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Copyright ©2022 Tango. All rights reserved. The Post-COVID Consumer: The Future of Brick and Mortar Stores 9 Retailers who don't invest in AR/VR technology aren't directly losing sales to changes in consumer preferences—but they're leaving money on the table, and their competitors aren't. Investing in these solutions is essentially about conversion optimization. And when in-person shopping picks up again, online shoppers will continue to convert at higher rates through stores that give them greater confidence. Not every product category needs to help consumers visualize the product in their environment. It's not very useful to see how a 3D chainsaw looks in your hands or on your workbench. Perhaps more importantly, there are far more useful types of content consumers want, like tutorial videos, examples of use cases, and feature highlights. But in categories like apparel, eyewear, makeup, and furniture, consumers want to imagine what your products will look like on them or in their space. And they're getting more used to being able to do that through major retailers. Plenty of in-person solutions offer consumers similar opportunities to visualize products, such as showrooms, changing rooms, or even simply mirrors. Some retailers have even brought AR into the store with "magic mirrors" that let customers digitally "try on" products without the hassle of changing clothes or partially-applying makeup. Ecommerce optimization is always going to be important, but as in-person shopping returns, you probably shouldn't worry too much about digital content like AR stealing sales and customers—at least in the short term. But it's helpful to think about what consumer adoption of AR means for the future of shopping: people want simple ways to visualize your products. As long as you give them that when it makes sense, you'll be fine.

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