Together with Leroy Merlin, large-scale retail trade in DIY, gardening and much more, present in twelve Italian regions with a total of 48 stores, we have explored new solutions to bring services for consumers real needs.<\/p>\n
Leroy Merlin already had a clear and complete model of the customer journey, drawn up by multiple figures within it and that we decided to further investigate by interviewing the employees of the Verona store. Listening and empathy<\/strong> are often underestimated but to identify new effective solutions it is essential to have an information framework full of details<\/strong> and able to capture all the issues that often prove decisive in human relationships (and therefore seller-customer).<\/p>\n We observed the processes in the floors and walls department, where Leroy Merlin believed there were stages in the sales process that needed improvement.<\/p>\n Therefore, the reasons why some buyers slowed down or even gave up on the purchase were identified, two in our opinion very relevant:<\/p>\n We asked ourselves if the use of Augmented Reality could allow consumers to evaluate the purchase more precisely and, therefore, reduce the brakes on the purchase of materials for flooring and coverings.<\/p>\n A further element to pay attention to was the behavior of the customers in the stores and their expectations. In fact, many of the people who go to the shops need to touch the materials, walk among the physical samples and have time to reflect on them. These are the aspects that contribute to making sense of the experience in retail. The goal of our exploration was therefore to identify tools that would give customers all the knowledge and all the information for a conscious choice<\/strong>, even before interacting with a sales employee or even even before entering a shop. For many users it may be the first experience with an Augmented Reality app, therefore it is essential to offer a guide on first access<\/strong>. Simple instructions with icons and illustrated paths can prove successful and increase the audience of users.<\/p>\n The first guided access allows users to understand how to use the elements of the UI<\/strong>, understand which they can interact with and where each interaction leads. We imagined the context of use and used taps, horizontal and vertical swipes that made the experience as natural and fluid as possible.The in-app experience must also be credible, so it reflects user expectations and convey the concepts initially identified, therefore:<\/p>\n The milestones on which our attention was focused were:<\/p>\n The challenge was to create photorealistic virtual materials starting from photos of the samples of the available surfaces, therefore many materials and many processes that present different peculiarities. The starting images also had to be made in such a way as to allow us to cover surfaces of any extension.<\/p>\n Here are some examples of very different surfaces, some reasonably simpler to extend over the entire surface, others instead present greater difficulties due to much more variable textures:<\/p>\n We developed the application with Unity3D because it allows us to develop an AR experience for both iOS and Android with high-level APIs.<\/p>\n The materials were instead recreated using Substance Alchemyst, an Adobe software.<\/p>\n Substance Alchemyst has allowed us to start from the basic textures obtained through photos and obtain realistic AR surfaces that can be expanded as desired thanks to an AI that realizes its extension by repeatedly replicating the texture without the need to manual adjustments.<\/p>\n Other layers were then applied to obtain better and better results, to make surfaces homogeneous, for example, reducing shadows.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To monitor how and how much users use the app, we detect the Analytics directly from the Unity project by receiving information about:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What we took home in a week of analysis and tests mainly concerns the users’ habits, their answers and some concepts to always keep in mind in contexts characterized by high uncertainty:<\/p>\n New technologies allow you to entrust new roles to physical stores but the concept of retail innovation passes from the analysis and understanding of customer expectations. A long and decidedly human learning path, where technology represents only a means and not an end, as evidenced by the Archiva<\/a> and Pam Panorama<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n Are you interested in these projects\u2019 insights? We share them with the subscribers to our Exploratorium, find out more about this experimental lab clicking\u00a0here \ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/exploratorium.uqido.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Exploratorium is Uqido\u2019s laboratory where every week we project, develop and launch on the market a new digital product.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Facciata](\"http:\/\/staging.uqido.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/insegna.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/h3>\nStart with the concept<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nSo, an entirely digital product risked not being the solution to the pain of customers, on the contrary, it risked increasing their frustrations.<\/p>\n
\nSo we have prototyped an app that thanks to Augmented Reality offers prospects a punctual and complete look at their purchases, by previewing the rendering of materials in their premises. In doing so, when they arrive at the store, they have much clearer ideas.
\nTo engage users and receive their feedback, a survey was dedicated to the new digital product.<\/p>\n![\"Persona](\"http:\/\/staging.uqido.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/img.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/h3>\nDesigning the app and the User Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Schermate](\"http:\/\/staging.uqido.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Mockup_flooring_AR.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe technological challenge<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Esempi](\"http:\/\/staging.uqido.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Rustico-Moda-Collezione-Foto-Collage.jpg\")
Both Google and Apple are working hard on the occlusion of objects in depth, using the device camera it is in fact possible to recognize and estimate the depth of objects in the surrounding environment. With this information we are able to position Augmented Reality virtual objects in front of or behind a real object, incredibly increasing the realism of the experience.<\/p>\nMeasure the effectiveness<\/h3>\n
\n
Where we arrived? To a new beginning, innovating is a path made of cycles<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Quattro](\"http:\/\/staging.uqido.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/https___bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com_public_images_8c23d670-a823-4c32-89d8-5b15bf02eeb4_1920x1080.png\")
<\/p>\nWHAT\u2019S EXPLORATORIUM<\/h3>\n