Snap has unveiled a 33 per cent increase in visitors to the second edition of its Snap AR Ramadan Mall, showing the demand for immersive retail experiences across the region.
This years activation, collaborated with leading brands such as American Eagle, Ounass and Faces, reaching more than 12 million shoppers throughout the holy month.
The platform achieved an average play time of over 26.3 seconds and succeeded in creating a deeper connection between brands and consumers that resulted in 2.1 times the return on ad spend.
The Snap AR Ramadan Mall launched last year as a unique shopping experience for snapchatters to engage better with their favourite brands through a virtual, true-to-life marketplace.
From product demonstrations to personalised experiences and access to exclusive collections, the ability to virtually interact with products in a real setting before purchase is proven to increase propensity to spend, increase the size of order baskets, and reduce returns.
Mohammed Bouarib, Senior Creative Strategist at Snap MENA, said: “The Snap Ramadan AR Mall resonates with consumers because it showcases a bold, live and fresh approach to shopping in the Middle East that puts them in a buying mindset.
“Due to the proven success of the Snap AR Ramadan Mall in its inaugural year, we were able to proudly scale participation in 2023 and provide an opportunity for brands to introduce innovation into product sales that drive real business results.
“This includes an 8 plus point lift in brand awareness, 10 plus point lift in ad awareness and a 10 times increase in action intent, proving that AR is an essential tool in the marketing mix all the way through the funnel.”
According to Snap’s most recent retail white paper with PwC, 80 per cent of KSA consumers felt more confident in their purchases when using AR, while 66 per cent of people are less likely to return an item they bought via AR try-on.
Fuelling these success metrics is the positive community of family and friends that live on Snapchat, of which 90 per cent say they are more happy when using, more than any other platform.
“When people are in an environment of real relationships and in a happy mindset, they are more likely to engage with brand content in the same way they engage with content from close friends.
“The Snap AR Ramadan Mall was able to enhance and provide snapchatters with an immersive retail experience at a time where friends and family come together more than ever.”adds Bouarib.
Anne Tulloch, Integrated Marketing Communications Director at Alshaya Group, said: “Ramadan is an incredibly important occasion for our customers and to reach them in the most relevant and innovative way we partnered with Snapchat to bring both Bath and Body Works and American Eagle stores to them via augmented reality.”
Snap and its industry leading AR technology has been transforming the way customers experience fashion and beauty for some time, helping to make it even more personal and accessible.
Ultimately, brands that adopt a winning AR strategy will have a competitive advantage in the future.
