Aurasma is the augmented reality app that is sweeping across smartphones everywhere. With the ability to recognise camera images or images of products, ‘auras’ are created which allow the user to interact with the product at hand, with 3D images also being created (Source: The Telegraph).
This week, we spotted a mention of the app in The Times Fashion section, informing us that we could use our phone to ‘buy straight off the page’. So naturally, we decided to give this a try. Simply download the app and hold your smartphone above the fashion page (or wherever you spot the Aurasma logo) until the links appear. You can then click on the links that have appeared on your phone screen and then you are taken to the website should you wish to purchase the item.
It has to be said, personally, I feel this is an innovative method of online shopping. It removes the middle-man of searching for the product via the website, and instead takes you directly to the product’s web address. As a result, the Internet shopping process is far more efficient. It is easy to imagine that the companies that are involved with this app have the potential to gain several more clicks on their webpages as the need for typing a search into Google is now removed. It also results in a far more interesting and interactive process for the user, and is likely to result in word-of-mouth recommendation. For example, after I used this app for the first time, I then went on to share my discovery with about three people soon after.
My only reservation is the name of the app. I feel the suffix of the app’s name is irrelevant to the purpose of the app itself. Maybe it would have been better just left as ‘Aura’, rather than ‘Asma’ tagged on the end, leaving it open for incorrect interpretation?
I urge you to download the app, and try it for yourself. Why not write in and let us know your opinions; what did you like about it? What do you think could have been done better?
