Snap users are already quite familiar with the company’s AR expertise thanks to Lenses and Filters. Now, the social media company unveils AR Enterprise Services (ARES) to offer those tools to businesses. As part of the launch, Snap is offering a “Shopping Suite” to brands that can help them get more customers.
The company said more than 250 million people interact with AR on the platform every day. In comparison, Snapchat has 375 million daily active users. Last year, it claimed that since January 2021, users have tried store-related AR lenses more than 5 billion times. The company has not provided an updated figure.
The company’s partners use AR lenses to let people try on different clothes and accessories. They include Amazon and Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart.
Snap’s new Shopping Suite SaaS product offers four features: AR fit to virtually try on new styles of clothing, shoes, and accessories (users can also upload an image of themselves and see what these items look like); 3D viewer to view a product from all sides; technology for fit and size recommendations based on the user’s body shape; and enterprise manager to host and manage all digital assets, create AR experiences using Snap’s SDK and view performance analytics…as well as assistance from the Snap’s team to customize customer solutions.
Businesses can integrate these features directly into their apps or websites so that customers can interact with them as they check out products.
Image Credits: snap
The social media platform has been building on this for a while now. In 2021, it acquired Fit Analytics, a startup that helped customers find the right size clothes and shoes from online retailers. In the same year, it added trading-related features to its AR Lens creator studio. In April 2022, Snap introduced tools for virtual fitting and converting images into 3D assets. These were made possible by Snap’s acquisitions of Forma and Vertebrae. It also launched the Lens Cloud back-end service for lens developers. Now the company combines all this in a package for business customers.
“For the past 10 years, we’ve worked hard to provide Snapchatters with fun and personalized AR experiences. In the next decade, we’re excited to bring our world-class AR technology to enterprise websites and apps. We look forward to making the shopping experience more enjoyable for consumers and transforming businesses around the world with AR Enterprise Services,” said Jill Popelka, Head of AR Enterprise Services at Snap, in a statement.
Image Credits: snap
Snap has already tested the SaaS offering with some customers. These include sunglasses retailer Goodr, clothing company Princess Polly and Mongolian manufacturer Gobi Cashmere. Snap claimed that these retailers have seen higher conversion rates, better engagement with products, and lower return rates.
The company’s results for Q4 2022 showed that revenue remained flat year-over-year and it recorded a net loss compared to a profitable quarter in Q4 2021. The company has taken steps to return to a cash flow positive state with several revenue strategies. Last June, it launched the Snapchat+ subscription, which now has more than 2 million paying users.
Snap is excited about its business offering. The company cited a study stating that 92% of Gen Z users are comfortable using AR shopping features. A combined study by Publics media and Snap suggests that the AR Retail market will have a project value of $1.2 trillion by 2030.