to see the real product, now they can try it at home. Also, it doesn’t only allow customers to visualize better but also provides confidence to their purchasing decisions. In fact, 66% of shoppers who use AR to test out the products are less likely to return their purchases. Now, many furniture brands has adopted using AR technology to enhance their customer experience and engagement. Let’s take a look at Crate & Barrel for example.
I personally love Crate & Barrel because of their earth-tone and minimal design furniture. Even though their products are easy to arrange at any home because of their neutral style, some customers may wonder where should they place their favorite furniture while able to visualize their space in real-time. And as we all know, furniture isn’t cheap like groceries. We probably need considerable amount of time to decide before we buy them. Thankfully, with Crate & Barrel’s AR service, customers can anticipate what the furniture piece might look like in their homes before actually buying them.
I think Crate & Barrel has made a right decision to incorporate AR technology into their website that transforms the customer purchasing journey. Without leaving our homes, we can rotate, change colors and see the actual size which allow us to inspect every angle and the smallest details of the furniture. Also, from a business outlook, the brand can potentially increase their revenue. A Harvard Business Review study found that there is a likelihood of customers making a purchase 19.8% higher when using AR. In that sense, it’s a win-win situation for both the brand and customers.
There are some products and services that might not mesh well with AR but I have a strong feeling that AR is going to stick around with furniture industry for a very long time. It’s much logical and practical to shop furniture with AR because if we go to brick and mortar stores, it’s great we can review the actual furniture but the question is will it really fit in to our homes? Furthermore, 60% of e-commerce sales are driven by consumers using their mobile devices and it’s expecting to grow more. And AR is responsive with mobile devices. I predict that the growth of furniture sales will be partly responsible with the use of AR. It might be an indispensable technology and forever change the way how people shop with furniture.
