4. Marketing and Shopping 

From Nike, to L’Oreal, to Pepsi, to IKEA, and even Kinder Surprise, one major and impressively successful application of AR is marketing and shopping experiences. “We know that serving AR experiences in different ways is key for customers as they become more engaged with different platforms and the digital world overall,” says Christine Whitehawk, IKEA U.S.’s marketing communications manager. “AR is a terrific way to give consumers an almost ‘real’ impression of what furniture will look like in their home—and considering how much time people spend in their home—they want to ensure it is just right.”

One AR-powered shopping experience on the Snapchat app lets users customize and virtually try on a pair of Nike Air Force 1s. Sponsored by the brand, the filter prompts you to toggle through and change the color (choose between shades like Magic Flamingo, Blue Void and Honeycomb) and texture (smooth or ripple leather) of 13 different parts of the sneakers before hitting the “try on” button to see a digital 360-degree overlay of what they would look like on your feet. If you like what you see, you can click “shop now” to immediately purchase the pair you’ve designed.

Integrating AR shopping directly into social media platforms is a savvy business move that’s made Nike stand out in the surging social commerce market, says Ying Zhu, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Management at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus whose research focuses on digital marketing, branding, consumer behavior, business analytics, and social networks. “Brands like Nike are likely to engage their younger target audience through social media and AR apps,” she says. But that’s a topic for another day.