US retail behemoth Walmart announced on Thursday it had updated its customer shopping app with two novel augmented reality (AR) solutions aimed at improving shopper experiences.
The new app upgrades will roll out in early July on its iOS app, providing customers with AR-powered visuals to view items such as furniture and home decorations in their physical spaces using personal smartphones.
The app will initially support 300 3D assets and is set to expand to further products and mobile browsers platforms over the coming months, the company said.
Today, we announced two new AR shopping experiences on the Walmart app: ‘View in your space’ and AR in-store. Learn how we’re leveraging AR to make shopping in-app or while browsing in our stores easier for our customers and members: https://t.co/Ki541vOrpJ pic.twitter.com/xDYGG4BX6j
— Walmart Inc. (@WalmartInc) June 23, 2022
Customers can view the digital assets via Walmart’s app using the ‘View in your space’ banner function, which will walk shoppers through the process of overlaying furniture items in their physical spaces. Users can also change the dimensions of the items to verify sizing and record previously viewed products.
The app’s other features include haptic feedback to allow customers to experience enhanced manoeuvrability while using the app and add realism. Further accessibility options for people with disabilities such as gesture controls and voice-based guidance for low-vision people were also added, Walmart explained.
Additional potential use cases for the app also include shopping for special items for special dietary needs, using vouchers, and finding items on sale and clearance, the company stated.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based firm explained it had tested the app extensively for “seamless and user-friendly” experiences with customers, which received “overwhelmingly” positive feedback.
One tester said as quoted by Walmart,
“The visuals were so realistic and it didn’t place an item in a strange spot as with some other apps. I often don’t even try this feature in other apps for this reason but I’m very impressed. I really loved this experience”
The rollout comes just months after the retail giant announced in January it would open a potential Metaverse shopping experience for ijts customers using assisted virtual reality (VR) experiences, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the blockchain, and many other digital technologies.
The move was revealed in several patent applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in December last year, which revealed its plans to develop platforms for digital goods.
Rival firms such as Sweden’s IKEA, Canada’s Nextech AR, and US-Indian firm Avataar have also developed their own platforms for retail and shopping aimed at reducing returns, improving customer experiences, and gaining vital insights into shopping psychology and behaviour, among many others.
