Nike has proven that AR sells

During the F8 conference Facebook presented some statistics. Did you know that in 2017, Messenger users sent over 500 billionóin emoji (ok. 1.7 billion daily) and 18 billionóat GIFów! This shows how important this part of communication already is. This dowód that brands should incorporate emoticons and GIFs into the conversationóin with their customers.

But today it will be the headównie about AR. Augmented reality is slowly becoming our daily bread. More and more brands are using it in their salons (e.g. using Microsoft HoloLense). In AR, developers are creating games, które bringing hundreds of thousands of people out of their homesóin order to catch Pokemons. We put strange masks on a photo, whichóthat we send to our friends. Last year róFacebook has also presented a tool for using AR in Messenger, and recently we could see the first, super impressive implementations.

F8 also showcased the benefits of the new Camera Effects Platform service for implementing augmented reality in bots on Messenger. Four brands – Kia, Sephora, Asus and Nike – participated in a closed beta giving the opportunity to use a new tool. Kia unveiled the new Stinger model and allowed users to personalize and view it in the app. Asus served a virtual unboxing of the new ZenFone 5 with an opportunity to learn more about the functionality of the handset, and Sephora gave users the opportunity to virtually makeup.

However, the most interesting implementation was shown by Nike. The sports giant has been using AR in its SNKRS app for some time to promote and distribute limited edition sneakerów. Thanks to augmented reality, the process „hunting” on the drop of an exceptional shoeów is not only more attractive, but also solves the problem of osób, któthanks to bots they were buying limited edition models and reselling them at an inflated price.

In a similarób Nike has crafted a user experience while using the SNKRS bot on Messenger. At first, the client needed a password, as Nike put it „the secret knock”. It was an appropriately typed series of emoji thatóThe products were distributed by influencers associated with the company. After typing in a keyword, a link appeared thatóry after clicking on it, it will fire up the camera in the phone and allow to watch the sneakeróin on a pedestal, surrounded by a red carpet. The shoe being promoted was The Red Karpet, a model designed by the basketball staróKyrie Irving’s shoes. The customer móhead to look at the shoes by walking around them, and when he came out of this presentation he got the opportunity to buy them. And many of them did. Actually, the entire stock of the shoeóin has been sold out. In an hour.

Nike has shown that AR can sell. And showed how to do it. The company has proven that customers are willing to buy a product even if they have only seen it on a digital render. On top of that, Nike added some elements of exclusivity to the overall experience (the aforementioned „the secret knock”). Facebook’s presentation showed thatóIt’s like the passwords you need to get into a bar during American Prohibition. The very context of placing AR with chat, and within a social media platform, allows you to not only visualize the product, but talk about it before you make a purchase decision.

We will see what implementations will appear next, but Nike has shown that it is worth blazing trails.

If you want to test AR in your bot, sign up for the list and Facebook will let you know when the option is available with us.