Snapchat debuts AR shopping, AR spectacles and Pixy in Asia

Remember when Snapchat came around in 2011 and revolutionised social media and communication with friends and families with its funky filters?

 And then four years later, in 2015, brought augmented reality (AR) to our phones so that Snaps are even more entertaining and engaging?

Well, in that case, it should come as no surprise that in 2022, Snapchat is bringing AR shopping to users all over the world.

Today, Snapchat revealed its fashion and beauty AR features on the platform, as well as its AR glasses, Spectacles and the Pixy camera for the first time in Southeast Asia.

Shopping is now made accessible, fun and personal with Snapchat’s latest AR Lenses in collaboration with fashion and beauty brands.

For the first time, users can try on a new outfit without having to physically change their clothes and can see whether a beauty product matches their skintone without needing to swatch it in person.

All users have to do is scan the Lenses codes and try it out like any other filter.

If users like what they see, they can purchase from the brand’s online website easily.

The AR Lenses are impressively accurate and even give colour variations so users can browse as much (and as long) as they want like they usually would in a retail store.

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Some brands include Puma, Dior, Pandora, MAC Cosmetics and Piaget. In time, Snapchat wishes to work with local brands.

“The ability to shop online isn’t a new trend, but what isn’t as common is AR shopping. It is continuing to evolve and it is a space we’re continuing to start to tell the story.

Interestingly, what we’re seeing is that consumers are ahead of brands in many instances.

It is brands we need to drive the adoption to make sure consumers are able to access the full suite of brands that they like,” Kathryn Carter, Snapchat’s APAC General Manager told Geek Culture.

“We would love to welcome all brands! At the moment we’ve only worked with global brands in the market and regionally. We’ve seen some great success with Mecca for instance, and we’d absolutely love the chance to partner and build something with some [Singaporean] brands.”

Speaking of evolving the AR space, Snapchat today demoed its next-gen Spectacles – Snap’s first pair of glasses that bring augmented reality to light.

The lightweight AR display glasses are made for creators and explore new ways to fuse fun and utility through immersive AR. For US$380 (S$525), Spectacles come in two shades (no pun intended): Mineral and Carbon.

Last but certainly not least, is Snap’s pocket-sized flying camera called Pixy (US$249.99). With a simple tap of a button, Pixy can fly, float, orbit around a subject and even follow wherever the user goes without a controller or any set-up.

A companion to Snapchat, videos from Pixy are wirelessly transferred and saved into Snapchat Memories where users can later edit, customise, add sounds and Lenses to the videos and images captured.

“The AR features we’ve showcased today are just some examples of how Snap is constantly working to tap the immersive potential and opportunities in AR, seamlessly marrying the needs of brands and evolving preferences of consumers,” said Carter.

Currently, Spectacles and Pixy are both available in the US. It’s only a matter of time before these products become available in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.