SMARE: Enhancing Retail with Augmented Reality and Natural Language Processing

Current shopping contexts, online and offline, are often leading to consumer disorientation, limited visualizations of products within real-life scenarios, and inefficiencies in product location within extensive physical stores [3][4][7]. To overcome these challenges, we present SMARE, a mobile app that integrates Augmented Reality (AR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to offer an effortless, interactive, and personalized shopping experience [1][6]. SMARE operates in three modes of operation: Online Mode allows users to view 3D product models overlaid in their environment [2][11]; In-Store Mode offers AR indoor wayfinding and voice-guided instructions for efficient identification of items [5][8][14]; and Nearby Stores Mode helps users to find out which stores in the vicinity carry the desired products [4]. Apart from these, the platform supports basic shopping functionality such as user account management, viewing products, cart operations, and secure payment. Our evaluation of SMARE, through user testing and functionality assessment, demonstrates that combining AR and NLP enhances retail engagement, simplifies product discovery, and aids the overall decision-making process in shopping [10][12]. The study indicates how the fusion of digital technologies and physical retail spaces can overcome the gap between classic and modern retail experiences [9][13].