by Carl Bunton 4 years ago 
These days, enterprises are continually looking for ways to transform their business operations and make every process more efficient. Augmented Reality (AR) has emerged as a potential solution by allowing companies to address various pressure points across the organization, including planning, manufacturing, marketing, or product delivery. When coupled with advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), businesses can explore more possibilities with AR. These possibilities can lead to more growth within the business, and with a combination of AI/AR technologies and strategic planning, they will be able to streamline their output in an advanced way.
The Rise of Augmented Reality
AR technology has been around for decades, but it came to mainstream public attention only with the development of innovative smartphone technology. Simply put, AR allows users to get an enhanced view of real-life elements by overlaying computer-generated content, which can be anything from 3D model rendering to dynamic web content and videos. In the last couple of years, Augmented Reality found its way into the corporate world, allowing enterprises to create more immersive marketing and sales campaigns.
Since the start of 2020, AR engagement has gone up by 20% despite the Coronavirus pandemic effects worldwide. Reports suggest that the conversion rates improved by more than 88% when customers engaged with AR technology to view a product. Simultaneously, retailer websites saw an increase in conversion by up to 28% when they used 3D content. All of these stats affirm that Augmented Reality is not a short-term gimmick but a robust long-term solution for better business revenue generation.
How Does Augmented Reality Differ from Virtual Reality?
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are technologies that offer unique experiences using three-dimensional high-definition audio and video content. However, there are differences between the two technologies. For instance, where VR delivers a completely immersive experience by putting the user into an isolated virtual world, AR works as a partly immersive technology that allows users to interact with the physical world through the virtual content of the expanded layer.
AR technology uses specialized sensors and markers to identify and determine the exact positioning of physical objects in relation to the virtual elements. While VR also uses a similar computer algorithm with markers and math algorithms, the entire environment delivered to the user is simulated. So users only interact with the virtual elements as provided by the graphic content reacting to their movement. This makes AR more engaging, as it allows customers to view their new home in-person or try on different clothes without being there physically.
The Essential Benefits of Augmented Reality for Businesses
AR is revolutionizing every industry, allowing enterprises to achieve their digital transformation goals efficiently. With smart devices and gadgets becoming omnipresent these days, businesses relying on AR technology can cater to their consumer needs more proactively. It can be said that with intuitive and enhanced interaction, businesses that are equipped with modern AR solutions will surely dominate the market in the upcoming years.
AR Allows Creating a Personalized Experience
Delivering a unique and personalized experience to the customers is vital to business success today. Augmented Reality can help companies to tap into endless possibilities for customization so that they can ensure an engaging and intuitive experience to address the needs of their consumers every time they look for a product or service.
AR Improves Content Marketing Strategies
The quality of content is very important for businesses to ensure effective user engagement and conversion. With Augmented Reality solutions, enterprises can create high-quality content that makes them stand out from their competition while allowing them to deal with any existing customer pain points more efficiently.
AR Supports Innovation and Digital Transformation
While Augmented Reality has already made a big impact across various industries, the technology is continuously advancing. As a result of that, it gives enough room for business innovation, while supporting the digital transformation objectives of the company through the adoption of modern solutions for increased customer satisfaction.
Industries Benefiting from AR Technology
Augmented Reality can be termed as an innovative force that is driving change across several industries. The development of AR tools and solutions these days means that it will soon enter all business industries irrespective of their scope or mode of operation. Here are some of the prominent industries where AR solutions have made a mark already.
Healthcare
AR is helping healthcare companies to significantly enhance the quality of treatment that a patient receives while ensuring that the productivity of medical professionals is also improved. It also allows for effective patient education with the help of advanced AR apps.
Retail
AR tools offer a great shopping experience for retail customers, be it online or offline. From trying apparel in virtual fitting rooms to finding the right product from the catalog, AR allows retail businesses to deliver a more engaging and interactive experience to customers.
Manufacturing
AR facilitates the manufacturing process at the factory by allowing managers to gain real-time insights into product development. Using digital maps and plants saves a big amount of time for manufacturing companies, while also ensuring optimal operational efficiency and employee productivity.
Education
AR technology is drastically improving the teaching and learning processes in the education industry. It allows tutors and students to interact with real-life simulations to better grasp the subject and have a unique psychological and physical experience that adds value to their learning.
Automotive
AR solutions can be beneficial for automotive businesses in many ways, from allowing automakers in the designing phase to letting marketers explore better strategies for boosting their sales, like using websites similar to Dealer.com for digital marketing assistance in generating sales. It provides an unmatched customer experience as well by facilitating virtual driving and auto customization.
Travel and Tourism
AR coupled with GPS technology can be a game-changer in the travel and tourism industry. It allows users to find the best routes and directions and get all the information they need about their preferred destinations to dive deep into the travel experience.
Real Estate
AR in real estate allows realtors to show different properties to their clients without having to visit the locations in-person. This not only helps real estate businesses save time and money but also gives customers a better view of how their new home would look. Agents, brokers, and firms across the world are already adopting newer technological tools, like real estate software, that helps them improve their processes as well as relationships with clients. The next step in this path would be integrating these systems with AR so that a wider demographic can be targeted and appealed to.
Read Also: How Virtual Reality Can Transform Your Real Estate Business
Gaming
AR is one of the most disruptive technologies for the gaming industry that is massively transforming the experiences of gamers. From gaming consoles to mobile gaming apps, AR is earning a great reputation for delivering an immersive gaming experience across different genres.
Wrapping Up
The benefits of Augmented Reality Services to businesses make the technology worth the investment. From transforming the way customers interact with products and services to streamlining the introduction of new content in the market, it is no doubt that AR can pave the way for productive business growth. As the business landscapes and customer trends are changing rapidly, it is high time to adopt modern solutions to stay competitive in the market.