Kenyan payments company, Cellulant has announced an interesting new adventure with Augmented Reality (AR). The fintech company has partnered Facebook to launch a new social product that allows online shoppers to try out products before purchasing them. Using augmented reality technology, customers can try on a product, makeup, etc, before deciding whether or not to buy it.
Augmented Reality presents an opportunity for African brands and companies to build trust with consumers where “touch and feel” is often a pre-requisite before purchase. https://t.co/fz3w5jAxkz #HustleWithMula #SocialCommerce pic.twitter.com/BHBsqP1dgn
— Cellulant (@Cellulant) November 19, 2018
The new AR-inspired ecommerce product has a limited launch as it is available only in Kenya for now. Thanks to a partnership with cosmetics company, Huddah Cosmetics, Kenyan shoppers can start using the AR shopping experience right now.
According to Cellulant, digital experience using Augmented Reality is exciting.
“Augmented Reality presents an opportunity for African brands and companies to build trust with consumers where “touch and feel” is often a pre-requisite before purchase.”
Cellulant is now one of five companies presently using Facebook’s AR technology.
What is Augmented Reality and How Can Nigeria Benefit from this?
Augment Reality is an exciting new trend in tech today. It is the result of using technology to modify information we see in the real world.
Unlike Virtual Reality (VR) where the world is totally unreal and a sort of fantasy land, AR messes with real world objects and adds a few artificial things to change what you see.
Facebook is proving to be a formidable in the e-commerce space heralding the rise of social commerce in Africa. Informal entrepreneurs who utilize social media channels are serving upto 32% of online shoppers in the continent – A GeoPoll Survey #SocialCommerce #HustleWithMula pic.twitter.com/5FNKqORYGx
— Cellulant (@Cellulant) November 19, 2018
People already use AR without even knowing it, like when they use dog filters and other SnapChat filters to change how they look in images.
But AR can be used for so much more, especially in commerce.
Think about it. Shopping is a fun experience, but it’s also a very hectic experience more so in Nigeria.
Huddah Cosmetics To Pioneer Cellulant’s First Augmented Reality (AR) Sale Platform On Messenger In Africa https://t.co/3QSilv1uU0 pic.twitter.com/RKe3KEsSol
— Robert ALAI (@RobertAlai) November 19, 2018
Using AR technology, people could relax at their homes view items they’ll like to buy. But viewing it is not the issue, users can actually test these items to see if they’re as good as they claim. For cosmetics and clothing products, users can actually try them on to see if they really make them beautiful or match their body type. And for we in Nigeria, trying out clothes before buying is an important shopping habit.
But despite having a few important ecommerce platforms, AR hasn’t hit the ground running in Nigeria, yet. And so far, no startup has emerged in this space.
Cellulant’ foray into pairing ecommerce and AR could be the wake up call for innovators in Nigeria. And it would surely open a lot of opportunities for innovation and users alike.
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