蘑菇AV

Snapchat should emphasize its leadership in augmented reality. Snap pioneered AR for consumers at scale, and other platforms haven鈥檛 matched its technical expertise or user adoption in this area, which can give advertisers more immersive capabilities to drive engagement. Snapchat should also highlight its strength among younger demographics.

The news: Samsung confirmed it will launch a new XR (extended reality) device in the second half of 2025, likely the long-teased Project Moohan, a device capable of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), developed in collaboration with Google and powered by Android XR, per TechRadar.

A large developer ecosystem and years of dabbling in augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) on iPhones and iPads provide fertile ground for an expansive app ecosystem for future wearables. Key stat: 52.6% of US parents with children under 18 and 45% of urbanites are interested in buying smart glasses in the next 12 months, per an 蘑菇AV survey.

Whether it鈥檚 through gamified AR activations, AI-powered Lenses, or creator-led content that taps into fandoms, Snap is betting that smarter, more focused engagement will win over advertisers looking for meaningful results in a fragmented media environment.

Younger shoppers are comfortable using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality tools. Twenty-eight percent of 12- to 14-year-olds already use AR to make purchases, according to Mintel. Our take: While Gen Alpha is becoming an undeniably important cohort for the beauty industry, companies should tread carefully when marketing and selling to the demographic.

A wave of AI-powered AR glasses dominated CES 2025, showcasing more wearable designs meant for everyday use. XREAL's One Pro offers a 57-degree field of view in sunglasses-style frames, while Rokid's AR Spatial uses Sony鈥檚 micro-OLED technology to project a virtual display that appears equivalent to a 300-inch screen floating in one鈥檚 field of view.

Fewer consumers are looking for high-tech innovations like greater use of AI-driven search engines (20%) and increased augmented reality to visualize products (17%). Consumers in search of more relevant product recommendations will benefit from AI innovations that allow for more personalization.

Customer service quality far outranked augmented reality try-ons (14.5%) and personalized product recommendations (26.5%) in the survey, showing consumers frustrations with current customer service offerings. Retailers need to use caution in how they implement AI for customer service, as customers could also grow frustrated with AI chatbots that are not actually helpful.

The platform offers filters, augmented reality (AR) effects, the ability to stitch clips together, green screen functionality, music overlays, and auto-generated captions. Reels鈥� editing functionality is pretty similar to TikTok, albeit more limited in terms of filters, effects, and available music. For creators and brands looking to post fairly basic video content, Reels鈥� native tools can suffice.

Snap鈥檚 focus on SMBs and augmented reality (AR) is paying off. Snap鈥檚 Q4 revenues rose 14% YoY to $1.56 billion, driven by a 9% increase in daily active users. The company鈥檚 AR and creator partnerships are attracting advertisers and users. While Snap is making gains in sports-related advertising, maintaining ad revenue growth depends on proving long-term ROI to brands.

Expanding into robotics risks further straining Meta鈥檚 resources beyond AR/VR wearables. Meta, which gained its AR/VR expertise by acquiring Oculus, could opt to partner or buy robotics startups to leapfrog the competition, but that would also add market pressure to succeed in an all-new segment.

The business will also complement FIS鈥檚 banking and payments business, which includes payment processing, network services, and AR/AP banking services. Three years in, FIS expects synergies will total $150 million a year. Our take: This deal is not only huge in size but also in importance for the payments industry. It represents changing dynamics between issuers, acquirers, and processors.

CEO Sam Altman even called it 鈥渢oo sycophant-y and annoying,鈥� adding that fixes were underway to address the bot鈥檚 unnatural agreeableness, per Ars Technica. Another public misstep: OpenAI is under increasing pressure to release innovative generative AI (genAI) features and updates to show it鈥檚 constantly innovating. We鈥檙e now seeing features coming to market before they are thoroughly tested.

Some 80% of brands using AR report higher sales and better customer acquisition, according to Snap Inc. AR smart glasses could further boost this trend by helping shoppers combine digital information with physical store experiences. However, widespread adoption hinges on addressing privacy concerns and social acceptance factors.

An announcement is expected the week of March 31 on what, if any, fines will be imposed, per Ars Technica. The EC鈥檚 stance may be in reaction to Trump threatening to retaliate against any 鈥渄iscriminatory (or) disproportionate鈥� penalties on US companies from foreign governments. What鈥檚 at stake? Apple and Meta are both on the line to be fined up to 10% of their global annual revenue.

Advertisers can benefit from targeting precision, immersive ad formats leveraging AR/VR, and the chance to more successfully engage fans before, during, and after live events.

We forecast 90.0 million people will use AR in the US this year, interacting with it in ways that increase retail sales and advertising engagements.

Annoyed users are calling the ads 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� and 鈥渋ntrusive,鈥� per Ars Technica. Roku, like other connected TV (CTV) providers, is capitalizing on the booming CTV ad market, which we projected would quadruple from 2020 to 2026. Why it鈥檚 worth watching: Roku has been one of the more innovative CTV players pushing to make ads more prominent on connected devices.

Acquisitions or partnerships with AR/VR developers could help gaming companies expand metaverse opportunities to more consumers. Only 8% of gamers have used a metaverse space, per GWI鈥攖he same percentage as in Q4 2022. However, 57% of those who have tried a metaverse experience would be interested in playing a game there.

This will apply to all Echo users, even those who don鈥檛 subscribe to Alexa+, per Ars Technica. Users can still set their devices to delete recordings after processing, but they will lose access to Alexa鈥檚 Voice ID service. Amazon said less than 0.03% of Echo owners have opted to use the Do Not Send feature, per USA Today, but not everyone may be aware that the feature is automatically on.

Oreo鈥檚 special-edition Minecraft cookies come with an interactive AR experience; fans can scan square-shaped bites to unlock exclusive content and win prizes. Each of these partnerships extends the film鈥檚 marketing reach beyond traditional advertising, ensuring that Minecraft fans engage with the brand in their everyday lives before even stepping into theaters.

Oreo boosted a special-edition Minecraft cookie offering that included an interactive AR experience, where buyers were able to unlock exclusive content and win prizes. Our take: 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥� teaches a clear lesson: marketing beyond the traditional must be prioritized to guarantee that a movie鈥攅ven one that hasn鈥檛 gotten stellar reviews鈥攁ppeals to a wide audience.

Google warns that breaking up Chrome or restricting its AI investments could weaken the country鈥檚 lead in global technology, per Ars Technica. Old arguments, new DOJ: Google鈥檚 defense that breaking it up would hurt user privacy and innovation is nothing new鈥攖he company made similar arguments to President Joe Biden鈥檚 DOJ last year.

AI and augmented reality tools can visualize products like furniture in a consumer鈥檚 home; however, consumers have hesitated to use this technology for apparel. AI tools using 鈥減assive data鈥� like previous consumer purchases or existing customer data to assess size are more likely to be adopted, Canaves said. This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter.