Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. (Ashley) knows the value of a strong brand and trusted consumer experience. The company designs, builds, sells and delivers trend-right products for homes around the world. Recently, Ashley's e-retail company, Ashley Global Retail and media agency Merkle, partnered with Verizon Media on an augmented reality (AR) advertising campaign; bringing the in-store experience of shopping to mobile devices.
The new AR ad tool allows consumers to place 3D versions of Ashley products into their own home, showcasing a variety of home furnishings and accessories. The AR ad experience invites consumers, whether first-time decorators or decor enthusiasts, to place selected items, in 3D, within Yahoo Mail. Think of it as a virtual home makeover.
"One of the key challenges when shopping for furniture both online and in-store is visualizing the size/scale of each piece within the home. We see great potential for AR ads to both delight consumers and improve the overall shopping experience by virtually bringing our products into their homes prior to purchase," said Nick Lezin, VP of Marketing, Ashley Global Retail.
Mobile has transformed shopping as we know it. Earlier this year eMarketer found adults were spending an average of 3 hours, 35 minutes per day on mobile devices in 2018, also noting that by next year mobile may surpass TV as the channel attracting the most minutes. Meaning, brand marketers need to be on mobile. But it's not about reaching a target audience on mobile; it's about giving mobile consumers the utility they've come to expect, like augmented experiences that help them visualize products in their own home. A recent study found over one third (37%) of consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service, provided they can get a superior shopping experience on mobile.
Today, 75 percent of consumers expect retailers to offer an AR experience of some kind.New immersive ad formats like AR give consumers the opportunity to truly experience a brand or product.
Since the launch of Verizon Media's 3D and AR ad products, brands ranging from automotive to retail have jumped onboard, to deliver high-quality interactive 3D experiences to their audiences.
Want more information? Take a look at our Marketer's AR Toolkit.
By Marinn Jackson Head of Premium Sales Strategy, Verizon Media
