ARIA – Virtual Personal Shopper

ARIA – Virtual Personal Shopper combines a real-time 3D configurator with a conversational interface, to make the digital experience between a product and its users as natural and straightforward as possible, both online and in-store. Reply’s goal is to offer brands a practical and scalable product for all their commercial needs.

A SLICK UX, FOR A STRAIGHTFORWARD AND NATURAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

ARIA’s interface is essentially composed of two functional areas. The lower part is dedicated to chatbot-assisted configuration, while the upper portion reflects the result on a realistic 3D model of the product in real-time.

ARIA provides natural interaction with the user, thanks to a wide range of input methods: Touchscreen (gesture and virtual keyboard), Speech (voice and voice notes) and Images (various types of references provided by the user). In particular, its Natural Language Processing technology allows the configurator to promptly interpret also incomplete or incorrect expressions from the user. In conversational terms, the chatbot can ask for confirmations in case of doubts and/or propose alternative solutions, not to interrupt the dialogue with its user.

ARIA’s 3D preview model is updated in real-time based on the choices made and the user can rotate it and zoom on the details that interest him. In this way, all configuration icons are removed from the interface because they represent a filter, an unnecessary intermediary between the user and the digital version of the product they intend to customise.

ARIA’s user interface gathers in the lower part the interaction functions between the user and the conversational interface that guides them during the configuration process. The upper part is dedicated to previewing the product in 3D, with real-time rendering technology. All choices are made thanks to the assisted dialogue with the chatbot. The product can be touched, zoomed and rotated with the touch screen, without the need for additional icons. (credit: Protocube Reply)

A SIMPLE AND LINEAR 3D CONFIGURATOR, THOUGH NOT ORDINARY

The configuration method offered by ARIA is linear and allows the user to choose the model, the parts and the materials/finishes. If the user changes their mind on the choices made up to a certain point, they can easily revert the process. In this case, the chatbot is ready to assist them with feasible alternatives, to enable them to finalise the product customisation. Fully trained, ARIA’s artificial intelligence can direct the user towards the purchase with the least number of steps.

WHY A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT? THE ADVANTAGES OF A SMART CHATBOT

Integrating a chatbot in the customer experience allows a brand to exploit many advantages, including:

• A constantly evolving active system based on artificial intelligence, ARIA continuously increases its knowledge thanks to machine learning technologies. The more it interacts with customers, the more ARIA learns their preferences and habits, developing real know-how in suggesting the most effective solutions to finalise the sale;
• A perfect salesman, always up-to-date and trained – unlike a real assistant, a virtual personal shopper can be constantly updated both on the characteristics of the products and on the sales strategies, in addition to solving the problem of retention of the sales staff. The chatbot acquires its value depending on the operating experience and does not present the risks associated with professional choices, including the transfer of an employee to a competitor company;
• An assistant that can always offer a solution – user requests do not pose a challenge for an advanced chatbot like ARIA. Should an option not be available, it can offer alternative solutions instantaneously, without hesitating even a second, always giving the user the responsibility of the final choice;
• A “one-on-one” system to assist the customer anywhere – An evolved chatbot minimises the so-called sense of depersonalisation typical of the interaction with an automatic system, and establishes a trust relationship with the real user every time they reach the brand’s e-commerce portal;
• An assistant attentive to every commercial need – The chatbot operationally reflects the commercial strategy of a company, which can instruct it to guide the choices according to a certain type of configuration, for example, “remembering” that a particular version of the product has a special offer.

Thanks to the artificial intelligence that powers it, ARIA’s conversational interface can react appropriately to any eventuality, even in the embarrassing situation where one of the options desired by the user is not available. (credit Protocube Reply).

AUGMENTED REALITY – IMMERSIVE PREVIEW AND VIRTUAL TRY-ON

ARIA – Virtual Personal Shopper assists a customer using the technologies available on any mobile device, including Augmented Reality. With just a click, it is possible to switch to AR mode and preview the configured product in a real context, to see it and interact with it naturally, in addition to the possibility of saving images that can be shared directly on social networks. Thanks to the experiences that it generates, augmented reality is the ideal tool to implement engaging and exclusive marketing strategies.

For wearables (glasses, jewellery, watches, cosmetics, etc.) a VTO (Virtual Try-On) mode is available, which allows a user to virtually try on the product and configure it in real-time on their image.

IMAGE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY – FROM A WISH TO THE CART WITH JUST A CLICK

ARIA is equipped with an image recognition system, which uses a reference picture as the basis of the configuration process. This allows the development of numerous specific tools, including:

• The suggestion of products from the catalogue – thanks to the image provided by the customer, ARIA can recognise a product available in the catalogue, and suggest purchase solutions directly.
• Preset configuration from a similar product – if the product in the image is not available in the catalogue, as in the case of a competitor’s reference picture, ARIA automatically suggests a similar solution, directly involving the user in the personalisation.

AN ADD-ON FOR EVERY E-COMMERCE PLATFORM

ARIA is a scalable product, that can integrate perfectly with existing e-commerce platforms, enhancing their functionality with interactive tools, significantly increasing customer engagement.

Thanks to Natural Language Processing, ARIA can respond appropriately even to very informal requests, which the user can submit using the voice interface. In case of doubt, ARIA is trained to ask for confirmation with a proactive attitude, without interrupting the user during their configuration. (credit: Protocube Reply)

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