E-commerce and augmented reality: how 3D is transforming online shopping

Augmented reality lets online shoppers see a product in 3D and then at its real size in their home, from their smartphone and without an app. It is added to a store through Shopify's native 3D, a module, an iframe or an API, from a 3D model in GLB or USDZ format.

By the Visuality team Published on Updated on 9 min read

Augmented reality for e-commerce

Why is product visualization a challenge in e-commerce?

E-commerce has changed the way we shop, but one problem remains: buyers can neither touch nor see at real size the products they order.

The consequences are measurable. In the United States, returns accounted for 13.21% of retail sales in 2024, according to Appriss Retail and Deloitte. Some of these returns come from a product that doesn't match what the customer imagined: wrong size, a color different from the photo, misjudged proportions.

Photos, even in high resolution and from multiple angles, remain flat representations. They don't let you gauge the volume of a sofa in your living room, the look of a ring on your finger, or the actual size of a light fixture above your table. This is precisely the gap that augmented reality fills.

How does augmented reality work in e-commerce?

Integrating augmented reality into an online store relies on several complementary technologies, all accessible today without a dedicated mobile app.

The interactive 3D viewer. This is the foundation. A 3D viewer embedded in the product page lets customers manipulate the product in full 360: rotate it, zoom into details, and change materials or colors. Unlike a simple photo, the viewer provides a complete understanding of the object. It can be embedded on any website via an iframe or a JavaScript component.

WebAR (augmented reality in the browser). Thanks to WebXR APIs and ARCore (Android) and ARKit (iOS) technologies, augmented reality works directly in the web browser with no app download required. The customer taps a "View in my space" button, points their smartphone at the desired room, and the product appears at actual size in their environment. This frictionless experience is key to driving adoption.

GLB and USDZ formats. On iPhone and iPad, augmented reality runs through AR Quick Look, which reads the USDZ format; on Android, through Scene Viewer or WebXR, from a GLB file. Visuality automatically generates the USDZ from the GLB, with the scale baked into the file. GLB or USDZ: which 3D format for augmented reality?

QR codes. For printed catalogs, point-of-sale displays, or trade show booths, a QR code can link directly to the AR experience. The customer scans the code with their smartphone and instantly views the product in 3D or augmented reality. It's an effective bridge between physical marketing and the digital experience.

iframe and API integration. Platforms like Visuality provide a sharing link or iframe embed code for each 3D model. This code can be copy-pasted directly into your CMS (Shopify, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, WordPress) or any HTML page. For advanced integrations, a REST API lets you automate model management and display.

What do the figures say about augmented reality in e-commerce?

The figures repeated in most articles about augmented reality come from industry players. Here are the ones we could trace back to a source, with their limits:

  • A 94% average conversion lift for merchants who add 3D content to their store: a figure published by Shopify in May 2022 in its changelog, with no detailed methodology or sample. It covers 3D in general, not only augmented reality.
  • 22% to 40% fewer returns depending on the company: AR Insider (2022) reports a 40% drop in returns with 3D visualization at Shopify, 25% for AR-guided purchases at SeekXR, and a 22% lower return rate among Build.com's AR users. These figures come from the companies themselves, without a published study.
  • 13.21% of sales returned: in the United States, returns reached $685 billion in 2024, or 13.21% of retail sales, according to Appriss Retail's annual study conducted with Deloitte.

These figures give orders of magnitude. They often come from companies that sell 3D solutions and do not guarantee results for your catalog: the only reliable measure is your own sales, before and after adding 3D. Augmented reality ROI: how can you estimate it with reliable figures?

Which products are suited for augmented reality?

While all physical products can benefit from 3D visualization, certain categories gain a particularly strong advantage from augmented reality.

Furniture and home decor. This is the flagship use case. Seeing a sofa, a table or a wardrobe in your living room before buying removes uncertainty about dimensions, style and how it fits the existing space.

Jewelry and accessories. Jewelry has a high perceived value and details matter. A 3D viewer lets customers zoom in on engravings, stones and reflections, while augmented reality gives a sense of their real size.

Home appliances and household equipment. A refrigerator, food processor, or oven must fit into a constrained space. AR lets you verify that the product fits in the intended spot, that the style matches the kitchen, and that the dimensions are compatible.

Fashion and footwear. Virtual try-on technologies let customers see clothes or shoes on themselves through their smartphone camera. These are specialized tools, different from the floor or wall object placement that Visuality offers.

Industrial and B2B products. Machine tools, medical equipment, technical components — 3D and AR allow sales teams to showcase bulky or expensive products without transporting them. The client can visualize the machine at full scale in their workshop before signing the order.

How do you add augmented reality to your online store?

Integrating augmented reality is more accessible than you might think. Here are the main approaches depending on your e-commerce platform.

Shopify. Shopify natively accepts GLB and USDZ 3D models (up to 500 MB) as product media, with augmented reality on iOS and Android if your theme is compatible. The Visuality app adds a theme block with the 3D viewer and an augmented reality QR code, AI model generation and sharing outside Shopify. Compare Shopify native 3D and Visuality

PrestaShop. Visuality offers a PrestaShop module that displays the 3D viewer on your product pages. You can also insert the viewer's iframe code into your product templates. How to integrate a 3D viewer on PrestaShop

WooCommerce and WordPress. Paste the 3D viewer's iframe code into a custom HTML block on your page or product page. Visuality does not offer a dedicated WordPress plugin: integration is done with the iframe, while Shopify and PrestaShop have an app and a module respectively.

Custom website or custom CMS. For developers, integration is done through a simple iframe or the Visuality API, which returns the URLs of your 3D viewers. A few lines of HTML code are all it takes to display the viewer and the augmented reality button on any page.

Regardless of your platform, the process always follows the same steps: import your 3D model to Visuality, customize the display options (background color, initial position, annotations), then copy the embed code to your site. The whole process takes just a few minutes per product.

Follow our integration guide for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

How can you try augmented reality with Visuality?

Visuality is a French SaaS platform, published by Inside Learning, that lets businesses display their products in 3D and augmented reality on iPhone and Android, with no app to install, via a link, a QR code, an iframe embed or the Shopify and PrestaShop integrations.

No technical skills required: our online editor lets you configure the environment, lighting, annotations, and materials for your models. The viewer integrates into your e-commerce site with a simple iframe.

Create your account and try the platform for free (7 days, no credit card). After that, subscriptions start at $32.99/month.

Frequently asked questions

You need a 3D model of the product (GLB, plus USDZ for iPhone) and a viewer that offers augmented reality. On Shopify, 3D models are added as product media; elsewhere, a platform like Visuality provides an iframe, a PrestaShop module or an API. Your customers don't install any app.

It works on iPhones and iPads that support AR Quick Look and on Android smartphones that support Scene Viewer or WebXR, directly from the browser. On a computer, the 3D viewer remains available and Visuality shows a QR code to continue on the phone.

GLB is the standard format for the web and Android; iPhone and iPad use USDZ. Both Shopify and Visuality automatically prepare the USDZ version from your file. Visuality accepts GLB and USD/USDZ uploads, and can also generate the model with AI from a photo.

Published data points that way, but it mostly comes from industry players. Shopify reports a 94% average conversion lift for merchants who add 3D (2022), without a published methodology. The only way to know the effect on your catalog is to measure your sales before and after.

The cost depends on the solution: Shopify's native 3D requires no app if you already have the 3D file, while specialized platforms charge by subscription, per device, by views or by commission. At Visuality, the monthly subscription depends on the number of 3D objects, with unlimited views. The entry plan costs $32.99/month.

Sources

  1. Shop adds 3D and augmented reality (AR) previews — Shopify Changelog, 2022-05-11
  2. Product media types: 3D models (formats, size, optimization) — Shopify Help Center, Verified on October 15, 2026
  3. Can AR really reduce e-commerce returns? — AR Insider, 2022-11-29
  4. Annual returns study: $685 billion in returns in the United States in 2024 — Appriss Retail, 2024-12-30

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Further reading