Snap and Amazon Fashion have partnered to bring new virtual try-on experiences (VTO) to Snapchat users. The two social media and retail giants hope their combined services will attract some of the 1.4 billion people forecast to use augmented reality on their smartphones by 2023.
Mobile shopping is a rapidly growing channel, with Amazon Fashion customers having purchased over a billion fashion items on mobile devices. With the new shopping experience, 363 million daily Snapchat users will have access to select Amazon eyewear brands for the first time, including Maui Jim, Persol, Oakley and Costa Del Mar. Eyewear is the first category of virtual shopping experiences in the partnership between Amazon and Snap, which both companies want to expand to other categories.
A $142 billion potential market
The global market for virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) technologies is expected to reach $142.4 billion this year, a significant increase from $13.4 billion in 2018.
“Amazon Fashion is always looking for new ways to partner with brands and create fun, innovative shopping experiences for customers,” said Muge Erdirik Dogan, President of Amazon Fashion. “Millions of customers regularly use Amazon’s AR shopping technology across all categories in our stores, with virtual try-on for glasses a longtime customer favorite. We’re excited to partner with Snapchat to bring AR shopping to both fashion brands and the new generation of… further expand digital buyers.”
With a focus on seamless shopping, Amazon’s 3D asset technology – a service that can be extended to partner businesses – works in tandem with Snap’s Lenses to share and dynamically update 3D assets and product information to serve customers with current product details and availability.
“AR glasses are just the first step in our partnership and we can’t wait to continue innovating together,” said Ben Schwerin, SVP of Partnerships, Snap Inc.
The future of AR
According to a study by McKinsey, over 30 percent of customers who are active in the Metaverse have also bought real products there. There are many opportunities for retailers using Web3 technologies to create new offerings and develop new forms of customer engagement, according to McKinsey in a technology report released last year. These include ecosystem loyalty programs or access to unique experiences.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.