Customer Engagement with Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality: The most sought-after trend in marketing in 2013

According to market research firm Canalys’ latest App Interrogator research, “App downloads from four of the major app marketplaces (Apple’s App Store, Google Play, the Windows Phone Store and BlackBerry World) were up 11% in Q1 2013 as compared to all of Q4 2012.” The report also revealed these four stores combined had 13.4 billion downloads, and $2.2 billion in revenue.

The combined revenue curve of the four leading stores is also showing an upward trend with a growth of 9% in the first quarter of 2013, over the whole year 2012.

The above stats clearly demonstrate that users are connecting with brands and mobile apps are a good way to keep them engaged for better results. According to Adam Daum, Canalys’ chief analyst, “Apps have a huge impact on consumers, which have now become a central point to know how they engage with content and connected services.” Higher the consumer engagement, better the performance in the app store.

So the question is how to engage the users and keep them hooked with the brand? What will be the most sought-after trend which will help marketers in reaching the goal of constant engagement in 2013?

Before answering these questions, let’s have a look on the current scenario of app stores.
All the leading app stores are over-crowded with apps, for instance, there are 800,000+ apps on Apple App Store, 700,000+ on Google Play Store and 100,000 + apps on Blackberry and Windows app stores. With these numbers constantly increasing, almost all the categories are overly crowded with apps. It has become imperative for the brands to create apps with a different approach and mindset.

Role of Augmented Reality

According to a report from Juniper Research, Augmented Reality (AR) will be the retailers’ favorite in 2013 and will emerge as a new way of customer engagement. However, the traditional pay-per-download payment model will generate maximum revenue; AR is expected to scale the heights.

The research report state that augmented reality in marketing across mobile applications will generate 1.4 billion downloads by 2015, as an increasing number of brands familiarize themselves with the technology and its possibilities.

Augmented Reality is around for quite some time now; however, its real potential is yet to be realized by the marketers. Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with live video and the user's environment in real time. It identifies visuals to blend new information and displays the virtual result. It all happens in real-time creating amazing experiences for the users. Devices like, phone cameras, GPS devices are used to engage with consumers in a manner which no other medium can provide. AR apps and devices (engage users in their actual surroundings, thus, making them aware and providing more information. There are many AR apps which are thrilling the users and help the marketers in keeping them engaged with their businesses.

Yelp's Monocle is the first iPhone App with augmented reality. The app makes use of your camera when you are out on a street or driving. The app shows you the names of restaurants and bars. The users get reviews, store hours and all the other pertinent data Yelp has been known to provide.

TwittARound is another app for the iPhone 3GS that uses the GPS, compass and camera to show where Tweets are coming from and are overlaid onto the landscape, augmenting users’ view of the world and allowing them to actually see where the tweets are coming from and how far away they are.

Many retailers are looking at it as an effective and efficient advertising tool to improve customer engagement and interaction. Besides, the new technology can be used in various other sphere of business. For instance;

Realtors can show their clients apartments in different designs and colors as per their requirement. It will save their time in visiting the place again and again. They have to visit the place only if they like it on their phone.

Buyers can take a quick look at all the products available in a supermarket store. With one click from your phone’s camera, an app can instantly capture the store displays and provide you with all the information about the products. You can find the product with best reviews or you can sort by price for the best deal, much like you can do online.

Google Glass, Nokia City Lens (exclusive to its Lumia suite of devices), Innovega’s Augmented Reality contact lens are going to be some of the most sought after devices in the year.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com