Augmented reality is the point of no return
Returns are a huge cost to both retailers and the environment. Snap Inc. ANZ managing director, Tony Keusgen, explains why incorporating augmented reality into the online shopping experience has the potential to halt the harm.
Despite a return to relative normality between online and in-store shopping, the retail return rate remains stubbornly high. A recent study revealed that Australians buy nearly 350 million clothing items online per year and 25% of these items are returned, with retailers unable to bear the cost of repackaging the goods for resale.
It’s not just a financial cost. It has been calculated that around 55 million items of returned fashion were sent to landfill in Australia in 2023, while carbon emissions also rocketed due to unnecessary transportation and packaging. But returns have been a fact of life for a thriving ecommerce economy. How can we reconcile convenience and variety with economic and climate realities? A simple tool may have the answer.
