“I’m excited about augmented reality because unlike virtual reality, which closes the world out, AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently” – Tim Cook.
The above words by Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, show phenomenal trust in the new emerging technology, Augmented Reality(AR). And why wouldn’t he have this level of trust? After all, this newly hyped technology is helping people add virtual components to their real-life scenarios? Remember the times when people got crazy behind the PokēmonGo in the year 2016!! Well, we had a glimpse of how it is going to be in the years to come, which again reminds me of the popular words by Tim Cook again,
“Eventually, all countries will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day.”
Read the above lines again….
Whoa, this looks like it is going to be the thing, which is why the most promising and popular home shopping app IKEA has already planned on AR usage. The IKEA platform is already famous, and AR has taken it to the next level. The sophistication of AR has been embraced by the new generation, which is the primary reason why you should develop an AR shopping app like IKEA place. In this blog, we will discuss the approach towards making an app like IKEA place and features required for furniture shopping apps like the IKEA store.
IKEA Place has been a blessing in disguise, especially for the people who shop randomly to upgrade the look and feel of the house. Enthusiast shoppers often buy furniture from various apps without analyzing whether the furniture will fit into the room, or will this color go with the room color combination, or checking the space occupancy of the furniture.
These random shopping sprees don’t control their expenses, and they end up buying things that they probably don’t even need. And therefore the need to develop an app like IKEA.
What can AR do?
Augmented reality is praised by the industry because of its capacity to add visual components around the area. It captures the area that surrounds people and analyzes them in terms of angle, height, distance, depth, and other metrics. It gives a fuller experience by giving users an experience in different lights and environments.
The placement of visual elements thus seems more realistic and appropriate as per the location.
What should you do to analyze a space using AR + IKEA place? How does an app like IKEA place work?
The IKEA + AR app was initially released for iOS users only as it used Apple’s ARKit platform. The first attempt of releasing this kind of platform was made in 2013; however, later, a separate platform was released in 2017.
Well, an AR-based application will have an in-built camera that you can rotate around in the place. The area is checked, and the application projects a 3D view. And there you start with your photoshopping journey.
Moving ahead, you can now select a product from the list of furniture available in the IKEA store. If color options are available, users can change the furniture color and observe the resulting AR image. They can now visualize how the resulting place looks with the placement of furniture. If the customer likes the view of the space, they are free to share the same with friends and family to make further decisions.
If the space opinion is approved, the customer can go ahead with the purchase. This procedure saves a lot of time and hurdle of visiting the place, selecting an item, and finalizing it to bring it home. Instead, customers get an item of the right size that fits their office/home while sitting at comfort.
Doesn’t this sound amazing that your customers will have a color-matching, best-fit product with your IKEA-concept application? Well, you can also include the real-time tracking feature if you wish to add a delivery service in the application.
So, yeah, this is how a furniture shopping application like IKEA works with the fiery & emerging technology like Augmented Reality.
What are the important features for developing an app like IKEA?
One thing that you should keep in mind while developing an mobile application is design and navigation. As simple, attractive, and intriguing it is, the more are the chances of your app to succeed because the first impression is laid by the on-boarding and dashboard experience a user has with the application.
Some of the must-have features of IKEA-like furniture shopping app are:
Registration and login:
Minimal input and quick onboarding automatically impress the user. Allow them to onboard using their social media logins.
Catalog:
If you are inspired by IKEA, you would know about the range of products it represents in the catalog. In your eCommerce shopping app, you should help users with a catalog. Users can browse products and place them in the 3D view.
You can divide the catalog into categories of furniture or space areas for a better experience. In addition to the catalog, you can join the following things,
- Search options;
- Favorites;
- Wish list;
- Product descriptions;
- Filters like availability, delivery schedule, etc.;
- Navigation between the products;
Search option:
Allow the user to look out for a furniture option based on the type, dimensions, color, pricing, etc. If you are planning an aggregator app, you should also include filtering options by manufacturer, seller, location, etc.
Dimension scanning:
The application should give accurate dimensions of the space the user is trying to decorate. IKEA stands out in the market because of this wonderful functionality.
Push notifications:
The application should send message alerts or notifications about the arrival of new products, retrieval of old products, sales, discounts, and a lot more.
Object manipulation:
What we mean here is, allows users to scan the place and place items wherever they want in the picture. This will give them a real-life shopping experience because they would know how the placement of furniture will look like.
What more can you add to your IKEA-like furniture shopping app?
The app you are planning to develop should have a Unique Selling Proposition feature that none of the competitors can offer. For this, you can add the following characteristics to your AR-based eCommerce application.
- Multilingual support;
- Multi-currency support;
- 360-degree view of products;
- Screenshots and sharing;
- Reviews and ratings;
- Delivery tracking;
- Compliant section and help center;
- Order history;
- Device compatibility check;
- User behavior tracking;
- Real-time dashboard and analytics;
- Voice command search;
- In-app camera;
- QR code scan;
- Loyalty programs;
- Order heatmap view;
What is the cost to develop an Augmented Reality app like IKEA place?
Though it wouldn’t be a hefty investment, you know that everything comes at a price. This app idea can be developed with an investment of $30K to $45K. However, this is our estimated price and is based on the team members’ involvement from our side. To develop an AR-based app, you will need a team of the following people:
- Project Manager
- UX UI Designers
- Animation Experts (3D Modeling)
- AR VR Technology Experts
- Requirement analyst
- Android / iOS developers
- QA specialist
Additionally, the price of app development may vary depending on various other cost variation factors that we have already covered in our blog.
All we can say is that it would be the best investment of your lifetime and it would reap you maximum benefits. You can approach us on our official email id to discuss your project requirements. We will explain to you in-depth the business model for the IKEA place app, characteristics of the eCommerce app, and a lot more. Get in touch with us; hurry up!
Waiting for you!
AR is evolving, and it will definitely take businesses to an edge. It might sound challenging to develop an AR-based IKEA application, but with an app development partner like us, things will be pretty easy.
We hope this blog eases out your concern about developing an app; if you face any difficulties, quickly ring our numbers! All the best!