• What you need to know...

• Many of these implementations have been more about marketing than actually helping the retail process itself, and many have been more impressive in theory than in practice
• Magic mirrors, using large in-store displays to show a customer how clothes would look on them without having to physically put the garment on, have been popular, and improvements are ongoing to ensure realistic drape and movement of the item, as well as representation of its color, texture, etc
• VR/AR has facilitated new and novel ways for FMCG brands to interact and communicate with consumers, from interactive games to AR-enabled packaging. Augmented packaging expands a company’s ability to interact with consumers and creates a more engaging consumer-brand interaction in-store, beyond the physical limitations of traditional packaging, by incorporating information about the product, promotions, health guidelines, serving suggestions, and sourcing locations

FMCG brands that fail to leverage VR/AR will most likely lose market share to responsive competitors who embrace this technology and connect with the digital consumer.