Snapchat looks to capitalize on its lead status on AR technology in order to further expand its growing eCommerce credentials. As such, it’s poised to present a major showcase of its evolving AR tools, coincidentally tied in with Black Friday, which marks the beginning of the year’s final shopping push.
Having partnered with various big-name brands on several AR-centric shopping initiatives, the biggest being its ‘Snap Holiday Market’, Snapchat offers a range of immersive AR shopping experiences featuring the likes of Amazon, Coca-Cola, Hollister, Under Armour, Verizon, and Walmart.
As per Snap:
“Each brand will have a dedicated virtual store environment within the Holiday Market, where Snapchatters will be able to browse products and holiday deals in an AR space that’s been custom-built and unique to each brand.”
AR Advance
Accessible via the in-app Lens Carousel, these collaborative integrations will provide dedicated product showcases that include interactive and Try-On elements. They’ll also include upfront branding for each partner business.
Again, the aim is to provide a showcase into Snap’s evolving eCommerce tools, which has the potential to hold significant appeal for businesses who aim to attract younger consumers and, at the same time, align themselves with the latest digital commerce trends, shopping and all.
To add, part of snap’s repertoire of partners include several fashion and beauty brands to further highlight the developments with regards to its AR Try-On and eCommerce Lenses. Among the various names include Dior, American Eagle, and Tory Burch.
The last two years has led to the sudden rise of online shopping, which has opened up a plethora of new opportunities for all major social platforms to provide a more direct link between their audiences and product and/or services that they’re interested in. Snapchat, specifically, is looking to take it to the next level in providing more immersive and contextual AR tools and options, which also indirectly allows it to ride and enjoy the benefits of the growing wave of eCommerce evolution. Focusing on their core-strength, which is AR technology, Snap is also in a good position to be a trend leader, at least when it comes to the provision of in-app AR shopping experiences.
Snapchats has been steadily working on its on-platform shopping options, which include both digital and physical items. Snap even has certain projects that incorporate both, with users being able to create digital goods that can then be commissioned as custom, physical pieces.
The Wrap
These developments have Snapchat well-placed to capitalize on the next wave of commerce, just as this new holiday showcase provides more insight into how Snapchat aims to provide a deeper platform-connection for retailers and shoppers alike. As a further push, Snapchat’s also launching a new seasonal marketing campaign which invites Snapchatters to ‘Scan to Shop’ through the use of various Snap Codes, activating a range of new AR Lens experiences.
AR remains to be a core element of Snapchat and it’s greatest asset, with the company reporting that it now facilitates around 6 billion AR Lens plays daily, which does underline great potential. As everyone seemingly heads into the idea of a ‘Metaverse’, Snap’s efforts to continue to deepen connection and immersion through AR can only help bring us all a step closer to that coveted ‘true’ virtual reality.
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Sources