What are we really seeing?

Warby Parker are known to be cool, stylish and budget friendly, so it's no surprise that they also are at the forefront of using AR technology in the marketing. AR in marketing is becoming more common as companies are seeking to give their users the best user experience. Warby Parker are telling their customers a story of how fashion met price and convenience and it’s now an inseparable bond. Warby parker was founded by university students who had a passion to change the way we shop for glasses and bring it into the 21st century. They are now one of the largest glasses companies and have a huge presence and influence on the community. Their implementation of AR definitely had a huge impact on their success.

Warby Parker have created a really tight knit community around their brand, they do this by showing respect and social justice. Their AR technology allowed them to really get their target audience involved in the consumer experience, by allowing their customers to try on the glasses before they would make the purchase, this was a very foreign concept to the optical market, before Warby Parker came along. Warby parker changed the industry with their groundbreaking pricing of $95 a frame and this allowed them to gain huge market share. They are able to get this price by mass producing a very select few frames in china and using cheaper materials and lenses.

Warby Parker has a physical presence, however most of their sales are done online and this lowers the cost of a retail experience. Warby Parker pioneered the way people buy glasses, their wasn’t really a market for buying glasses online as it had a stigma of being a very in person experience, Warby Parker changed this with their implementation of AR technology that allows you to see how you look with the glasses without actually physically wearing them, as can be seen in the pictures. This definitely helps make their customers feel more involved which leads to a higher conversion rate and brand affinity, which hopefully leads to higher sales.

In chapter five of Seth Godin’s This Is Marketing, he brings up the concept of this is better. In short, when a new technology comes around it pushes out the old methods of how things were previously done. In the case of Warby Parker, the Optical industry was an in person experience that was highly expensive and time consuming, Warby Parker changed this when they showed the world how AR can help you save time and money when buying glasses, they made doing easier and this is why they have risen in popularity and they so easily captivate their audiences.

As always, looking forward to hearing feedback and any thoughts.

Best,

Zak