As more brands and companies are beginning to discover and develop unique Augmented Reality initiatives I would like to highlight the Top 5 augmented reality use cases for the retail shopping industry. I was recently researching various companies that have begun to leverage AR as another marketing channel. There are certain blogs that have begun to identify a few such as a nice list from Kevin White who covers AR specifically for retail. I also like what Gary Hayes put together in his list of 16 Business oriented AR applications.

What I want to do is highlight what I believe are currently the “top” ones at this time.

Of course this is only a beginning list as I am sure within a few months I will write another blog post that will have the Top 10 and so on. For now, lets take a look at the Top 5.

1. Ray Ban – Virtual Mirror

Though this a software installed Augmented Reality Application, the wonderful aspect to this application is that it addresses a major problem especially for online retailers that require a use to immerse themselves with the product.

The company FittingBox built this unique solution to allow a user to install the .EXE application (too bad for Mac users like myself) and then to “try on” the glasses from Ray-Ban in their “Virtual Mirror”. To get a better understanding of of the application go ahead and download the Ray-Ban Virtual Mirror or watch the quick video from their web page.

2. Online Fitting Room – Zugara

It is interesting that Zugara an Interactive and Marketing agency states that only 3.7% of online customers make a retail shopping purchase. This obviously being due to the fact that they cannot “touch and feel” the actual product if they have never had a chance to interact with the product. This AR application by Zugara helps customers to immerse themselves with their products.

3. Ikea Concept  – My Ikea Viewer

Another fascinating use of Augmented Reality is by Robin Westergren who has developed an AR application and called it the My ikea Viewer.  It allows the user to select a furniture “marker”. Each furniture marker is different and by printing out the image to unlock the AR experience the user is able to view the furniture in all AR glory. Basically a 3D version of the furniture piece.

It was a bit cumbersome since I had to “print” marker. Instead, I just saved the PDF and then emailed it to myself as an attachment and then used it directly on my iPhone versus having to print it. Perhaps this could have been an option to users who wish to use their mobile device. See a quick video below or try it out for yourself. Make sure you Print the Marker first then go t My Ikea Viewer. See the quick demo video below or go to Robin Westergren’s portfolio to view longer demo video from Vimeo (too bad he made it private so I cannot link to it directly).

4. USPS

Another fascinating approach to AR is an application the the agency AKQA has done for the United States Post Office called “The Virtual Box Simulator“. The application allows the user to visualize in what type of package their item will fit in without actually having the physical package.

What is interesting is the way this application is marketed. It is called a “hologram”.

This is something interesting to watch as I have seen multiple companies called AR “Holograms” when in fact it is Augmented Reality. Take a look at the video demo:

5. Cisco (Shopping Concept)

The final example is another concept by Cisco. It showcases the possibility of a solution they are marketing which will provide an augmented reality experience for a “fitting room” or better called, “fitting mirror”.

The possibilities of retailers using this technology is huge. I can easily see higher end retailers using this to provide to their clients to not only drive in store sales but together with the online products at once. All within one application. Fascinating to watch:

To wrap things up, this short list is one that is only in the beginning stages of showcasing top AR applications that are currently active and ones that are proposed as concepts. Either way, it will be exciting to see how many of these will be applied to big brands and companies in the coming months.

What are your thoughts on these examples? Are there other examples or demos that could make this you think should make the next Top List?