Foresight 26: Snap’s AR shopping partnership with Amazon + humanizing virtual experience for success
A newsletter diving into the concepts, people and brands shaping the future of retail, entertainment and connectivity.
Welcome back to Foresight!
In today’s edition, we’re talking about Snap’s partnership with Amazon to further help bring AR-powered virtual try-on to the masses. I think the two coming together has the potential to be highly successful and I’m excited to see where the partnership goes. I also came across a great piece on the importance of humanizing virtual experiences — something we’re going to keep seeing more of this year. Some solid and thoughtful advice for brands considering engaging with consumers in this way. Enjoy!
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IDEAS, INSIGHTS & FORWARD-THINKING PERSPECTIVES
Snap and Amazon partner on AR shopping
In an effort to further scale AR shopping, Snap and Amazon have partnered for Snap’s AR-powered virtual try-on shopping experience. The partnership started with eyewear and launched with household name brands such as Ray-Ban. Products can be discovered through Snapchat’s app, tried on with AR, and purchased through Amazon to help streamline shopping for AR-forward Snapchat users. The partnership allows Amazon to benefit from Snap’s 365 million daily active users and Snap to continue building its AR shopping audience.
Snap’s shopping lenses are used by brands “from Puma and Prada", offering easy solutions for building AR shopping experiences. Snap provides AR image process technology to make it easy for brands to generate the 3D product models needed for AR try-ons. Amazon’s technology brings even more power with additional inputs to create these assets - one of the biggest challenges for consumer brands when thinking about entering AR commerce. This isn’t the first time Amazon has tested the virtual try-on waters, they recently began offering AR shoe try-ons. It is however the first time they are using AR on a larger scale.
This partnership happens as AR is steadily evolving and scaling as a shopping tool. Snap reports that 250 million Snapchat users have engaged with AR shopping lenses over 5 billion times in the past year as of November 2022. Beyond eyewear, the opportunities to expand the partnership are easy to see with the extent of products Amazon offers and Snap’s continuously growing AR-forward audience.
How to humanize virtual experiences
With virtual spaces and experiences steadily entering the mainstream, humanity will be essential even as technology progresses. Events and experiences are “defined by their rituals” and humanizing these moments will ensure they are memorable. Written by a designer who creates virtual spaces used by thousands, “designing spaces with storytelling at their heart will continue to be a human differentiator.” Here are the writer’s learnings on how to bring human elements into virtual spaces and experiences.
Take inspiration from the real world, but note the differences: The foundation of virtual event spaces are similar to those of venues IRL, however virtual spaces do have different demands. For example, virtual attendees require more space to feel comfortable so seating is typically more spread out.
Be specific with material choices: Virtual worlds are experienced up close and require attention to detail. A meticulous eye and high level of craftsmanship will create a place where people want to return.
Design virtual spaces with audio in mind: Thoughtful and effective spatial audio adds tangibility to a space and can bring it to life, deepening the impact of an experience.
Empathize with your audience: Purpose and understanding the intention of an experience, as always, is crucial. Exploring how guests will feel and how the space will create value for them will help determine the space’s purpose and intended audience.
WHAT I’M READING
4 in-store technology trends that are shaping 2022
Shoppable ‘Pinterest TV’ launches in Canada
AR’s latest player emerges: Etsy
Nike unveils ‘Dot Swoosh’ platform to house Web3 projects
TRYO: Why we built a universal try-on app