Swiss AR Barometer – The Swiss Augmented Reality Study

The Institute of Marketing and Analytics at the University of Lucerne, led by Reto Hofstetter, set out to change this. In a broad-based study with over 1,000 participants from three Swiss language regions, it examined how Swiss people have used augmented reality to date and what their attitudes towards the technology are.

We are delighted and proud to be a partner in this project together with the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB ).

The study shows that augmented reality applications (not only apps, but also web-based AR solutions in particular) have arrived in the Swiss population. Half of all Swiss people have already used AR applications. That is an astonishingly high number – even if many did not know that this was augmented reality. This is particularly the case with face filters on Snapchat or similar applications.

A look at the demographic distribution shows that AR users are younger, better educated and more tech-savvy than non-AR users. This result is hardly surprising, but is part of the expected behavior of the population towards new technologies or platforms. A similar trend could be observed in the adaptation of smartphones or social media, for example.

AR users are also very complimentary of the companies in the AR sector: Two thirds are satisfied with the existing AR applications. Just 12% are dissatisfied and hope for better software.

One of the biggest current AR trends is the establishment of augmented reality in e-commerce, i.e. the virtual placement of products before purchase. And in this area too, it is clear that Switzerland is further ahead than generally assumed. A quarter of AR users have already placed products in augmented reality. One in five has then also purchased the product.

It also shows that the technology has clear advantages in online shopping and can convince users. 39% of Swiss people who have already experienced AR are of the opinion that AR can replace a visit to the store. This figure is only half as high among non-AR users.

The Swiss also have very clear ideas about what they would like to use augmented reality for when shopping online – and from which companies: Companies from the fashion & clothing, furniture and retail sectors are mentioned most frequently.

Good news for Swiss consumers: The two orange giants Migros and Coop are very active in this area and have launched their first augmented reality applications on the market. At Coop Bau und Hobby, for example, garden sheds and toolboxes can be placed at home before purchase since this spring. This makes it easy to avoid any nasty surprises during assembly.

Augmented reality glasses are an even more distant topic, or at least one that is not quite so easy to grasp. After the Google Glass disaster almost a decade ago, manufacturers of this product segment largely limited themselves to the industrial sector. For a few years now, however, more and more innovative manufacturers have been entering the market – and changing the image of AR glasses. This could explain the attitude of the Swiss towards the device: 30% can imagine wearing AR glasses in everyday life in the future.

All information on the more than 60-page Swiss AR Barometer as well as the possibility to obtain the study report with many other studies on augmented reality can be found on the landing page www.ar-barometer.ch.