Article

Diamond retailer uses augmented reality kiosk to offer endless aisle ring selection

Helzberg Diamonds' Virtual Ring Experience uses augmented reality to provide a personalized, endless aisle shopping experience.

A customer views how a ring will look on their finger using augmented reality. Photo courtesy of Dimensional Innovations.

April 17, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Helzberg Diamonds, a nationwide jewelry retailer, has utilized augmented reality technology to allow customers to see how different rings will look on their fingers to help them make a purchase decision. Called the Virtual Ring Experience, the AR kiosk enables a personalized, endless aisle shopping experience.

A sales associate assists a customer explore available ring designs. Photo courtesy of Helzberg Diamonds.

The customer places their left palm beneath a screen that allows them to scroll through more than 100 ring styles and view images of what each ring will look like on their finger from multiple viewing angles. Three-dimensional images of the rings are stored in a local computer. The palm rest uses motion-tracking sensors and tracks AR data in real time.

The customer can also take pictures of their ring selections and share them on social media and email to get instant reactions from family and friends.

An AR experience

"You're getting a live view of your hand," JC Hendricks, vice president and creative director for interactive technology at Dimensional Innovations, the company that developed and installed the technology, told Kiosk Marketplace. "The screen uses a camera to see your hand."

The technology also allows the customer to see how rings that are not available in the store will look on the customer's finger, Hendricks said. The store can order rings from other stores or custom-design a ring.

The kiosk offers directions to guide the customer through the ring selecting and viewing process, he said. While sales associates are available for assistance, many customers choose to view the images on their own.

"You don't need someone there to guide you through the process," Hendricks said. "I think people are more comfortable to use AR when they are doing it on their own rather than have someone there."

Many customers prefer to view images by themselves without feeling pressure from a salesperson, he said. Once the customer has decided what they want, they feel empowered to approach a salesperson to discuss it, he said.

"The customer journey can start from home, and evolve through digital touchpoints in the store," Hendricks said. "This gives the customer more control over the experience, and empowers them to make educated decisions along the way."

"Our focus was on improving the customer journey by leveraging cutting-edge technology in ways that (have) not been done before in this market," he said.

Ergonomics meets AR

The development team explored many design iterations from the ground up to determine the best possible customer experience, Dimensional Innovations said in a press release. Using rapid prototyping technology, the palm rest was carefully modeled and tested to address ergonomics, while tracking AR data in real time.

"Some guests know exactly what they want, while others want to explore an endless aisle of possibilities from the size and shape of a diamond or gemstone, to the metal type, to the setting style," Beryl Raff, chairwoman, and CEO of Helzberg Diamonds, said in a prepared statement. "Helzberg Virtual Ring Experience is a great tool to help customers find the perfect ring and give them greater confidence in their jewelry purchasing decisions."

"We know before there's ever a marriage proposal, future grooms and brides spend significant time online researching purchase considerations and exploring engagement ring preferences," said Raff. "Understanding that online shopping often serves as the 'front door' to our retail stores helped us develop our next generation digital store concept. The new technology, like our Virtual Ring Experience, creates a natural bridge between the online and in-store customer experience."

A nationwide rollout

Helzberg Diamonds now has seven "next-generation" stores nationwide which feature the Helzberg Virtual Ring Experience and other digital enhancements, with plans to double that amount by late 2019. In addition to the Virtual Ring Experience, customers can view their selected diamond on a 24-inch 4K screen where they can easily see all of its unique features up close.

Helzberg's Next Generation stores are located at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California; Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California; Concord Pike Mall in Wilmington, Delaware; Rosedale Mall in Rosedale, Minnesota; Hayward Mall in Greenville, South Carolina; The Parks Mall in Arlington, Texas; and Presidio Towne Crossing in Fort Worth, Texas.