AI and AR: Powering the future of fashion e-commerce
Fashion retail is changing fast as AI and AR technologies help shoppers find the perfect fit online.
In 2021, e-commerce product visuals will prevail as one of the most powerful marketing assets brands can have.
Two key market developments are driving that value: The sprint to digital channels as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on brick-and-mortar shopping, and the surge in tech innovation that enables beautiful visual customer experiences online.
4 e-commerce product visual trends for 2021
The top e-commerce product visual trends:
- Augmented reality: AR and AI will be crucial to e-commerce sales
- 3D product visuals will become more popular as retailers attempt to stand out
- B2B sales will begin incorporating visual product configurators
- Online ads will feature AR, 3D, product configurators
1: Augmented reality goes mainstream
AR features show customers products in the environment they’ll be used in, from a living room to a car engine to a manufacturing warehouse. Precise shape, color, and dimension overlays can ease a lot of buyer doubts that might otherwise prevent a purchase, such as, “Will this sofa go with my carpet?” or “Will this equipment add-on fit on our machinery?”
And shoppers are ready for AR: 40% say they’re willing to pay more for a product if they can see it first in AR.
But traditionally, AR features have mostly been the domain of the big retailers who have the budget and resources to develop them. Only 1% of retailers used AR features for their e-commerce product visuals in 2019.
That number will likely rise in the coming years as a growing number of AR solutions enter the scene, and leaders like Apple’s ARkit continue to push boundaries for what’s possible for AR.
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2: More online retailers turn to 3D product visuals, post COVID
3D in e-commerce isn’t new, but it’s been a boon to retailers – including those who recently moved online – during the pandemic. Products that are difficult to capture fully in static, 2D photography come to life in 3D.
An interactive 3D product visual is trustworthy, engaging, and persuasive – just like holding or looking at a product in person.
Research shows that the more a shopper can interact with a product (e.g., by zooming or rotating), the more they’ll trust the vendor. And shoppers who can see a product in 3D are eleven times more likely to purchase than those who don’t.
In 2021, we can expect more and more brands to adopt 3D assets of their product visual inventory as the return date of “normal life” and things like in-person shopping remains murky.
3: Product configurators streamline B2B sales
Prior to advanced product configuration capabilities, the B2B buying process for complex, highly customizable products could be a headache. Buyers would either have to wait for sales reps to refer back to the product team for product mockups and quotes, or they’d have to take a leap of faith and order custom features that they couldn’t see beforehand.
Then COVID-19 arrived and removed trade shows, conventions, and in-person sales interactions from the equation.
Now B2B brands can leverage virtual product configurators – which often feature 3D and AR – to offer high-quality visualizations in every sales conversation.
More accuracy and ease in the buying process boost product satisfaction, which ultimately leads to stronger relationships and recurring business.
Increasing the visuals in the B2B buying process makes the experience more closely resemble B2C: more self-service and a more seamless transition from interest to investigation to purchase.
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4: AR, 3D, and product configurators make their way into online ads
The same 3D, AR, and configuration technology can entice customers early in the funnel when you employ them in your ads. You can anticipate the rise of AX, or “advertising experience,” in 2021 marketing strategies as brands look for ways to make their ads stand out among the thousands consumers see every day.
Online advertising will likely become more interactive as marketers play around with their visual assets in display, video, and social media ads.
Social in particular will make a great home for rich AR and 3D experiences, as that’s where consumer attention is these days: 55% of consumers have bought something online after discovering it via social media.
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Standing out & getting ahead of the pack with innovative online visuals
No matter what’s in store for the pandemic in 2021, retailers that invest in e-commerce product visuals will boost their brands for the long haul.
Visuals uphold the customer experience as mobile and digital e-commerce economies continue to boom.
And even if widespread vaccination brings a full return to physical selling, innovative online product visuals will remain a vital complement to the in-person customer experience.
With 3D, AR, and configuration, brands have an exciting array of online visual tools at their disposal to garner customer trust and satisfaction in a highly competitive landscape.
