A Rundown on Augmented Reality in Mobile Apps

| Products & Solutions

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Mobile computer vision software featuring augmented reality (AR) is making massive waves in the world of retail. This innovative technology empowers retailers to surpass competitors and better serve shoppers through more efficient and intuitive workflows.  Before implementing a mobile computer vision-based solution featuring AR, you should gain a firm understanding of how it can be applied in retail environments to generate meaningful results. Luckily, the Scandit team is here to run you through the basics.

For almost a decade, Scandit has been pioneering mobile data capture solutions for the retail industry. Our powerful smart device-based barcode scanning solutions enable retailers to create seamless shopping experiences across their physical and digital channels, positioning their enterprise for resounding business success. Today, we’ll be providing you with a simple lesson on how augmented reality works and explain how to utilize AR to optimize your retail workflows.

What Is Augmented Reality?

In its most basic form, augmented reality is the combination of real-world environments with computer-generated assets, which can range from visual and auditory to olfactory. These digital assets can “augment” retail environments with valuable information that can improve shopping experiences and employee productivity.

Scandit solutions enable smart devices to capture barcode, text, and image data from an item and deliver AR feedback related to specifications set in the mobile application, such as item inventory data, pricing, contents, or availability. Retail employees can use these insights to quickly understand and react appropriately to shopper inquiries and inventory issues, fostering higher customer satisfaction and complete inventory transparency.

Applying Augmented Reality Solutions to Retail Environments

AR can be applied to a wide range of retail workflows. For example, retailers can employ augmented reality-enabled solutions to improve the quality of service their employees provide. Let’s say a shopper approaches your staff for help with assessing whether a handful of products they’ve selected are gluten-free. If your retail associates are equipped with a mobile app featuring AR functionality, they can simply scan these items and use visual AR overlays to confirm if they are gluten-free, delivering an accurate response in a matter of seconds.

Augmented reality solutions are useful in the hands of your shoppers, too. By renting out mobile scanning devices with AR capabilities to customers, you grant them comprehensive access to information on the products they’re interested in. Shoppers can use these devices to see specific information on item pricing, promotions, unique characteristics, and more. You can even have your smart devices pull in social media reviews for users to browse through after each scan, deepening trust and allowing them to make well-informed purchasing decisions.

Another popular application of AR in retail environments is price verification. Barcode scanning-enabled mobile apps are capable of scanning product text and barcodes simultaneously, ensuring that each item’s price is accurate. In the event of an incorrectly labeled price, the scanner will overlay the correct pricing information on the device screen via AR, making it easy for staff to review and correct this information. This functionality plays a key role in keeping customer satisfaction high and protecting retailers from costly state and local fines.

Augmented reality is a powerful tool for behind-the-scenes retail workflows, as well. For instance, warehouse employees using a mobile app featuring AR can scan multiple box, crate or pallet barcodes at once, allowing them to find a specific SKU via a highlighted AR display. Staff can even harness AR to identify and mark flawed deliveries and shipments, guaranteeing swift corrective action. In short, augmented reality solutions can be used to improve almost every facet of your retail business, enabling more efficient, transparent and lucrative operations.

Incorporating Augmented Reality Into Your Mobile App

Now that you have a better understanding of how AR can be applied to the retail industry, let’s talk through how you can implement this technology into your own business. Augmented reality functionality is only featured in  powerful mobile computer vision solutions that can match the speed and accuracy of dedicated barcode scanners. That’s where Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK factors in.

Our Barcode Scanner SDK takes advantage of smart devices to bring enterprise-grade barcode, text, and image recognition technology to your retail workflows. This solution delivers consistent performance in the most challenging scanning environments, allowing users to scan poorly lit, damaged, moving and small barcodes with ease. Thanks to the SDK’s MatrixScan feature, you can empower your mobile apps with robust AR features, as well.

MatrixScan enables any camera-equipped mobile device to locate, track and decode multiple barcodes simultaneously. This innovation also provides visual AR feedback to show users product information (including product images) and display which codes have already been processed, lending world-class speed and efficiency to your daily scanning operations.

Enable Retail Success With Scandit

Ready to learn more about mobile computer vision featuring augmented reality and how it can align your retail business with success? Then don’t hesitate to call or message Scandit today. As your strategic partner, we can provide all the resources and expertise your team needs to seamlessly incorporate augmented reality scanning into its daily operations. You can also reach out for more information on our wide selection of powerful and flexible augmented reality solutions. We look forward to hearing from you soon.