2019 AR Trends: What the Business Industry Can Expect from Augmented Reality
by First Descent AR • 13 March 2019There’s a special sauce in the tech industry that today’s entrepreneurs can’t seem to get enough of – augmented reality.
The revolutionary digital innovation has taken the world by storm since the introduction of Pokémon Go - the viral mobile game that, in 2016, prompted imaginative gamers to come out of their caves to catch virtual creatures. Augmented reality has continued to evolve into an unprecedented commercial tool that has caught the interest of businesses wanting to capitalize on its newfound advantages.
INDUSTRY DIVERSITY
Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for a while but did not really flourish to exhibit its full potential until its application was adopted for commercial use particularly through mobile apps and games which exploded two years ago when millions of users installed a Pokémon Go app on their smartphones. According to Sensor Tower, an analytics company, the viral AR game has already earned $1.8 billion in revenue since its launch.
Today, the use of AR has extended to other commercial ventures in various verticals that include retail, education, travel, healthcare, and many others through the innovative prowess of augmented reality developers.
How Business Utilize AR
AR is a technology that superimposes a computer generated image onto a real setting on a digital screen. To visualize, imagine yourself watching a video of your friend coming out of a restaurant when all of a sudden Mickey Mouse or your favorite animated character shows up in the same spot. It’s a technology slightly different from virtual reality, perfected by virtual reality developers who are able to transport a VR user to a different world and simulate the experience as if the user is actually there.
AR developers, on the other hand, have become extremely creative as they continue to explore the potential of AR in enhancing the consumer experience. Now, layering virtual images on digital screens alongside real images has helped entrepreneurs in providing extra services that will help solve the problems of their customers.
For instance, a retail customer who wants to shop online can try on virtual clothes without having to go to the clothing store or touch the merchandise by simply installing an AR app on a smart device.
In advertising, businesses are able to tell their stories in more compelling fashion to grow their brands and promote their products to an engaged audience who delights in the digitally enhanced storytelling technique through videos and ads transmittable at the touch of a button.
And the list goes on.
AR Is Set To Become A Solid Marketing Investment For Business
According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, there are approximately 3.5 billion cellular connections projected for 2023. With an engaged smartphone-using market, the future of AR is bright and the tech industry is set to stumble upon and explore more innovative breakthroughs.
Here’s a snippet of what we think will happen in 2019.
AR will be tapped by more entrepreneurs who want to introduce innovative solutions to their customers. Furniture store IKEA, for instance, has already provided a virtual solution to their customers who can now experience the look of a room by simulating a virtually designed space before actually buying the store’s products. We expect the same trend among other businesses but they will seek a more useful presentation of the technology through the essential integration of reality with virtual simulations so the experience becomes more natural and therefore, more helpful for customers.
With billions of smartphone users ready to be tapped through AR applications integrated in marketing campaigns, we expect more businesses and entrepreneurs to invest in the AR technology to reach more customers, expand their market, enhance their brand, and skyrocket their profit over time.