Using augmented reality (AR) to engage customers is changing the face of eCommerce. With its ultra-visual nature, brands are reaching new audiences and reducing return rates. Having grown up in an age of technological advancement and embracing immersive shopping experiences, it is no wonder that lifestyle product company, Fatboy, is testing ways to use AR to reach its target market - young, affluent customers who are quick to adopt new tech and find new products on social media.
Fatboy recently partnered with CGTrader to develop a new Snap AR lens, and Tom De Vos, Fatboy’s Chief Digital Officer, quickly moved ahead to get the proof of concept up and running to scale the company’s use of AR.
The opportunity to use Snap to grow their performance channels, promote brand awareness, and sell their new line of outdoor furniture was an exciting initiative for Fatboy, who have used Snap before to boost engagement.
Snap is a pioneer in AR technologies, constantly innovating and creating viral sensations with popular lenses such as Squid Game, 3D Cartoon, and their most recent viral AR lens effect, Crying face. In short, they know how to engage with their social media audience and keep them invariably coming back for more.
With Snap’s Catalog-Powered AR Shopping Lenses, brands can add AR-ready animations or 3D models, in this instance, over their photos or videos to bring to life a powerful and personalized AR experience. This new offering from Snap in early 2022 was a huge step to integrate augmented reality and social commerce to make shopping via AR easier and more engaging for consumers, enabling immersive retail experiences within the homes of customers.
Snap’s AR Shopping Lens was a perfect solution for Fatboy, that not only allowed customers to integrate and visualize Fatboy’s furniture within their dedicated space, but on an easy to use medium that Fatboy’s customers were already familiar with. With little to no adoption barriers, the conditions were right to create a personalized and immersive experience that would increase shopper confidence, drive higher engagement rates and conversion rates, and reduce the rate of return.
When asked what percentage of buyers use the AR feature or click on the AR button before they finish a purchase, Fatboy commented, “We get on average about 20% of traffic that use the AR tools on our website in a year." With AR facilitating 20% of customers throughout their user experience journey, it’s clear why Fatboy is prioritizing the technology as they look to boost conversions.
Currently, Fatboy is adding AR capabilities to any products without AR already, ensuring AR is readily accessible across their entire product catalog in an effort to expand customer use. In light of the growing popularity of the AR functionality on their website, this strategic decision is likely to prove beneficial, demonstrating the fresh potential of 3D and AR experiences, like Snap lenses, to spread like wildfire.
Fatboy ran an AR lens campaign in the past, but as the technology was still in its infancy, it didn't make much of a splash.
However, the opportunity presented by CGTrader’s Snap lens was altogether different.
“The lens was great this time. We even checked it with our product development and creative team and they are always very critical,” says Fatboy CDO De Vos.
The featured product of the Snap AR Lens campaign was decidedly the Headdemock Foldable Hammock, because of its high conversion potential due to its seasonal popularity and its easily recognizable shape and engaging configurable color options.
Fatboy discovered that despite the hammock's simplicity, its price point was greater than what their target audience typically acted on instantly. However, engagement with the product and time spent on the product page was high. Their analysis also showed that the conversion rate would likely be higher on more affordable items, such as a lamp or one of their signature beanbags.
In response to the campaign results, Fatboy plans to test Snap lenses again, perhaps on their air lounger or sunshade, and looks forward to even stronger campaign performance.
CGTrader's Snap lens was tested on Fatboy's new audience, so boosting engagement rather than generating revenue was their primary goal.
De Vos explains, “for us, this was a way to create a benchmark - to see if we run a campaign like this, what we could expect. And it will be interesting to do this again with the bigger products.”
Through this innovative campaign, Fatboy was able to better understand:
The overall campaign outcomes were extremely positive. De Vos summed it up as “more expensive but people engaged a lot more. Definitely more qualitative traffic.” And with a campaign swipe up rate average at nearly quintuple that of a ‘good Snap campaign swipe-up rate, they’re definitely set to engage better with their audience on their buying journey and future lens experiences.
Fatboy is keen to run another campaign following this successful proof of concept with the Snap lens developed by CGTrader in order to boost engagement levels among their tech-savvy, style-hungry audience.
Snap is a true innovator that’s successfully riding the waves of – and even leading – the digital and creator economy. The use of their AR shopping lenses has reached over three and a half trillion views, with over 75% of the Snap community using Snap AR lenses daily. For eCommerce brands, this rapidly expanding audience presents an opportunity that cannot be ignored.
Creating a personalized customer experience, where consumers can view and interact with 3D furniture in their own homes is the natural next step in eCommerce for retailers like Fatboy.
Fatboy aims to increase AR engagement, conversion rates, and reduce return rates, as part of their larger AR initiative. In support of their overarching campaign, the company is busy redesigning their product detail pages to include AR more prominently, equipping their customers with an easy-to-use, app-less AR experience to shop with confidence.
AR really facilitates the shopping experience. And gives back the experience people had in the past. I think it’s a very important growth pillar for us.
CGTrader is a global leader in custom 3D models creation and AR solutions. Retailers, manufacturers and brands use Modelry platform to generate photorealistic, custom 3D content and AR experiences at scale. We are backed by a community of 6 million creators from our marketplace.
Get in touch with our team for the best 3D and AR creations for your business needs.
Haidi Kelly is the CMO at Modelry. Formerly at WeWork, Haidi loves the challenges the B2B space brings. Excited about the transformative power of digital assets and content in eCommerce, Haidi helps individuals, teams, and companies reach their full potential. In her downtime, she is also a foodie, world traveler, and enjoys live music.
