US retail behemoth Walmart has recently made an announcement regarding the launch of two innovative AR features on its shopping app that are intended to make shopping easier for customers. One of the features will be accessible to everyone on the iOS application of Walmart by the early phase of July. It will enable users to examine home furnishings and decoration pieces in their very own surroundings, by swiping on their phone screens.
At the start, the new AR experience will initially be limited to three hundred decor and furnishing items. Walmart stated that it aims to broaden its scope of featured items on AR in the near future. Customers may use the functionality by clicking the ‘View in your space’ button on goods featuring AR when they are shopping on the application. This will show them the process of linking to their smartphone camera and observing stuff in their own environments. Users will additionally be capable of modifying item measurements to see whether they can fit within their available space. They can take a picture for further reference, making them feel more assured in their buying choices.
According to the firm, the ‘View in your area’ capability will first be accessible on iOS, with intentions to expand to Android and mobile web at a later date. Walmart also stated that the functionality has been thoroughly tested with its consumers and has gotten a lot of positive feedback. The brand has stated that the experience is as frictionless and consumer-friendly as it could be made to be.
Interestingly, haptic feedback is provided, permitting customers to feel sensations as they move 3D models throughout their houses. The response keeps young children from bringing objects outside the borders of their space and makes the overall shopping experience more real and exhilarating.
Walmart has also included several key accessibility features to guarantee that consumers with impairments can utilise these new capabilities as well. Users with restricted mobility, for instance, can set an object within a room and move it using swiping gestures. The service delivers speech-based directions and explanations for consumers who are blind or have impaired eyesight.
Apart from the ‘View in your area’ function on its application, Walmart is employing augmented reality to provide unique experiences in its storefronts. This enables the company to move products to their racks at a faster rate. Walmart Global Tech is currently working on a new in-store augmented reality feature that will transform how customers perceived essential product details.
Customers and employees will be able to sort products depending on their individual preferences by just directing their smartphone camera’s lens at the shelves of physical locations using the Walmart app.
Shoppers who are gluten-free, for instance, would be capable of using their devices to directly and immediately scan ingredients of food products to identify gluten-free products by relying on AR technology. Coupons are another possible usage application, according to the company, in which shoppers will be able to check retail racks to determine whether goods are eligible for discount, rollbacks, or part of a loyalty programme.
