An October 2020 Harvard Business Review article cited Shopify research that found a 94% bump in conversion rates among products with AR content. 5G Will Accelerate Adoption of AR and Visual Search. The current surge in product visualization is occurring on 4G connections, but 5G will only improve visual search and mobile AR.

The research also found that AR users’ interest in other experiences—including social media, retail assistance, and visual search—has grown since 2018 as more content has become available.

Meanwhile, before Pinterest can get users to shop via its new livestreaming or visual search tools, it needs to get them to actually use those new features in the first place. Why it matters: Social commerce is still an emerging trend in US shopping behavior, making up just 4.0% of all US retail ecommerce sales, and conversion remains elusive.

More than eight in 10 consumers search for information online, and most of them conduct this activity on mobile devices as well as PCs. Many also now use even newer channels like visual and voice.

There’s a lot of enthusiasm around retail and tech, particularly visual search. While not mainstream yet, more than half of US internet users said they were most excited about using the technology as part of their shopping experience, according to a survey conducted by ViSenze.

In the latest episode of "Behind the Numbers," eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman talks about the vast array of visual search tools out there, including eBay's latest entry into the emerging landscape.

Lastly, visual search lets users identify items or places with their camera and offers information or links. In October, Google stated that its visual search tool Lens could identify 15 billion objects, up from 1 billion two years ago. It has not announced any visual search ad products and is unlikely to do so in 2021, but those features will arrive once visual search becomes more established.

Reviews have always been a key aspect of a consumer’s shopping journey. But nowadays—particularly as more consumers lean on ecommerce—additional information in the form of user-generated visuals is becoming just as critical.

Visualizing large items (like furniture and appliances) in the home was another experience respondents expressed interest in, cited by 38%, while 29% said they were looking forward to visual search (the use of a camera to identify items). Examples of AR applications include:.