In a blog post, Walmart has revealed it is adding a pair of augmented reality features to its app, with home decor, including furniture, a focus of the initiative.
By early July, Walmart shoppers using its iOS app will be able to view furniture and home décor items in their spaces with a few swipes on their phones. On rollout, the AR ability will cover 300 home décor items, but Walmart plans to expand to popular back-to-college items over the coming months, the company stated. To access the feature, a shopper clicks the View in Your Space banner on AR-enabled items when shopping in the Walmart app to get instructions on how to connect to their camera and see the item in their own space. Shoppers will be able to toggle the item dimensions to check if the item fits their spaces and snap pictures for later should they want time to consider a purchase. Walmart will enable Android and mobile web View in Your Space AR features down the line, the company indicated.
Walmart added that it received overwhelmingly positive feedback in its tests of the AR feature. It includes haptic feedback, which allows customers to feel vibrations as they maneuver 3D models around their homes, preventing them from dragging items past the boundaries of their rooms. Unlike the case of other AR tools, the company noted, Walmart has incorporated several key accessibility features that will help customers with disabilities use the new feature.
In addition, Walmart pointed out, AR is part of an in-store function that the company has been preparing. It will help employees get products to shelves quickly and allow customers and employees to simply point their mobile device camera at a store shelf via the Walmart app to filter the company’s assortment and seek out items that satisfy personal preferences. They can filter items by feature and, at some point if not initially, by discount, based on rollbacks, clearances or rewards program points.
