Our team has been hard at work improving our website. We have launched brand new website pages that aim to inform retailers about the benefits of Tangiblee and our key differentiators.
Below are the newest additions to tangiblee.com.
We have expanded our platform capabilities tab to include a platform overview and how it works page. The platform overview page offers a big picture understanding of Tangiblee’s offerings and how they can enhance the online customer experience. The how it works page aims to provide a high-level understanding of Tangiblee’s integration. The webpage takes visitors through Tangiblee’s process from integration to launch.
Our capabilities, including virtual try-on, lifestyle content, and contextual shopping, have all been updated to include some of our latest technology developments. Visitors can gain an understanding of the features for each of these capabilities. Each feature is also accompanied by a video, image, or gif to allow visitors to visualize it in action.
For visitors who are looking to dive deeper into Tangiblee’s latest features they can visit our evolving feature guide. The feature guide allows visitors to sort features by category. Each feature offers an overview, feature description, and user experience alongside product imagery to provide further visual understanding.
The why tangiblee page focuses on our differentiators including built for scale, optimize existing 2D imagery, easy integration, software with a service (SwaS), and human-in-the-loop AI for unprecedented accuracy.
Visitors can read through each differentiator while engaging with an interactive flywheel.
Tangiblee’s new and improved help center looks to answer questions for both potential and current clients. Separated into six different categories, visitors can find answers to many of their questions.
We are excited to announce these latest updates. We look forward to continuing to advance our website in order to better highlight our immersive shopping experiences. These features and differentiators have allowed Tangiblee to work with top online retailers to increase conversions, revenue per visitor, and more.
To learn more about Tangiblee, schedule a demo here.
3D is a buzzword in the e-commerce industry. Retailers are being told that they need interactive 3D in order to stay ahead of the trends. However, most retailers don’t understand what 3D is, how it works, and the impact it has on the customer experience.
Let’s dive into what 3D is and why it may or may not be the best solution for your e-commerce business.
3D models are computer-generated graphics that provide the perception of depth similar to a real-world item. These 3D models are then embedded into an online website enabling shoppers to visualize a 3D representation of that product. These virtual 3D models can be utilized in the retail industry to provide shoppers with a visualization of a product from all angles.
In order to create these 3D models, retailers must first take multiple photographs at specific angles, send those images to a 3D artist charging anywhere from $100 - $1,000 per SKU to manually create using multiple digital tools, wait up to several weeks to receive the final 3D model of said product, and finally allocate retailer-side personnel to audit the shared output, in many cases sending back the asset for revisions to be made.
This process must be followed for every SKU, across all colors and sizes, and given its manual nature, often fails to catch up to a large, static product catalog, resulting in only partial coverage, and an inconsistent online customer shopping experience.
3D modeling can be beneficial for specific industries like gaming, entertainment, architecture, and healthcare. It is highly customizable and interactive, making it an ideal solution for these types of industries.
In retail, 3D models can be used to allow shoppers to interact with a 360-degree view of the product. 3D models help to remove guesswork before purchasing and allow shoppers to fully explore a product.
However, for a fast-paced and ever-changing industry like retail, the 3D approach simply does not scale. Lengthy turnaround times required to complete a sufficient 3D model, coupled with the need to support large legacy catalogs and frequently added new arrivals, let alone the management of 3D model creators - the 3D approach for this use case simply does not scale.
Retailers need a solution that can provide support for their legacy catalogs in a timely manner. In parallel to needing an effective ramp up and total coverage of legacy products, retailers also require that newly added SKUs receive equal or higher priority in terms of 3D model creation. At present, the expectation is hundreds of 3D models per month.
Given their many priorities, retailers also require a low-touch, high-benefit, technology-based solution; something they don’t need to learn how to use, or worry about managing amidst their already long list of concerns and priorities. The 3D approach relies heavily on the sourcing and managing of a 3D artist to manually create said 3D model, which is then sent to the client for their review by one of their salaried personnel, after which it is either approved, or rejected and accompanied by notes to be followed in the reproduction process for the 3D model. This issue compounds exponentially as many, if not an entire network of 3D artists are then enlisted given the scale-related demands that must be met in order to serve an online retailer.
Luckily there are other solutions that are scalable, realistic, and less expensive than 3D.
Tangiblee’s solution leverages 2D content to create interactive 3D-like experiences using AR technology. It does not rely on traditional 3D technology or models to create its scalable, consistent outputs. Tangiblee does this by crawling the client's website, or ingesting a product feed containing the relevant information.
Tangiblee can add AR virtual try-on (VTO) to as many as 5,000 SKUs a day, accommodating the scale-related needs of a retailer’s legacy catalog, and simultaneously-added New Arrivals.
Clients don’t have to worry about auditing, maintaining, or managing outputs thanks to Tangiblee’s human-in-the-loop AI. As a Software with a Service (SwaS) company, Tangiblee manages the solution across all SKUs. All the client’s need to do is copy and paste a single-line of code. Clients can reap the benefits of a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by only dedicating two hours/month to Tangiblee.
Retailers keep asking for 3D, but do they really know what it is? 3D requires extensive time, resources, and money. Tangiblee offers an AR solution that creates a consistent and realistic shopping experience for online shoppers. Retailers may want to be a part of the 3D buzz, but after a little bit of research it becomes clear that a solution like Tangiblee provides the same benefits as 3D with much more flexibility and affordability. Tangiblee also offers the ability to scale to the world’s largest catalogs.
To learn more about how Tangiblee can elevate your online e-commerce website experience, schedule a demo today.
Interactivity, engagement, and conversions all go hand-in-hand.
Consider, for instance, that in a survey by analyst Deloitte, roughly 71 percent of people said they'd shop more often with a brand that offered an experience built on augmented reality. In that same survey, 61 percent of respondents indicated that they would choose stores that offer AR over those that don't. Survey respondents also stated that AR creates a more fun, exciting shopping experience.
It all comes down to interactivity. Technology like AR allows customers to interact with a brand and its products on a far deeper level than a static website. That in turn results in a far higher engagement rate — double, in fact.
All other things being equal, increased engagement ultimately means increased conversions. People are far likelier to buy from a brand that provides a memorable interactive experience than they are from one with little or no interactivity. When your target market is highly engaged, your average revenue per visitor may also increase along with your average order value.
In the best-case scenario, you could see up to 70 percent higher revenue.
Basically, in a world increasingly defined by remote work and online shopping, interactivity is often the be-all and end-all of the retail experience. But that just applies to sectors like clothing, luxury goods, and furniture, right? Most other sectors don't really need the same level of interactivity, do they?
You might be surprised to know there are many products and industries where retailers can greatly improve the customer experience by making things a bit more interactive. We're going to go over a few of the most unexpected — here are four retail sectors you didn't know could benefit from an interactive experience.
Whether it's a profession or a hobby, art is inherently tactile. The experience of making something with one's hands is a big part of what makes it so satisfying. Isn't it a little curious, then, that most online art and craft supply stores are almost entirely static?
A little interactivity can go a long way here. For instance, you might consider putting together a tool that allows customers to mix and match paint to see how different colors go with one another. You could also provide interactive visualization and size comparisons for products like easels or frames.
Above all, don't be afraid to get a little creative with your interactivity, just so long as you don't impede the shopping experience in the process.
Most people, when they buy products like cutlery, don't tend to think much about what they're purchasing. They're just kitchen utensils, after all. It's only once you start getting into higher-end knife sets that product quality really starts to make a difference.
Once again, interactivity here helps to bridge the gulf. When a customer visits a brick-and-mortar shop, they can see their utensils in action prior to committing to a purchase. In some stores, they may even be able to test the products themselves.
While you won't be able to capture the full in-store experience, interactive product pages can at least allow customers to view and examine any prospective purchases on a deeper level.
It might seem especially out there at first, but there's actually a multitude of ways you can improve interaction and engagement for customers who are purchasing pet supplies — everything from food to toys and enclosures. These include, but are certainly not limited to:
Realistically, people spend a great deal of time, effort, and money on their pets. By making the shopping experience more streamlined and interactive, you've the potential to catch and retain customer attention in a big way. And as we already said earlier, this can result in considerably higher revenue.
The one thing most big box department stores seem to have in common is that their online shopping experience leaves much to be desired. Websites are frequently sluggish, slow to load, and cumbersome to navigate. Product listings are static and include very little information, and features such as category-based search tend to be virtually non-existent.
On mobile, these problems are often even worse.
Many of these storefronts need more than a bit of interactivity, they need a total overhaul. They need the business to revamp and rethink its outdated web design practices. Interactivity plays an important role in this regard — businesses must allow customers to view and interact with the products similarly to how they would in-store.
Depending on the products in question, what this means may vary:
You get the idea.
Interactivity and success in the world of online retail are two sides of the same coin. Tangiblee can help with that.
Trusted by some of the top furniture and apparel brands in the world, our augmented reality and interactive shopping platform can be leveraged for a wide range of different products and use cases — far more than what you might initially expect.
If you're interested in seeing what that means for your business and how we can help you improve both engagement and revenue, contact us to schedule a free demo.
A handbag might be one of the most important accessories a customer will ever purchase. As such, they want to be absolutely certain they make the right choice when it comes to buying one. Unfortunately, if they're shopping for handbags on an online store, that's often easier said than done.
All they have to go on is product reviews, the retailer's claims, and a few product photos. Sometimes they aren't even that lucky — they have to make do with a static, non-interactive product page. This leaves them to judge for themselves whether or not a bag is the right look, feel, and size.
All too often, they only realize a product isn't right for them after they've made a purchase, leaving you to facilitate the returns process.
And that's not even getting into designer handbags, which can cost upwards of several hundred — or even several thousand — dollars. As a retailer, you must do everything in your power to ensure that your customers are comfortable purchasing handbags from you. That starts with understanding their frustrations.
Here are the five biggest pain points of buying handbags online.
Different customers have different wants and needs where their handbag is concerned. In some cases, all they're looking for is a convenient place to store their wallet and phone while on the go. Other people are going to need something beefier, a bag capable of storing everything from medication to laptops or tablets.
When visiting a brick-and-mortar outlet, it's easy to tell at a glance which handbags will and will not work from a size perspective. This is not the case online. Even if a retailer claims that a particular handbag design will match a particular customer's size requirements, customers may be unwilling to take them at their word.
Another area where a gulf exists between physical retail and digital retail is the fact that online, you can't try on a handbag that's caught your eye. You have no way of knowing whether or not it's comfortable, or how well it goes with your overall sense of style. And while this is something that can, at least in part, be hammered out with product photos, many customers will still prefer seeing how a product looks on their person.
And if there's no way for them to do that with your company, they'll likely either go to a physical outlet or find their way to a competitor with a stronger presence and better approach compared to yours.
As you may or may not know, fraud is an enormous problem in the handbag industry. Counterfeit versions of well-known luxury brands are almost more numerous online than the brands themselves. Particularly with higher-end handbags, customers frequently have no way of knowing for certain if something is counterfeit or if it's the genuine article.
As noted by brand protection specialist Red Points, this issue is especially prevalent on social networks. In a recent survey, the company found that roughly 23 percent of respondents had purchased a handbag via social media or group post — and more than half indicated that they would consider it. Research published by the International Trademark Association (INTA) in 2019 found that nearly 79 percent of Generation Z customers had, at some point, purchased a counterfeit product online.
This isn't just a matter of differentiating between counterfeits and legitimate products, either. A particularly unscrupulous retailer might pull out all the stops to trick their unsuspecting customers, from misleading product photos to fake reviews. Today's consumers are increasingly aware of this fact, and increasingly less willing to take claims about a product on faith.
Another way the online shopping experience for handbags tends to fall short of brick-and-mortar retail involves sales staff. When someone buys a handbag from an outlet such as Nordstrom, for instance, they can flag down an employee to answer any questions they might have. This is a bit more challenging to achieve in an online context.
And it's an area where many brands fumble or outright drop the ball. From obnoxious chat popups to low-quality chatbots, even finding someone to help can be an exercise in frustration. Moreover, even though web chat is convenient, it's still no substitute for in-person assistance.
When a customer purchases an accessory like a handbag, they're interested in the bag's size or appearance. They also want to know that the bag is comfortable to use. They want to see things such as materials and design quality for themselves rather than simply reading reviews and looking at images. \
Unfortunately, there's very little that can be done to address this pain point — virtual and augmented reality simply aren't advanced enough. Your best bet as a retailer is to ensure you offer a generous return policy coupled with free shipping. That way, even if a handbag ends up being uncomfortable or ill-fitting, the customer can return it without much hassle.
Many of the pain points described above can be addressed simply through better web design, improved online security, and brand protection. They're common challenges in the retail space, and the industry's had a lot of time to perfect its approach to solving them. The lack of interactivity and engagement when comparing digital to physical is an exception to the rule.
And that's where Tangiblee comes in. Leveraged by some of the world's top brands, our immersive shopping and augmented reality solutions allow your customers to not only visualize the exact size of a handbag, but also compare that bag to other products and even see how it might look on their person.
It's exactly what your business needs to bridge the gap between online shopping and in-person retail.
To learn more about how Tangiblee can help, schedule a free demo today.
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February 14th or better known as Valentine’s day.
You either love it or hate it.
Jewelry retailers love it, with Valentine’s Day jewelry sales reaching almost $22 million. On average American consumers spend $164.76 on Valentine’s Day.
Usually those who are purchasing items for Valentine’s Day are giving these items as gifts. This can often lead to high amounts of returns due to purchasing the wrong size, style, or color.
To reduce returns and therefore increase customer buying confidence, jewelry retailers have been implementing Augmented Reality Virtual Try On.
Online shoppers have the ability to try before they buy with Augmented Reality Try On. Shoppers can try on augmented reality jewelry pieces including rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. Once they are happy with the look, they can send their virtual jewelry try on photo to their significant other as a gentle hint.
Especially for one of the most important pieces of jewelry, an engagement ring, shoppers are able to use virtual engagement ring try on. Shoppers can visualize an engagement ring on themselves or on a lifestyle model to understand the size and style of the ring.
As someone who has recently gone through the engagement and wedding ring buying process, virtual try on engagement rings is a game-changer. Being able to see how different carat sizes look on your exact size of hand is incredibly helpful without having to go into a jewelry store.
There are so many different styles of engagement rings that it can be overwhelming in a jewelry store. With engagement ring virtual try on, I was able to try on as many rings as I wanted from the comfort of my own home.
Give your customers, like me, the confidence to purchase jewelry online with VTO. Shoppers can interact with each product to ensure that it meets their needs and style requirements thus increasing conversion rate and decreasing returns.
Looking to enhance your customer experience? Schedule a demo today.
During the pandemic, the e-commerce sector experienced meteoric growth, surging by an estimated $244.2 billion in 2020 alone. That growth has now slowed in the face of a global recession. Although the industry is still trending upwards, many are concerned about inflation, and businesses across all areas of commerce are reducing spending and increasing prices accordingly.
This isn't to say that the outlook for e-commerce is grim — far from it. The industry is still growing. It's just doing so at a much slower pace, as consumers are now far more discerning about their purchases.
To thrive in this new landscape, e-commerce businesses must understand the major trends that resulted in its formation and continued growth.
Even in the face of the recession, global e-commerce sales are expected to increase to $6.3 trillion by the end of this year, a 12.2% year-over-year growth rate. By 2026, this number is expected to top $8.3 trillion. Alongside online shopping, mobile shopping will also continue to accelerate this year, and is expected to account for roughly 44 percent of all US e-commerce sales by 2025.
It's not difficult to see the driving forces behind these trends. COVID-19 introduced the world to the comfort and convenience of shopping from home. Even now, roughly 80 percent of consumers aged 25-40 shop almost entirely online.
Online shopping's greatest weakness by far when compared to physical retail is that it's nowhere near as tactile. When you're shopping for furniture in a physical store, you can physically look at a couch before you buy it. Similarly, when you're shopping for clothing or jewelry, you can try it on and see how it fits.
Online shopping traditionally doesn't offer this level of interactivity. Thanks to AR, that's changing. Roughly 75 percent of online shoppers believe AR is the future of shopping, and with good reason. When a retail experience is made more engaging and interactive through the application of AR, customers are typically both more satisfied and less likely to return their purchase — it offers a level of confidence currently unmatched by any other online shopping experience.
Having already gained ground in 2022, AR will become central to online shopping in 2023. Brands will need to adopt the technology in order to remain competitive, as shoppers increasingly turn away from static, non-interactive stores and product detail pages.
Visual commerce is very closely related to augmented reality.
The core idea is that typical e-commerce visual content tends to be static and disconnected from the shopping experience. Lifestyle photos are few and far between. Product photos, while they might allow a customer to gain a better surface-level understanding, rarely provide the necessary level of interactivity.
Interactivity is key to visual commerce strategies. The core idea is that rather than static visuals such as images, brands need to start incorporating other, more interactive media into both their marketing and sales experiences. Augmented reality is arguably the best way of achieving this, though consumer-generated media and product videos also play a role.
As has already been mentioned, today's customers are far more discerning with their purchases. With climate change at the forefront of everyone's mind, people increasingly want to support businesses that operate with one eye looking towards the future. According to Harris Poll research commissioned by Google Cloud, 52 percent of consumers say they're interested in supporting sustainable brands, 66 percent actively seek out eco-friendly companies, and another 55 percent would be willing to pay more for sustainable products.
This focus on green retail is expected to increase through 2023. This isn't something a brand can fake, either. Nearly two thirds of consumers already suspect that companies overstate their sustainability efforts. If yours is caught doing so, it could cause irreparable damage to your reputation.
It's not just sustainability that's important, either. Harris Poll also found that 82 percent of consumers want a brand whose values align with their own. Additionally, 75 percent have stopped shopping with a brand due to misaligned values.
Again, as the world enters a recession amidst an ongoing pandemic, you should expect customers to prioritize values and sustainability to an even greater degree — and you need to adapt to that.
People don't shop the way they used to. They want to engage with brands freely and on their own terms, across whatever channels are most convenient. Moreover, they want those brands to provide them with an interactive, personalized experience ranging from targeted communications to tailored discounts.
Social media is enormously important in this regard — but it's important to understand that the need for personalization also extends to your product pages. The reality is that even the most beautiful lifestyle photo will only tell a customer so much. Unless they can see that product in their space or on their person, they're not getting a complete experience.
Again, augmented reality can help a great deal in this regard, particularly if paired with a decent CRM tool.
In spite of mitigating circumstances, the e-commerce sector continues to experience healthy growth. With that said, you cannot simply coast along. You need to actively engage with your customers, all while ensuring your business evolves to keep pace with the market.
Equipping your e-commerce website with augmented reality is an important step in this regard — and Tangiblee can help. Our comprehensive AR platform is both resource-light and easy to integrate, allowing you to provide a more engaging, more personalized experience to each visitor.
Book a demo with one of our AR experts today to learn more, and see for yourself how we can help you adapt to changing consumer behavior and ongoing e-commerce trends.
Whether you're buying a new couch, an office chair, or a bed — one thing’s for sure: furniture is incredibly difficult to shop for online. Why? Because furniture shopping is a tactile, physical experience.
You don't visualize a jug of milk against your fridge's aesthetic. You don't question whether a bottle of shampoo will fit in your shower. You don't need to know how an HDMI cable feels against your skin.
These are all things a shopper needs to account for when buying furniture, however. They need to know it will fit their space both physically and visually. They need to know that it's comfortable and that they've chosen the right materials.
There's also the matter of cost. For most people, even buying something as simple as a table or desk represents a huge financial commitment. If they aren't certain they've found the perfect option, most people won't be willing to make a purchase.
They fear that if they end up with something that doesn't fit, they'll have to contend with a nightmarish returns process.
As a furniture retailer, you need to understand customer frustrations and bottlenecks. It's the only way to create a better e-commerce experience. With that in mind, here are the five biggest pain points of buying furniture online.
Particularly when buying a larger item like a couch, a customer needs to know that it will actually fit where they want it to go. There's only so much a list of specifications will tell you, and not everyone has the time or tools to measure the room where their new purchase will go. Moreover, there's a big difference between looking at some numbers on a screen and actually seeing an item firsthand.
With that said, one could argue that this disconnect even extends to physical retail — sometimes it's difficult to tell how an item will fit by appearance alone.
Size aside, there's also the matter of design inspiration. Most people, when shopping for furniture, have a specific look in mind. They want something that matches the aesthetic style of their space, something that's the right color, shape, and size.
Unfortunately, most product detail pages offer little assistance in this regard. Rather than a set of lifestyle photos that show their product in a range of different settings, many retailers instead have images of the furniture set against a white background. In some cases, they may not even show the different colors in which the product is available.
Even when disassembled, furniture takes up a lot of space. This makes transportation considerably more challenging and expensive for retailers. Unfortunately, it also means that many retailers require the customer to pay for return shipping.
On the surface, this may make sense from a business standpoint. Unfortunately, looking at things from the customer's perspective, it's incredibly unfair. It's not their fault that the item they purchased didn't meet their expectations — forcing them to pay a fee just to get their money back simply adds insult to injury.
When shopping for furniture in-store, customers can rely on the expertise of sales personnel. They don't need to worry about misunderstanding how a product works or missing out on a particular option such as stain-resistant fabric or heated seating. Most retailers leave them entirely to their own devices when shopping online.
All they can do is hope that the retailer's website is easy to navigate and that all available options are cataloged on each product page.
Appearances aren't everything. When you're buying a new piece of furniture, how it's built is every bit as important. Customers often want to know how a piece of furniture feels before they make a final decision.
Depending on the type of furniture, this could involve any or all of the following questions:
Unfortunately, this is one area where e-commerce might always lag behind physical retail — at least until the full-immersion virtual reality exists. That likely sounds like science fiction at this point. But when you consider how many modern-day innovations would have been considered impossible even twenty years ago, it seems a great deal more feasible.
So, now that we've gone over the major pain points, what can you as a retailer do to address them? Ultimately, it all boils down to prioritizing the customer's needs above all else.
Make your product pages as detailed and comprehensive as possible, and ensure your website is streamlined and simple to navigate. Maintain a generous return policy, and emphasize that you will pay for shipping. You might also consider shipping fabric/material samples to customers on request. It's not quite the same as being able to physically touch a product, but it could help alleviate at least a few of their concerns.
Last but certainly not least, rework your website to create an immersive, engaging shopping experience. That's where Tangiblee comes in. Built for scale, our immersive shopping and augmented reality solutions are trusted by some of the top furniture and fashion brands in the world.
With our help, you can improve the customer experience in several ways:
To learn more about these features or explore what else Tangiblee can do for your e-commerce site, schedule a free demo here.
This year’s NRF (Retail’s Big Show) at the Javits Center in New York felt like the beginning of Spring following a long COVID winter. Before getting into the details, let’s rewind back to 2019.
The in-person convention was canceled two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021. Last year (2022), many hopeful companies returned to the convention center, but the masks were on, and much of the carpeting was off due to last-minute cancellations. Although Tangiblee exhibited and enjoyed many great conversations, we also missed many international attendees and networking events last year, which couldn’t be replaced by all the hand sanitizer and free mask giveaways in the world.
Finally, NRF ‘23 last week saw a return to near-normalcy. The Tangiblee crew enjoyed a role in the newly shaped future of retail, which has seen a rapid transformation to survive and thrive in the contactless digital age. With temperatures in the upper 40s, the vibe was warm all around. The Tangiblee team enjoyed conversations with top names in retail – both current customers and prospects – who were engaged and delighted by new immersive shopping features, including our scalable VTO Clip, Embed, and contextual shopping solutions across categories.
While would-be competitors at the event may be taking notes on our offerings, one thing is clear: No one except Tangiblee already offers proven, real-world examples of this technology with top names at the scale and affordability we offer. It’s one thing to throw some R&D dollars at digital development but quite another to execute well in the real world. That’s what we have done successfully for the past few years and will continue to build on for 2023.
We are also excited to welcome our new Senior Product Manager, Steven Price, to the Tangiblee team this month. Steven attended many of the sessions and shares his key takeaways from the keynotes and presentations below:
#1: AI is cool
Simply put, “AI” was on every sign, banner, and booth possible, regardless of how much true AI was leveraged in the final solution. At this point, AI is more of a buzzword than a genuine description of the technical solution. Saying that your solution is AI-enabled is the same as saying that your solutions are new, powerful, fast, and adaptable. The feeling among non-technical crowds is that AI is a near-mythical fix-all.
#2: Omnichannel customer experience is on everyone’s mind
Everyone is searching for ways to unify the online and in-store shopping experiences in a way that boosts sales and customer intelligence while curating more brand loyalty.
There is unilateral interest in trends and technologies that relate to the omnichannel customer experience. The big idea is to make the online and in-store shopping experiences as connected and consistent as possible by leveraging technology to build a sales pipeline beyond checkout.
Many companies are looking for ways to bridge the gap between digital and in-store customer experiences with gimmicky technologies like touchscreen mirrors, interactive marketing content, and virtual fit checkers. However, only some are addressing real-world problems for retailers or consumers. Most add unnecessary complexity simultaneously to the customer’s shopping experience and the retailer’s floor operations (associate duties).
#3: 3D is hit and miss
There is a dichotomy of interest in 3D, either complete disinterest or convinced that it’s the next big cornerstone technology for retail. Increasing the quality of scalable solutions is the key to bridging the gap.
Retailers appear either all in or all out when it comes to 3D; there is no in-between state. The quality level of full 3D solutions is too high, and thus too expensive, for most use cases out there, video marketing being a significant outlier in this case. However, the quality level for scalable solutions based on existing product imagery is generally too low or too complicated to be a practical mainstream solution.
#4: There is uncertainty about digital transformation for post-pandemic retail
Consumer trends in 2023 will establish the baseline for post-pandemic customer preferences, which will drive what digital transformation initiatives the big retailers will pursue. Smaller retailers will then follow suit.
There is a general sentiment throughout the industry that retail is essentially out of pandemic mode. Everyone is waiting to see what pandemic-time changes stick, what trends return to pre-pandemic “normal,” and what the next step for digital transformation will be in retail.
For example, verticals like home decor and furniture are seeing success in doubling down on their in-store experiences while letting go of many digital transformation initiatives undertaken to stay afloat during the pandemic. In contrast, verticals like small jewelry continue to have a strong interest in retail applications for emerging technologies.
In summary, retailers have an air of anticipation to see how consumer preferences evolve throughout 2023. Retailers will likely make significant strategic decisions over the next 6-18 months about the role of digital transformation for their brands over the next few years based on how customer shopping preferences and trends play out.
Want to learn how Tangiblee can help your company ensure successful online sales in 2023? Schedule a demo with our team today.
To say the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) markets are taking off would be an understatement. All it takes is a quick look at the numbers to see why.
Over the next five years, the augmented reality market is expected to top $157.21 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.71%. Demand has continued to mount and companies are further investing in AR technology. Retail and healthcare represent the two greatest beneficiaries of this growth, with a CAGR of 41.7% and 29.13% respectively.
For all that AR may have been regarded as a gimmick prior to the pandemic, businesses across multiple sectors now understand its value. This is most evident in retail — COVID-19 necessitated the closure of thousands of brick-and-mortar stores and accelerated the transition to fully online shopping. Faced with the question of how to virtually approximate in-person shopping, businesses realized that not only was AR the answer, it also enabled an entirely new kind of hybrid shopping experience.
As such, even as the coronavirus appeared to loosen its stranglehold on the world, retailers continued to build on their AR investments. This translated to a year of healthy growth, in spite of a few high-profile blunder's in AR's sister market, virtual reality. At this moment, augmented reality is in a great place.
But what comes next? Given that we're right at the start of 2023, let's talk about where AR is going. Here are the top five trends that will define the augmented reality market this year.
In many ways, augmented reality and digital marketing are a match made in heaven. Today's consumers want to interact with brands that offer engaging, novel experiences. They demand a tailored, personalized customer experience.
AR allows brands to inject some much-needed interactivity into their outreach. More importantly, it does so in a way that puts the customer directly in the center of everything. Pokémon GO's meteoric 2016 rise to fame already showed marketing professionals what augmented reality could do.
But as we move into 2023, it seems like more of them are finally starting to pay attention.
Per a study published earlier this year, 75% of consumers believe augmented reality is the future of shopping and plan to continue using it at every available opportunity. This has created something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Customers that use AR when they shop online tend to be more engaged, more confident in their purchases and more willing to commit.
Even more interestingly, ⅔ of customers who made a purchase in which AR was involved did not return the product, and 96% indicated an interest in post-purchase AR experiences.
In the coming year, AR will become an essential part of online shopping, with virtually every brand adopting the technology to enable a better purchase experience. The most innovative businesses, however, will go far beyond simply enabling AR on their website. They'll implement the technology in-store as well, allowing shoppers to truly experience the best of both worlds.
There's a livestream for everything these days, from applying makeup to eating food. It should therefore come as little surprise to you that livestream shopping exists. Nor should you be shocked to learn that in 2023, we'll start to see it intersect with AR to great effect.
Imagine a livestream where viewers can see how a streamer's outfit would look on their own frame, or where they can view something like a makeup tutorial on their own face instead of an influencer's. It's a deeper level of engagement and interactivity than ever before. And it's also only the tip of the iceberg.
There are many ways in which artificial intelligence is overhyped, such as the notion that it might one day replace human workers entirely. It is and always will be a tool for enablement — a means of augmenting human intelligence and empowering human personnel. In that way, AI represents an ideal match for AR.
To some extent, the two technologies have already been married for almost as long as either of them have existed. How else would Snapchat filters be capable of recognizing a person's face, or virtual try-on understand the difference between your wrist and a nearby foot stool? In 2023, however, the relationship between the two technologies will deepen in some new, incredibly exciting ways.
These are obviously just a few examples, but they all point to one thing above all. Augmented reality is a true game changer, and not just for retail.
AR has always needed to be mobile-friendly, at least in retail. But in 2023, there's a good chance we'll see it transition from mobile-friendly to mobile first. Cross-platform AR software is becoming progressively more common, while web-based apps have always had a strong foothold in the consumer AR space.
Innovations from both Google and Apple (Geospatial API and ARKit 6, respectively) already stand to make AR-focused application development easier than ever. And given that by the end of 2023, there will be a predicted 1.4 billion mobile AR user devices worldwide, it's likely that this year will mark the beginning of a new surge in AR software.
The AR sector is growing at a breakneck pace, and it shows no signs of stopping. Your brand needs to be prepared to embrace AR technology — because we can guarantee that your competitors will be.
Equip your e-commerce website with Tangiblee today, and you'll be ready to keep pace with changing consumer shopping behavior and trends.
This article references an article posted on Retail Dive.
Chicago, IL - January 11, 2023
Tangiblee partners with the Watches of Switzerland Group, the UK’s leading luxury watch retailer to offer exclusive online, immersive shopping experiences such as Compare To and Virtual Try-On, the latter of which leverages augmented reality (AR) technology. Initially, Tangiblee launched as a trial with one of the Group’s retail brands Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths A/B tested Tangiblee over the course of 5 months to achieve an increase in both Conversion Rate and Revenue Per Visitor and ultimately delivered a staggering Return on Investment.
“Tangiblee is an expert in delivering highly engaging e-commerce technology and has the data to prove it. They have elevated our customers’ shopping experience and accelerated our e-commerce growth,” Ian Warwick, Ecommerce Director. “We have enjoyed working with Tangiblee and are excited to continue innovating and providing the best online shopping experience.”
“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Watches of Switzerland Group to provide their customers the most exceptional online experience possible,” said Ryan McLaughlin, Director of Accounts. “They have been true partners throughout our engagement and we are excited to continue innovating with them for years to come!”
The Watches of Switzerland Group partnered with Tangiblee to provide an exclusive and engaging online shopping experience. It was important that the solution was scalable, considering the thousands of SKUs that make up Goldsmiths’ online catalog, and could be implemented quickly. Tangiblee was able to deliver on these shared goals, and while leveraging the existing imagery on Goldsmiths’ site. Goldsmiths’ customers can now use On-Model Imagery, VTO, and Compare To features when shopping for jewelry and watches, and following the trial, has now also launched across the Group’s other retail brand sites such as Watches of Switzerland and Mappin & Webb in the UK and Watches of Switzerland and Mayors in the US.
ABOUT THE WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND GROUP
The Watches of Switzerland Group is the UK’s largest luxury watch retailer, operating in the UK, US and Europe comprising five prestigious brands; Watches of Switzerland (UK and US), Mappin & Webb (UK), Goldsmiths (UK), Mayors (US) and Betteridge (US), with a complementary jewellery offering.
As of 30 October 2022, the Watches of Switzerland Group had 188 showrooms across the UK, US and Europe including 74 dedicated mono-brand boutiques in partnership with Rolex, OMEGA, TAG Heuer, Breitling, TUDOR, Audemars Piguet, Grand Seiko, BVLGARI and FOPE and has a leading presence in Heathrow Airport with representation in Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 as well as seven retail websites.
The Watches of Switzerland Group is proud to be the UK’s largest retailer for Rolex, OMEGA, Cartier, TAG Heuer and Breitling watches.
ABOUT TANGIBLEE
Tangiblee is an enterprise-ready, immersive shopping and augmented reality (AR) e-commerce platform. The world’s largest brands are working with Tangiblee to deliver highly interactive online experiences in days, not months or years. An alumnus of the Techstars 2014 class, Tangiblee is revolutionizing the online buying experience for some of the world’s top retailers including Fossil, Samsonite, Living Spaces, MCM Worldwide, Tacori, and more. Tangiblee’s interactive eCommerce solutions — including Virtual Try-On (VTO), Contextual Shopping, Lifestyle Imagery, and more — dramatically improve the bottom line for retailers, increasing conversions and average order value and reducing returns.
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This story references an article posted on Retail Dive.
New York, NY - January 4, 2023
Tangiblee, the market leader in Virtual Try-On (VTO) for jewelry and watches, will be unveiling its latest generation of immersive shopping and AR features at the NRF Big Show, January 15-17. The innovative new features — including VTO Clip, virtual room design, ring stacking, and more — bring deeper levels of engagement to consumers and improved financial results to retailers.
Tangiblee’s technology approach makes AR commerce accessible to all retailers and brands. With easy implementation, affordability and scalability, every solution equips top brands with immersive experiences without requiring extensive resources, time, or money. Tangiblee continues to differentiate itself against competitors by bridging the gap between in-store and online shopping.
“Our clients want AR and 3D across their entire catalog, not just best sellers, usually due to budget constraints,” says Eliad Inbar, CEO of Tangiblee. “We have proven ourselves in the 2D VTO space and plan to push the envelope further this year by providing premium quality 3D VTO for catalog size of 10 to 100K at a fraction of the cost of our competitors — all this without compromising our effortless and quick onboarding. We’re looking forward to further defining the state of the art in AR commerce in 2023.”
The business metrics speak for themselves with Tangiblee increasing revenue per visitor by 15.7% for luxury watch manufacturer, Citizen, and providing a 550% ROI for Lucardi Jewelers.
On top of providing impressive results to its clients, Tangiblee also launched a multitude of innovative features in 2022 with a focus on Jewelry and Watches, Handbags and Luggage, and Furniture and Home Decor. These features include virtual room staging, embed, earring stacking, and more. For all categories, the company processes up to 5000 SKUs per day to support catalogs of any size.
At the upcoming NRF Big Show, Tangiblee will release a next-generation VTO experience — the first of its kind. This capability, VTO Clip, elevates the virtual try-on experience without compromising Tangiblee’s easy-to-deploy and scalable solution. Shoppers will be able to take a short video while rotating their hand, and a ring will be automatically and realistically placed on their finger and move realistically along with the hand. This allows shoppers to visualize the ring in a dynamic setting to increase buyer confidence and conversion rate.
About Tangiblee
Tangiblee is an enterprise-ready, immersive shopping and augmented reality (AR) e-commerce platform. The world’s largest brands are working with Tangiblee to deliver highly interactive online experiences in days, not months or years. An alumnus of the Techstars 2014 class, Tangiblee is revolutionizing the online buying experience for some of the world’s top retailers including Fossil, Samsonite, Living Spaces, MCM Worldwide, Tacori, and more. Tangiblee’s interactive eCommerce solutions — including Virtual Try-On (VTR), Contextual Shopping, Lifestyle Imagery, and more — dramatically improve the bottom line for retailers, increasing conversions and average order value and reducing returns.
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Capitalizing on the growth from last year, Tangiblee has continued to push the envelope with their immersive online shopping solutions.
With a recession looming, retailers have to be capital efficient and invest their money where they are seeing ROI. Cost of acquisition is skyrocketing up to $205 for B2B SaaS companies and $87 for e-commerce. Retailers don’t have a choice anymore, but to invest in ROI proven solutions that impact the bottom line.
One of the major ways that online retailers have started to do this is through augmented reality (AR). The AR industry is expected to reach $50 billion by 2024 and 61% of consumers say that they prefer shopping with retailers who offer AR experiences.
However, still only 1% of online retailers are utilizing AR. 2023 is the year to listen to your customers!
Many retailers fear that AR is expensive, time consuming, and resource draining. With Tangiblee, you don’t have to pay for additional photoshoots as we use your existing product imagery to create our experience. We remain committed to providing high quality AR experiences that are accessible to every retailer and brand.
Some Tangiblee highlights from 2022 include:
We will be revealing our next generation VTO Clip that is unlike anything that has been done before at the NRF Big Show - January 15 -17 at the Javits Center in New York (booth #1111).
2023 brings a whole new opportunity for Tangiblee to continue to elevate and innovate. Experts are already predicting exciting trends for the upcoming year, including:
Now is the time to join the AR movement and provide your customers with an immersive online shopping experience. Going to NRF Big Show? Schedule a 1:1 session with Tangiblee here.
Can’t make it, no worries! Request an online demo here.
