The decline of print newspapers and magazines is no surprise, in fact, it is very very old news. Although some older, more established publications had a little extra time to transition over to digital, for most other publications, market share shifted drastically depending on how quickly and aggressively they transformed to cater to a more mobile demographic. However, this is still old news.
IKEA’s new 2013 catalogue is brand new news. Why? Augmented Reality.
IKEA’s new catalogue was released yesterday along with a new update for their mobile app, IKEA Catalog. The new catalogue will feature several pages and items (designated with a smartphone icon on the top right) where consumers will be able to experience furniture items and designs in a whole new light using augmented reality. Through the app, consumers can simply point their smartphone camera at a designated item and view videos, interact with 3D models, and enjoy additional styles and layouts.
IKEA’s new update to the app is still not commerce-enabled. Instead, IKEA hopes that combining their catalog with augmented reality will only enhance the experience and inspire their consumers. However, it seems reasonable to assume that IKEA will enable a commerce-enabled version soon, especially if they see a strong increase in mobile catalog usage.
