The Tesco retail giant company has announced that it is testing new augmented reality technology that permits the users of mobile devices to view 3D images of products online and in store before a purchase is made.
Tesco’s trial augmented reality technology use will allow its shoppers to view three dimensional projections of products before they are purchased using a new system from Kishino, a company in the United Kingdom. The use of the technology involves scanning the product’s QR code using their mobile device’s webcam.
The QR codes are available to consumers through the product catalog from Tesco but can also be printed out from the website.
Tesco is also trying the technology in store. The store locations in Milton Keynes Kingston, Hatfield, Wembley, New Malden, and Borehamwood have all received new installations of large screens with embedded cameras.
This digital tool allows consumers to gain access to 3D visualizations of products that are not stocked on the store shelves, but that are available from the company. It also provides additional product information so that shoppers can better educate themselves.
The company released a statement that says that they acknowledge that before making a purchase, their customers prefer the opportunity to view all of the products available so that they can perform their own comparisons. That said, as it does not always make sense to display every model of a product – for example, all 180 different types of television that are sold through the company – then an alternative option makes a great deal of sense.
He said that “Through AR we are able to offer realistic and life size representations of what that product will look like within their homes or their local store.”
