How AR try-ons reduce returns?
Truly, online shopping prioritizes convenience, but the assurance of getting the exact details (color, shade, scale, and true appearance) of the ordered products in the real world is at a very costly trade-off. Customers cannot always determine the exact details of your products by simply assessing a static image; as a result, many tend to shop without full awareness.
This is where AR try-ons are turning out to be a significant e-commerce benefit. Multiple market reports indicate that virtual try-on platforms are rapidly growing in the beauty, fashion, eyewear, accessories, and home market segments, and growth projections are tremendous over the next 10 years. It all comes down to a single fact: e-commerce requires improved product knowledge, which involves no touching, and AR can offer it.
Rather than prompting the shopper to guess how a particular shade of lipstick will appear on their lip, how glasses fit with their features, or how a sofa will fit in their living room, AR allows the shopper to preview the product in context on their face, body, or space before they buy it. That change minimizes guesswork and allows the customer to shop with confidence.
Lately, the adoption of AR try-on is reported by Future Market Insights to be increasing rapidly, with the estimated compound annual growth rate of 14.1% from 2025 to 2035, helping more retailers to invest in interactive shopping in order to enhance conversion and decrease the rate of returns. In 2023, AR accounted for 63.4% of the virtual try-on market share, larger than other technology segments. This implies that the AR virtual try-on is taking the lead in ensuring both online and in-store customers can shop with confidence.
In this blog, I will show you more about the usefulness of AR try-ons, their place in the e-commerce sector, and how they can be used to reduce product returns.
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What are AR try-ons?
AR try-on is an augmented reality shopping platform that allows your users to visualize a product on themselves (or their surroundings) via a smartphone camera, webcam, or stock photograph/video. Rather than using just product images, your buyers may view a digital preview of the product, e.g., makeup, glasses, accessories, clothing, or furniture placement, overlaid on their face, body, or room.
AR try-ons are based on computer vision, tracking, and 3D/2D rendering. The system identifies the notable features (such as the facial features, body position, or surface and depth features of a room) and anchors the product overlay in a manner that follows the natural motions of the user. As an example, eyewear is in relation to the head when the head turns; lipstick remains on the lips when the mouth moves; furniture is on the floor plane when the phone camera pans.
AR try-ons can be implemented in the following ways:
- On product pages, allow your customers to ensure that they look at the product before purchasing.
- In advertisements, such as test drives and experiences.
- On social interaction discovery platforms (based on platform support)
- On web-based experiences that do not require downloading apps.
Key features of AR try-ons
- Body tracking: It can track face/body/hands/feet or room surfaces to ensure the overlay is fixed as the users move.
- Product realism: It can apply realistic textures and shading and combine them to the same extent to correspond with skin colors, lighting, and angles.
- Product preview: The experience can allow the shoppers to test various shades, colors, sizes, or styles on the spot and compare them. Some providers also allow photos/videos to be saved or shared or ask for feedback.
- Commerce integration: The tool can help to connect or relate the try-on experience to your add-to-cart, product pages, or checkout within the product page or web page.
- Cross-platform compatibility: Most AR try-on providers ensure that the tool is compatible with common mobile devices and modern browsers.
- Data analytics: Most of the AR try-ons have a mini data analytics dashboard that showcases the attempt, try-on, time in analytics, interactions, and conversion behavior suitable for business owners to monitor their customers' shopping journey.
AR try-on goes beyond visualization. It helps reduce hesitation by giving customers more context, enabling more informed and confident purchase decisions.
What causes product returns in online shopping?
E-commerce businesses are prone to experiencing product returns due to a lack of display of certain product information for customers before making a purchase. Even with the appearance of completed product pages with descriptions, some shoppers might still be confronted with finding the accurate fit, realism, and actual size of the product.
1. Not up to expectations in product
Photos are enhanced, lighting is deceiving, and flawless angles mask imperfections. Buyers can get a product that does not appear the same in real life; color, texture, finish, or scale can be misleading. Where there is a discrepancy between expectations and reality, there will be increased returns.
2. Size and fit uncertainty
This has been one of the largest sources of returns, particularly in the fashion, footwear, and wearables sectors. Your customers with size guides have a hard time estimating the way something will fit their body, how a frame will fit their face, or what proportions will work.
3. Lack of visualization of the products and lack of context
Still pictures can hardly depict the behavior of a product in the real world. Shoppers might not be able to experience the product and observe its details on all sides or in their setting. Your customers can purchase the wrong size or style without context, particularly when the products are large (furniture).
4. Inconsistent or unclear product information
In many cases, the issue lies not with the product itself, but with unclear information. Unfinished specifications, omission of dimensions, incorrectly named shades, or vague descriptions of materials are sources of misunderstanding. Your customers can make their purchases relying on assumptions that prove to be incorrect.
5. Instant buying and low-confidence checkout purchases
Discounts, time-limited deals, and socially induced buying may compel customers to make purchases prior to feeling confident. Upon arrival of the product, your customer reconsiders with a better state of mind and takes it back, particularly when your customer was apprehensive when he or she made the purchase.
How can AR try-on help to reduce product returns?
AR try-on minimizes returns due to better quality of the decision during checkout. It does not wipe out the returns altogether, but it can trim the unnecessary ones that are brought about by misjudgment.
1. Enhances visual precautions before purchase
AR enables customers to view the product in their space, which decreases the likelihood of it looking different online. Realistic overlays create accurate anticipations in customers. The common denominator behind the rate of product returns is that buyers are not able to verify appearance, fit, or compatibility fully before they can purchase them. But AR try-on can fill up that gap by providing a visual appearance in a real-time setting.
2. Assists in improved choices of fit and style
In the case of eyewear and accessories, AR shows alignment and a match in style. In the case of previews of clothing style (when used), it causes less doubt about how something would appear in real-time. Further, improved decisions decrease returns to size/style.
3. Installs in-context room view on home products
The common causes of furniture and decor returns are scale misfit, incompatible style, or spacing. The positioning of AR rooms is useful in ensuring that shoppers are sure that the product fits the environment prior to delivery.
4. Enables comparison between variants
Your customers are in a position to test various shades, colors, or styles within a few seconds. That minimizes making wrong choices (I picked the wrong shade/frame color) and enhances the accuracy of first-time purchases.
5. Builds confidence and lessens the regret about buying
AR try-on can help to eliminate confusion while trying to purchase a particular product. You can make your shopper confident about the product they are about to purchase through the 3D visuals of the product. Through this, they get vital details like color, shape, size, and elements of the product. In essence, the tool can serve as a viable anti-return tool because it helps to bridge the gap in information that causes customers to make assumptions.
Industries using AR try-on technology
1. Furniture & home décor
AR try-on (sometimes referred to as view in room) assists the customer in fitting furniture in physical space, scale, and style comparison. This is essential in products that have a high cost, for which returns are very costly. Before your customers order, they are able to confirm the fit of the room, layout compatibility, and placement, minimizing too big/too small and returns that do not fit their space.
2. Fashion & clothing
AR experiences enable fashion brands to raise confidence levels when it comes to choosing fashion and minimizing returns due to uncertainty with the fit. Though AR cannot entirely substitute physical fitting (largely to get the correct size), it contributes to more effective decisions as the visual appearance is displayed and the styling context is clearer.
3. Beauty & cosmetics
Beauty is among the most powerful categories of AR try-on since buying choices greatly rely on the appearance of products in the individual's features and skin color. AR try-on allows the customer to see the lipstick, eyeshadow, foundation-like shade (where available), and all combinations. This minimizes returns caused by the wrong shade and creates trust.
4. Eyewear & accessories
AR try-on works very well with glasses, aids in sunglasses, and with some accessories such as earrings or headwear. The customers can judge frame shape, face fit, and overall style match. This minimizes returns based on non-suitability, appearance not as expected, or wrong fit issues.
5. Jewelry & watches
In the case of rings, necklaces, bracelets, and watches, AR assists customers in visualizing how to place, proportion, and match the style. It also helps in making improved choices in giving gifts, especially when the shoppers desire assurance on how the gift would appear on a wrist, neck, or even hand.
When the experience is realistic and scaled appropriately, it minimizes returns that are associated with misalignment in expectations. In any of these industries, AR try-on is most effective when it is based on the fundamental uncertainty in the product, namely the fit, shade, scale, and style compatibility.
Leverage GlamAR’s AR try-on solution
GlamAR offers an AR try-on experience designed to help businesses present products interactively and reduce customer uncertainty. Below are the features of GlamAR's AR try-on solution.
1. AR visualization
GlamAR is positioned to support the AR try-on experiences that would meet standard e-commerce requirements, in particular, those related to the visually oriented categories, such as beauty, eyewear, accessories, and fashion-related products. This allows customers to preview products on themselves using interactive AR overlays.
2. Live online testing/trial.
A robust AR try-on is based on stability. GlamAR is designed to maintain stable overlays during natural movement as the body moves naturally to ensure that the product does not drift, jitter, or look like it is unnaturally attached. Stability has a direct bearing on the trust of brands, and trust has an impact on returns.
3. Exploration and comparison of variations
Shoppers usually return purchased items due to selecting the incorrect shade, color, or fashion. GlamAR’s AR can enable real-time comparison of product variants.
4. Commerce integration compatibility
GlamAR’s AR try-on can be integrated into product pages or campaign pages using custom integration options. It supports integration with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce.
5. Performance optimization activity
Many AR solutions offer analytics, but the depth varies widely. Hence, brands can monitor try-on activity and engagement patterns. By understanding these performances, your teams will be able to perfect product presentation, fine-tune campaigns, and understand where customers are confused and identify areas of confusion that often lead to product returns.
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The future of AR try-ons in e-commerce
AR try-ons are expected to evolve from a value-add feature into a standard part of the online shopping experience, especially for visually driven categories. The following are the possibilities that the future of AR try-on might bring:
1. Greater photorealism and improved lighting acclimatization
Your customers will want overlays to be more realistic in terms of lights and the color of the skin. Better representation and a wiser combination will minimise the filter effect and maximize trust.
2. AI-powered personalization
AR try-on will also be used more and more in conjunction with AI to suggest the best-fit shades, styles, and settings, depending on user characteristics, likes and dislikes, and previous actions. This transforms AR into a visualization for guided shopping.
3. Web-based AR will expand
In order to eliminate the app friction, brands will push more AR try-ons using mobile browsers. The increase in the loading speed and the range of the devices supported will help the AR reach more shoppers around the world.
4. AR try-on will become a bigger part of advertisements and e-commerce
Interactive advertisements will gain popularity: clients will be able to try on a campaign and make a purchase with fewer clicks. This helps in conversion as well as improved product insights.
5. Multi-product experiences
Rather than sampling individual products, your customers will sample entire looks (beauty regimens, outfits, and home decorations). This can reduce returns by ensuring better compatibility across bundled products. Overall, AR try-on is shifting online shopping from passive browsing to a more informed and confident buying experience.
Conclusion
AR try-on is emerging as one of the most effective ways to reduce avoidable returns in e-commerce. It can reduce uncertainty and assumptions about products, like how appearance, shade, size, and style would work, which are a major cause of online returns, as it allows shoppers to preview products on themselves or in real life. In addition to the reduction of returns, AR try-on can enhance interaction, build trust, and help to increase conversion by turning the product experience into an interactive and decision-making process.
With the further development of AR realism and the increased use of web-based access, more brands will be able to use the try-on experience as an essential part of the shopping experience in visually driven categories. It can also be a strategic investment for those businesses aiming at lowering the costs, safeguarding the margins, and enhancing customer satisfaction, especially when the AR provider and integration workflow are well planned and reliable.
Augmented reality try-on is a digital experience where the customer can view a product on their face (or body) or a room (space) via a live-camera feed to help them visualize how the product looks and fits in a real-world context.
Yes. AR try-on can help to enhance product knowledge, boost confidence, and minimize avoidable returns, particularly in visual products such as beauty, eyewear, fashion, and furniture. More importantly, it can empower e-commerce brands to display and present their products in a more interactive way.
The provider is crucial to integration. SDKs, modules, or custom integration support can embed many solutions on the product pages, landing pages, or web experiences. GlamAR's AR try-on SDK can be integrated with popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, subject to platform compatibility and integration setup.
Depending on the business requirements, GlamAR may be appropriate for businesses that require interactive try-on, variant switching, shareable output, and commerce-friendly operation. However, suitability depends on product category, technical needs, and business goals.
Yes. AR try-on can help reduce avoidable returns because it assists the shopper in making the right decision in the first instance, particularly when the system becomes more realistic and better at perceiving fit, selecting a shade, and matching with the room.
AR try-on may enhance interaction, boost the rate of conversion, foster brand trust, minimize doubts, generate shareable content, and enhance performance metrics based on interaction data with customers.
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