Augmented Reality (AR)

What is augmented reality?

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital content such as 3D models, images, or information onto a live view of the physical world, usually through a phone camera or headset. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which replaces the environment entirely, AR adds to the user's real surroundings.

Types of AR in e-commerce

• Product placement: visualizing items at scale in the user's space (furniture in a living room).
• Face and body anchored AR: AR try-on of glasses, makeup, watches, or shoes, anchored via face tracking or pose estimation.
• Marker-based AR: digital content triggered by scanning a code or printed marker, used in packaging and campaigns.

Delivery has shifted from dedicated apps toward browser-based AR (WebAR), which runs directly on a product page without a download.

AR vs. generative AI in shopping experiences

AR renders pre-built 3D models live; generative AI synthesizes new imagery from photos. In practice e-commerce uses both: AR for rigid products in real time, and generative approaches in virtual fitting rooms for apparel, where fabric behavior can't be convincingly rendered from a fixed 3D asset.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What's the difference between AR and VR?↓

VR replaces your environment with a fully digital one, requiring a headset. AR keeps the real world visible and adds digital elements to it, which is why it works on an ordinary smartphone.