Top 5 Benefits of Augmented Reality in the Jewelry Industry

In the previous article, we discussed the ways you could integrate augmented reality into your jewelry business. This time, we’ll take a look at the importance of augmented reality in the jewelry industry. How does it benefit you as a jeweler?

First, let’s visit a few statistics and get a feel of the pulse of the market.

71% of shoppers would shop at a retailer more often if an augmented reality experience was present.

40% of consumers would be willing to pay more if they could experience the product through augmented reality.

75% of consumers expect retailers to offer an augmented reality experience.

By 2024, the number of mobile augmented reality users will reach 1.73 billion.

Undeniably, augmented reality is one of the many technologies that could deliver greater value to you and your consumers. So how does it benefit you exactly? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!

How Does the Augmented Reality Benefit the Jewelry Industry?

1. Augmented reality increases and enhances the user engagement

User engagement does not only revolve around a brand’s interaction with customers across different touchpoints, but it also includes the way customers interact with your products. These two make up the whole customer experience.

According to Bain & Company, businesses that offer better customer experience record revenue that’s 4%-8% above the market. And this isn’t hard to get a grasp of, especially in the digital age where providing a satisfying customer experience is almost effortlessly achievable. What, with different technologies aiding jewelers and other businesses, the question should be NOT how but why not?

Augmented reality is one of those technologies that you could leverage to increase user engagement with your product. Augmented reality tools like the Jewelry Virtual Try-On from the Jewelry Hub ensure your customers stay on your page by allowing them to interact with your jewelry. They can try different pieces from your product page and play around with them until they’re satisfied and ready to make a purchasing decision. But even if they don’t reach the buying decision stage, you’re not at a loss here because the tool allows them to capture photos of their virtual try-on outcomes. They can then share these photos with their friends on their social media platforms.

Did you know that 92% of people trusted personal recommendations more than advertisements?

But there’s more to that. People’s shrinking attention span makes augmented reality tools like virtual try-ons a powerful weapon in the marketing arsenal as they are fun, entertaining, and enjoyable; thereby, extending the length of time customers spend on your website. In fact, the more they engage with your product, the stronger their purchase intention becomes.

2. Augmented reality creates unique digital shopping experiences

Unlike traditional shopping practices, augmented reality excites consumers because of the uniqueness of the experience it offers.

As I’ve mentioned in the previous article, the nature of AR which blends the digital and physical realm catches the attention of younger consumers because they are fresh, interactive, and a harmless way of socializing with friends, especially in the time of the pandemic. Users love to modify their photos and videos to imagine different possibilities. It makes them creative and trendy.

Various AR-powered tools can satisfy consumers’ hunger for a trendy but unique shopping experience. One example is the branded AR filter, especially if you’re focusing on Instagram selling. Another example is an advanced virtual try-on tool where users can design their jewelry, try it on virtually, and then purchase the design they created.

3. AR prevents information overload in consumers

Information overload or cognitive overload happens when there is an overabundance of stimuli resulting in the recipient’s inability to process the information or decreased efficiency.

Have you ever tried learning a new online game and then you look for a quick tutorial but only to be served with pages and pages of game instructions and manuals?

Have you tried going online to shop for a specific jewelry piece and the product page greets you with so much information that you could not at all digest? In the end, you’re left confused and more undecided than when you came in.

That’s how information overload looks. Augmented reality can help jewelers prevent information overload by presenting product information to customers in digital snippets and in a more interactive way. For instance, virtual try-on does not ask your customers to process lengthy textual information. Instead, they can just try on the jewelry piece and right away visualize the products on them. Others like AR 3D models allow them to examine the products from all angles, which somewhat simulates an in-store product evaluation process. With this, AR can make customers arrive at conclusions and quick decisions without information fatigue.

4. Augmented reality can set you apart from your competition

In a saturated market like jewelry, it is critical to differentiate yourself from your competitors by stepping away from traditional selling and marketing approaches. AR tools can position jewelers like yourself differently by producing unique AR-powered campaigns in-store or online.

When using AR, don’t limit yourself to online implementation because you can go out further when you bring the tool in-store. To do this, you can organize events that incorporate AR technologies. Events are also another opportunity to introduce AR to your customers, which in return, increases consumer trust, engagement, and client interaction.

When you can, bring the experience to your audience whenever and wherever they are.

5. Augmented reality in the jewelry industry increases the quality of content and opportunities for personalization

Not only are consumers more likely to purchase when offered a personalized shopping experience, but they’re also more likely to spend more.

Augmented reality can guide consumers using AR-powered navigation as soon as they landed on your website. This personalized AR navigation can assist them with product search to check out whether it involves product searching using specific product names, general terms, or product codes. These apps function according to user’s preferences or existing shopping lists; thus, making website navigation frictionless whichever way the shopper chooses to search.

When customers are brought to the right location within your website, it increases the quality of your content as each of them in every touchpoint serves only the needs of that particular customer.

Augmented Reality in the Jewelry Business: A Gamechanger

The accelerated technological transformation that you witnessed during the pandemic was more than just a pandemic trend. It is here to reshape and revolutionize the stagnant state of the jewelry industry. Your customers’ shopping behavior is never stagnant, so you must continue to move and change with it.

As they say, those companies that leverage augmented reality are the ones that satisfy more consumers long term. So get on board because the future of the tech revolution in the jewelry industry is here!

Are you using augmented reality in your jewelry business? How is it benefitting you, so far? We want to know your thoughts. Let us know in the comment section below!