Following the news that IKEA has acquired augmented reality (AR) start-up Geomagical Labs;

Wafaa Hassan, analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“As one of the early investors of AR, IKEA’s acquisition of Geomagical Labs gives its customers the opportunity to see how products will look in their homes without having to visit a showroom. It is the kind of application that is particularly important today, when millions of consumers are confined to their homes.

“IKEA is not the only retail giant investing in AR during this pandemic. John Lewis has launched the Virtual Sofa function on its iOS app, which allows customers to virtually place sofas and armchairs in their homes before making a purchase. Burberry has also recently released its latest AR feature, enabling customers to view 3D images of products via Google search.

“The number of enterprise use cases for AR technology has been growing in recent years, with retailers leading the way. The pandemic will accelerate this trend, as it allows consumers to make purchasing decisions remotely.”