Walmart, Hollister open AR holiday stores in Snapchat

Dive Brief:

Snapchat will launch six immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences on Black Friday (Nov. 26), per details emailed to Retail Dive's sister publication Marketing Dive. The Snap Holiday Market will be accessible via the Lens Carousel and the "For You" tab in Lens Explorer.
Walmart, Hollister, Under Armour, Verizon, Amazon Prime Video and Coca-Cola will each have a dedicated virtual store where users can browse products and deals. In addition, fashion and beauty brands including American Eagle, Fendi, Dior, Kaja Beauty, NYX Cosmetics, Shein and Tory Burch will be running AR shopping Lenses.
The Snap Holiday Market and AR shopping Lenses are the platform's latest efforts to merge commerce with social media. Snap will promote the Lens experiences via in-app Snap Ads beginning on Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) and out-of-home ads in New York City beginning Dec. 6.

Dive Insight:

Snap's latest AR experiences come as brands look to connect with consumers during the critical holiday shopping season. The platform bills AR as the most personal, immersive and effective way to engage with consumers and suggests that AR also stands for additional reach and accelerated results, Luke Kallis, vice president of U.S. advertiser solutions, said in a statement.

The Snap Holiday Market lets retailers like Hollister and Walmart engage with the platform's user base, of which more than 200 million use AR every day, generating more than 6 billion AR Lens plays every day on average, per details emailed to Marketing Dive. The Snap Holiday Market and AR shopping Lenses also meet consumers where they are during a holiday shopping season that is still feeling the effects of the pandemic, which has also accelerated the shift to mobile and digital channels like Snapchat.

The six brands are taking advantage of the immersive nature of AR to recreate and enhance the traditional shopping experience. Hollister's AR room replicates the in-store shopping experience, while Under Armour's room features an ice-covered stadium displaying the latest activewear fit for the winter sports season. All of the experiences allow consumers to make purchases through the Lens, reducing friction and shrinking the sales funnel. Two-thirds (67%) of all e-commerce sales will come from mobile this year, with 72% of Snapchat users planning to shop this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, per the platform.

The Snap Holiday Market follows increased investment in AR from Snap as it looks to beef up its offering for marketers. The company in October unveiled Arcadia, a new division operating an independent creative studio for branded AR, with launch partners P&G Beauty, Verizon and WWE. Previously, Snap teamed with WPP on an AR Lab focused on linking the technology with e-commerce.