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Recent reports from AR Insider’s research arm ARtillery Intelligence have covered topics like Camera Commerce and best practices in Web AR. But to put more substance and validation behind those narratives, we decided to ask consumers how they feel about mobile AR.
So we set out for answers. Working closely with Thrive Analytics, ARtillery Intelligence authored questions to be fielded through its established survey engine to more than 43,000 U.S. adults. The result is wave IV of the research, and a narrative report to unpack the results.
In addition to the report itself, entitled AR Usage & Consumer Attitudes, Wave IV, the latest episode of ARtillery Briefs breaks down the top takeaways. Below is an episode summary, along with the video itself.
Meeting Users Halfway
So what did the report find? Starting at a high level, 29 percent of respondents have used mobile AR. And 59 percent of those do so at least weekly. This is a strong metric given the longstanding challenges among mobile apps to sustain recurring usage outside of a few core apps.
As for the types of AR experiences respondents have tried, AR-as-a-Feature took the top spot for the third year in a row. This includes experiences like Snapchat Lenses where AR has been infused within non-AR apps. It’s successful because it meets users in the apps they already use.
Among these formats, it’s also important to note that web AR is on the rise, with about 17 percent of current AR usage. We’re bullish on this approach, due to its easy onboarding in browser-based experiences that can be shared through universal web links, rather than forcing app downloads.
The commonality with AR-as-a-feature and WebAR is that they reduce adoption friction. AR is too early and unproven to get users to go out of their way to download apps. So success in early days is found through reducing the friction that sits between users and AR activation.
Covid-Era Realities
In terms of content types, gaming leads which is mostly attributable to Pokémon Go, followed by social AR, which is due to AR lenses. Other popular formats include “try before you buy” product visualization and visual search which helps identify real-world items through your camera.
Drilling down on visual search, we’re bullish on this flavor of AR due to its utility. However, it declined in usage from Wave III of this survey. This is partly due to Covid-era realities, as visual search is all about real-world discovery and identifying items that are in view (think: store aisles).
Instead, we saw increased interest and use of AR that supports eCommerce transactions by letting users visualize products in their space. This has gotten ample exposure and traction during the pandemic as it adds value and dimension to eCommerce, which itself has inflected.
Another positive sign was that 75 percent of respondents reported high satisfaction with mobile AR. But that contrasts non-users, who report low likelihood of adoption and explicit disinterest. This is an ongoing theme in several waves of this research, signaling AR’s marketing challenge.
Familiar and Frequent
Speaking of marketing, one tactic we’ve observed is plain-spoken AR branding. Best practices can be seen in Snapchat Lenses and Pokémon Go, which rarely use terms like “AR” in user-facing ways. And Google calls visual search “search what you see,” rather than tech jargon.
Other best practices for accelerating consumer adoption include bolting AR to repeatable or high-frequency activities. For example, Snapchat has gained more AR traction than anyone by applying it to messaging and communications. These are familiar and frequent daily activities.
Speaking of Snapchat, AR traction can be found in tying AR to a social graph. This can accelerate growth through virality and network effect. Instagram and TikTok are the next companies to watch for this reason. Finally, gamification can boost AR stickiness, as shown by Pokémon Go.
In summary, these survey results are positive confidence signals for AR, but there’s still a ways to go. The name of the game is plain-spoken marketing, reducing friction, and positioning AR to enhance existing comfort-zone activities. That’s where AR’s first killer apps will likely sprout.
Check out the full report for more, and the latest ARtillery Briefs episode below.
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