Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
40% of consumers reduce returns when shopping with AR technology
Interacting with products via AR leads to a 94% higher conversion rate compared to products without AR
61% of consumers say they prefer to shop at retailers that offer AR experiences
The global augmented reality market size was valued at USD 31.97 billion in 2022
The AR market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.9% from 2022 to 2030
By 2025, nearly 75% of the global population and almost all smartphone users will be frequent AR users
AR experiences deliver almost double (1.9x) the levels of engagement compared to their non-AR equivalents
70% of consumers believe AR provides a unique benefit by allowing them to see how items look in their actual environment
AR generates a 45% higher emotional response than other media formats
On Snapchat alone, over 250 million people use AR every day
63% of Snapchat users use augmented reality filters daily
58% of consumers actively use AR on social media at least once a week
57% of retailers agree that AR is necessary to remain competitive
74% of B2B buyers say they would pay more for a product if offered an AR demo
Furniture retailers using AR have seen a reduction in return rates by 25%
Consumer Engagement & Experience
- 1AR experiences deliver almost double (1.9x) the levels of engagement compared to their non-AR equivalents
- 270% of consumers believe AR provides a unique benefit by allowing them to see how items look in their actual environment
- 3AR generates a 45% higher emotional response than other media formats
- 467% of media planners want to use AR/VR in digital marketing campaigns to improve engagement
- 5Users spend an average of 75 seconds interacting with an AR experience
- 6AR lenses on Snapchat have a 3x higher brand preference lift than the norm
- 7Memory retention of AR experiences is 70% higher than non-AR video content
- 847% of consumers say AR makes them feel more connected to a product
- 956% of shoppers agree that AR gives them more confidence in product quality
- 10Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to say user-generated AR content is authentic compared to brand-created content
- 1150% of consumers are more likely to seek out a brand’s app if it includes AR features
- 1298% of those who have used AR for shopping found it to be a helpful experience
- 13AR ads see a click-through rate (CTR) of 2.74% compared to 0.35% for traditional display ads
- 1476% of people want to use AR as a "tool" to help them in their daily lives
- 15Gamified AR experiences result in a 55% increase in time spent on page
- 1665% of consumers use AR to find out more information about a product by scanning packaging
- 1737% of AR users share their experience on social media platforms, doubling organic reach
- 18Campaigns with AR integration have shown a 20% reduction in bounce rate
- 1973% of mobile AR users report high satisfaction with AR ad experiences
- 2060% of people who use AR do so to solve a specific problem or complete a task
Interpretation
Far from a gimmick, AR is marketing’s Swiss Army knife, delivering almost double the engagement of non AR experiences, boosting emotional response by 45 percent and memory retention by 70 percent, driving much higher click through rates and dwell time, increasing shopper confidence and connection, and earning enthusiastic adoption from both consumers and planners who see it as a genuinely useful path to conversion.
Conversion & Sales Impact
- 140% of consumers reduce returns when shopping with AR technology
- 2Interacting with products via AR leads to a 94% higher conversion rate compared to products without AR
- 361% of consumers say they prefer to shop at retailers that offer AR experiences
- 471% of shoppers say they would shop more often if they used AR
- 540% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product that they can customize in AR
- 6Brands using AR see a 44% increase in the likelihood of a customer adding a product to their cart
- 7AR experiences generate almost 2x the levels of visual attention compared to their non-AR equivalents
- 8Customers who use AR linger on the product page for 2.7 times longer than those who do not
- 972% of consumers purchased items they hadn’t planned to buy because of augmented reality
- 10Houzz reported that consumers using their AR tool were 11x more likely to make a purchase
- 11VNTANA reports that 3D and AR e-commerce can double conversion rates
- 1245% of customers say AR features save them time when making purchase decisions
- 1335% of consumers say they would buy more online if they could virtually try on a product
- 14AR-guided shopping increases average order value (AOV) by approximately 20%
- 15Conversion rates for mobile AR ads are 20-80% compared to typical display ads
- 1680% of shoppers feel more confident in their purchases when using AR tools
- 17Olay doubled its conversion rate by introducing an AR skin advisor tool
- 18Home Depot found that product interactions with AR increased conversion by a factor of 2x to 3x
- 19AR has been shown to reduce "bracketing" (buying multiple versions to return some) by 30%
- 20Point-of-sale AR campaigns have shown to increase sales volume by up to 30%
Interpretation
Think of augmented reality as a risk-free test drive for online shopping: it grabs almost twice the attention, doubles or better conversion rates, makes customers linger, add more to cart and even pay a premium, while cutting returns and turning casual browsers into repeat buyers.
Market Growth & Future
- 1The global augmented reality market size was valued at USD 31.97 billion in 2022
- 2The AR market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.9% from 2022 to 2030
- 3By 2025, nearly 75% of the global population and almost all smartphone users will be frequent AR users
- 4Global spending on AR/VR is forecast to reach $72.8 billion in 2024
- 5The number of mobile AR users is expected to reach 1.73 billion by 2024
- 6Advertising revenue from AR is projected to top $8 billion by the end of 2024
- 7The automotive AR market is expected to reach $14.4 billion by 2028
- 8By 2028, the retail industry's investment in AR/VR is expected to reach $17.86 billion
- 95G adoption is predicted to boost AR revenue by $140 billion globally
- 10The AR gaming market is projected to reach $38 billion by 2025
- 11WebAR (browser-based AR) reach is expected to grow to 6 billion devices by 2025
- 12North America held the largest share of the AR market (over 33%) in 2022
- 13AR software market size is projected to eclipse the hardware market size by 2025
- 1448% of marketing leaders planned to adopt AR/VR in 2022
- 15By 2024, there will be an estimated 1.4 billion mobile AR devices in active use
- 16Fashion & Beauty AR market share is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% through 2027
- 17Social AR advertising is growing at a faster rate than the total digital ad market
- 18Investment in AR companies reached over $7 billion in 2021 alone
- 19The Smart Glass market size is expected to hit $12.3 billion by 2027
- 2015% of all Facebook revenue is projected to come from AR/VR sources by 2025
Interpretation
These statistics show augmented reality is morphing from a science fiction novelty into marketers' indispensable crystal ball, a $31.97 billion market in 2022 projected to grow at about 40.9% annually, reach billions of users and tens of billions in ad and platform spending, and, fueled by 5G, heavy investment and rising software and WebAR adoption, turn automotive, retail, fashion and gaming into major AR battlegrounds.
Mobile & Social Apps Usage
- 1On Snapchat alone, over 250 million people use AR every day
- 263% of Snapchat users use augmented reality filters daily
- 358% of consumers actively use AR on social media at least once a week
- 4Instagram AR filters have been used by over 1 billion people since launch
- 5TikTok's Branded Effects (AR) generate a 3x higher recall than non-AR ads
- 69 out of 10 brands on Snapchat use AR in their advertising strategy
- 760% of US internet users have used an AR effect on social media (Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok)
- 8Mobile AR active installed base grew by 32% year-over-year in 2021
- 938% of marketers use AR specifically for social media story content
- 10Pinterest's "Try On" AR feature for lipstick prompted users to try on products 64 million times
- 1175% of the population aged 13-69 who use social apps are also AR users
- 1230% of people say they won't download an app just to use AR but will use it if embedded in social apps
- 13Face-based AR lenses account for 40% of all AR usage on mobile
- 14100 million consumers shop using AR in Google Search
- 15Android's ARCore is installed on over 1 billion devices
- 16Apple's ARKit is enabled on over 1.5 billion actively kept devices
- 1762% of parents report their children use mobile AR apps frequentl
- 1853% of mobile AR users are female
- 19The average user plays with a sponsored AR lens for 20 seconds
- 20Mobile WebAR experiences have a potential reach of 3.5 billion smartphones compared to smaller app-based installed bases
Interpretation
Augmented reality has leapt from gimmick to mainstream marketing—millions use it daily across Snapchat and Instagram, TikTok’s AR triples ad recall, Pinterest’s try-on drove tens of millions of trials, and with ARCore and ARKit on over a billion devices plus massive WebAR reach, brands that don’t embed quick, snackable AR into social risk choosing friction while competitors win memorable, purchase-driving attention.
Retail & B2B Implementation
- 157% of retailers agree that AR is necessary to remain competitive
- 274% of B2B buyers say they would pay more for a product if offered an AR demo
- 3Furniture retailers using AR have seen a reduction in return rates by 25%
- 477% of showroom shoppers want to use AR to see product differences (e.g. color variations)
- 5Macy's reported a 60% decrease in returns for VR/AR assisted furniture sales
- 620% of retailers expected to deploy AR solutions by the end of 2020
- 716% of retail executives are currently using AR/VR marketing
- 858% of B2B marketers who use AR describe it as "very successful"
- 9Jewelry brands using AR try-on report 3x higher sales conversions
- 1091% of B2B buyers prefer interactive and visual content (like AR) over static content
- 11Shopify merchants who added 3D content to their stores saw a 94% lift in conversions on average
- 12Walmart's AR app feature increased user engagement by 45%
- 1382% of companies implementing AR/VR say the benefits meet or exceed expectations
- 14IKEA's Place app (AR) has been downloaded over 30 million times, indicating high retail utility
- 1549% of retailers say they are struggling to create enough 3D content to support their AR strategies
- 16B2B companies carrying physical inventory can reduce sales cycles by 20% using AR
- 17Sephora’s Virtual Artist AR tool has seen over 200 million shades tried on
- 18By incorporating AR into technical support B2B enterprises have improved first-time fix rates by 20%
- 1978% of people say that AR is a fun way to interact with brands in a retail setting
- 20Nike's AR-based app features for shoe sizing reduced sizing-related returns by 50% in testing
Interpretation
From IKEA's Place topping 30 million downloads and Sephora's Virtual Artist logging over 200 million try-ons to Macy's and furniture retailers cutting returns by roughly 60% and 25% while Shopify sees a 94% conversion lift, AR has graduated from a clever gimmick to a revenue-driving must-have that boosts engagement, shortens sales cycles, and commands premium pricing—if retailers can solve their 3D content bottleneck.
