Pokémon Go Paving the Way for Augmented Reality

It’s no surprise that social conversation related to Nintendo’s Pokémon Go has exploded since its release on July 6th. There are nearly 85 million mentions over the past 3 months – the vast majority starting at the beginning of July.

But what is that underlying concept behind Pokémon Go? Augmented Reality. The game brings to life the concept of augmented reality in a way that is hard to rival by other brands at this time.

KS&R’s SIX investigated the impact the conversation around Pokémon Go has on the conversation around the broader concept of augmented reality. Over the past 3 months, social conversation about augmented reality has increased in direct correlation with Pokémon Go – both spiked at the beginning of July.

Since the beginning of July, social conversation around Pokémon Go has increased by nearly 96%. Similarly, conversation around augmented reality has increased by over 90%.

The popularity of Nintendo’s game is paving the way for other uses of augmented reality – including market research. Below are a few examples of how augmented reality can be used in market research:

• Geo-fencing: test signage options in a real life setting by allowing consumers to use their phones to illustrate how the sign will actually look in a retail location
• Concept Testing: measure the impact on likelihood to purchase by allowing consumers to experience different product options in a real-life setting (e.g., mimic the look and feel of different potential car interiors while a respondent remains in one place)
• Merchandising Design: explore how the location of a product display impacts potential purchase behavior in a real-life situation
• Product Design: allow consumers to test their preference for products in their actual environment (e.g., have respondents “try” on different clothes or make-up options virtually and measure preference for various options and combinations)

Here at KS&R we are looking forward to taking consumers’ newfound comfort with augmented reality to the next level. Augmented reality can be leveraged to uncover an even deeper understanding of decision making behavior.