How to Successfully Launch Augmented Reality in Your Retail App

Go from a bright idea to a business-grade solution without the headaches.

Augmented reality (AR) has crossed the threshold from a cool demo to a mission-critical tool as real-world deployments start to show tangible results. Before we get to the deployment considerations, let’s clarify some fundamentals.

A practical layer of intelligence added to a mobile retail application that overlays digital information, such as product information or task prompts, onto the physical store environment in real time.

By scanning barcodes with smart devices and computer vision software, AR retail apps can display images, information, status icons, or even interactive overlays that offer users step-by-step guidance.

Key benefits of retail app AR:

• Real-time feedback for better decision making
• Enhanced customer engagement
• Guided workflows for increased operational efficiency
• Blends online and offline experiences
• Improved accuracy by eliminating errors

Our deployments have delivered measurable gains in productivity, accuracy, and customer satisfaction, for example.

In both scenarios, overlays provided immediate, contextually relevant information when item scanning, transforming static products into engaging experiences.

What retail workflows can be enhanced with AR?

Most core retail tasks that involve managing inventory or have specific steps can be enhanced with AR. It reduces the cognitive load of manual tasks by comparing physical reality to what’s in a system and by visually merging that data on a device screen.

What is important to note is that the use case should dictate what the AR experience is (see section below).

Deployment is up, yet many pilots stall when the first burst of excitement meets real-world complexity: device performance, shaky tracking in a dim stock room, or a 2D user interface that simply doesn’t work in 3D space.

Over hundreds of deployments, our team has learned that success depends on a disciplined approach. Below, we distill those lessons into easily digestible chunks. Use it as a checklist before you invest another hour or dollar in your retail app AR experiences.

A traditional user experience with a smart device, such as sending a text message, happens in two dimensions (2D). It doesn’t matter if you are at home, work, or commuting between the two. The experience is the same.

Barcode scanning and AR experiences happen in 3D. Barcode capture is just the gateway. The AR overlay is what turns raw data into actionable insight.

Because that overlay is anchored in the real, three-dimensional world, every design decision has to respect both the physical space and how associates move through it.

Scanning environment considerations

A spatial first approach is required to help map the physical environment. Consider things such as:

• What is being scanned: Shape, color, size, and reflectivity can affect barcode detection and overlay anchoring.
• Where it's scanned: Is it on a shelf, under a counter, or at floor level? Device-to-barcode and shelf-to-user distances are a factor.
• Spatial conditions: Light, room size, surface clutter, and textures all impact how AR elements render and stick in space.

For example, AR overlays in a dimly lit warehouse require different contrast and color choices than in a well-lit, minimalist store. If workers scan blue boxes all day, ensure overlays don’t blend into the background, and consider high-contrast visuals.

Movement considerations

It's vital to study how the user moves through the space when performing the workflow.

Physical constraints will dictate how they hold and use the device, such as rotating it or having it above their head. These physical realities demand UI adaptability:

• Field-of-view constraints: In tight stockrooms, users may not be able to view both shelves and the device screen simultaneously. Ultrawide camera support can help, but audio or haptic AR feedback may be essential when the screen isn’t visible.
• Workflow rhythm: Natural workflow pace must be supported, not disrupted. If a picker needs to scan, check an overlay, and quickly grab items, lagging overlays or device repositioning will break the flow and slow down the process.
• Device handling: Users must physically align their device with items to activate overlays. Overlays should be viewable from natural angles and body positions.

The use case defines the workflow for AR. It should always enhance an existing process to improve efficiency or ease tasks, rather than completely reinventing it.

Start by mapping a tightly scoped activity where extra visual and audio information adds speed and enables better decision-making. Articulate the why, who, where, and what good looks like. For example:

• Why: Pain point - the time it takes to search shelves for hard-to-find items when order picking
• Who: Store associates and order pickers
• Where: Front-of-house / supermarket aisles
• What: % increase in pick rate

The above will vary according to the use case. Clarity here makes future decisions easier.   

Customer assistance workflows may require a large, bright overlay with a clear image to prevent confusion about what is being displayed. Versus a store operations workflow, where you need to be more efficient with the device screen real estate and use icons and callouts to inform users.

Audio and haptic

Don’t forget about non-visual cues. Businesses can communicate various things to users through audio and haptic feedback. Different tones and vibration intensities can complement visual updates.

Be smart about use cases, workflows, and setup to combine visual and non-visual elements in the best way.

In all cases, the retail app AR experience must be self-sufficient. Users shouldn’t have to quit the AR experience to find extra information about items.

Reliable barcode scanning is the backbone of any augmented reality experience. If the barcode isn’t scanned, the AR content can’t appear.

Scanning performance depends on several factors, including the user's distance from the item, the surrounding environment, and the quality of the scanning software.

Once a barcode is scanned, AR overlays, such as colored highlights, icons, or information bubbles, are anchored to it. We provide and recommend proven formats for these overlays, based on extensive testing across real-world retail scenarios.

However, for these overlays to behave as expected — appearing quickly, staying stable, and disappearing when appropriate —the software must accurately track barcodes over time and space.

This is where advanced tracking comes in. There are two key challenges:

• Identical barcodes: In environments such as stockrooms, many items may have the same barcode. Without advanced tracking, the software may scan the same item multiple times, resulting in inaccuracies.
• Scan scene: Users often want to move their device away from the shelf to get a full view or perform a task. To support this, the software must remember which items were scanned and where they are, even if they’re temporarily out of view.

This advanced tracking is essential when counting items. You don’t want to lose count midway through receiving or cycle counting!

You’ll find this advanced tracking embedded in our MatrixScan Count product.

Workflows can be complex. Following steps and getting updates back to central systems is vital.

Clickable, interactive overlays play a big part here.

But making overlays tappable brings another layer of complexity.

• How big should the tap area be?
• What happens when users tap?
• What happens if they overlap, and users tap in the middle?

The purpose of the overlays is to help guide associates and speed up workflows. Confusion can arise from uncertainty about where to click, and clicking the incorrect overlay can have the opposite effect.

Testing is again important here. Trying different setups, like small, densely stacked labeled boxes versus large racks with spread-out labels, is key.

Even testing for unintuitive factors, such as user finger size and male color blindness (the difficulty distinguishing between red and green), is important when selecting the size and color of the overlays.

Scandit places heavy emphasis on testing, and our tried-and-tested methods eliminate the need for our customers to invest resources in determining best practices.

Retail app augmented reality requires specialist skills. At the top of the list are user experience designers and computer vision experts.

Individuals who grasp complex workflows across various industries and focus on enhancing workflow efficiency and precision are also highly sought after.

At Scandit, we often hire designers with an architectural background because they are skilled at thinking in three dimensions.

These aren’t skills that are always available within development teams. And even if you do, competing projects or a lack of resources can hold projects back.

AR deployment projects can vary from weeks to months. Even large enterprises often decide to buy versus build solutions. Choosing instead to focus on core competencies rather than explore uncharted territory.

1. Think of your environment: What does it look like, what constraints do you have, what are you scanning? Distance, colors, and movement all play a part.
2. Test, test, test: Iterate continuously in labs and the field with users of different technical proficiency.
3. Consider your resources: Don’t go it alone unless you have the technical knowledge and proficiency. You’ll stress your resources and delay the rollout.

Overall, retail app AR is complex to get right. It can be unfamiliar in your business.

That’s why vendors like Scandit exist. To bring these specialized skills and capabilities to businesses that would struggle to unlock AR’s full potential.

With our pre-built and fully customizable AR components, we provide flexible building blocks that are easy to integrate and simple to scale.

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