Walmart expands mobile augmented reality shopping capabilities

Walmart is adding several new features to the augmented reality (AR) offering on its consumer app.

In an email to Chain Store Age, the discount giant explained how it is building on the functionality of “View in Your Home,” an AR-enabled capability it initially launched on its iOS app in July 2022. View in Your Home enables shoppers to view furniture and home décor items in their personal spaces with a few swipes on their phones.

To gain access to the feature, customers click the “View in your space” banner on AR-enabled items when shopping in the Walmart app, and they will then be walked through how to connect to their camera and see the item in their own space.

Customers can also toggle product dimensions to check if an item will fit in their space and snap a picture for later. View in Your Home includes haptic feedback, which allows customers to feel vibrations as they maneuver 3D models around their homes and is designed to prevent them from dragging items past the boundaries of their room.

In December 2022, Walmart expanded View in Your Home to include an assortment of over 200 televisions. In this latest phase, the retailer is rolling out the following new options:

• Customers can place, add and swap multiple items in a room at one time, without limit, to curate and visualize the entire space.
• App users can view an expanded selection of more than 7,000 AR-enabled home products across categories including indoor/outdoor furniture, electronics, lighting and more. 
• A “Complete the Look” lets customers fill a space with complementary item recommendations based on what products work well together. 
• Customers can seamlessly swap items with recommended substitutes via a ‘Similar Item’ feature, which enables them to visualize size and fit of a comparable item before they choose what works best in their space. 
• Shoppers can purchase an entire room of furniture with a single tap for a quicker and more efficient checkout experience, with home delivery and curbside pickup fulfillment options.  

Walmart pursues digital innovation

Walmart, has been actively redesigning its digital shopping experience to feature more next-generation solutions and experiences. As part of its latest e-commerce initiative, the retail giant recently launched a product-focused home page that features a new “social-inspired scroll” with rich imagery and live video. The design enables online customers to browse Walmart’s product selection on its site and app the same way they would scroll a social media app.

Other examples include a text-to-shop option, as well as its TrendGetter tool which enables product discovery through digital photos and images.