Snap opens an AR holiday market for Black Friday

Starting on Black Friday (November 26), US Snapchat users were able to access an AR holiday market through the app, featuring immersive experiences from six brands. 

Coca-Cola, Hollister, Prime Video, Under Armour, Verizon and Walmart will have custom AR spaces on the app where people can browse products and snag holiday deals. Users can access the lenses through each participating brand’s public profile on Snapchat, in addition to the lens carousel on their home camera screen. 

Coca-Cola’s AR room will virtually recreate a visit to Santa at the mall, where users can take a photo with Santa and experience AR surprises. Users can explore Hollister’s winter collection in a custom virtual retail space that links back to a microsite where they can make purchases.

Prime Video will have a virtual trailer room where people can watch clips from Thursday Night Football, as well as trailers for Amazon Originals including The Wheel of Time, Fairfax, Tampa Baes, and I Know What You Did Last Summer to watch the latest trailers. Users can also subscribe to Prime Video directly within the AR experience.

Under Armour’s ice-covered AR stadium lets users purchase activewear for the winter sports season. And Verizon will create an AR treasure hunt for holiday deals; consumers can make purchases directly through the lens. 

Finally, users can explore products from Walmart’s holiday gift guide at its AR store.

The immersive experiences come as Snapchat, which has more than 6 billion AR lens plays daily, doubles down on its AR capabilities. In October, the tech company launched a brand studio, Arcadia, to help brands use AR on and off Snapchat. Earlier this year, Snap also partnered with WPP to help brands build AR-based experiences, with a focus on e-commerce.

“The holiday shopping season is a critical time for brands to engage with consumers, and augmented reality is the most personal, immersive and effective way to do so,” said Luke Kallis, VP of US advertiser solutions at Snap, in a press release. “It’s incredibly exciting to see brands lean into our AR platform at this important time of year.”

In addition to the holiday market, fashion and beauty brands including American Eagle, Fendi, Dior, NYX Cosmetics, Shein and Tory Burch have partnered with Snap on AR try-on and e-commerce lenses for the holiday shopping season. 

Snap will also run ads between Thanksgiving and New Years to help users discover the lenses. And on December 6, Snap will launch an OOH campaign in New York City encouraging users to open the app and “scan to shop” various QR codes. 

According to Snap e-commerce data, 72% of Snapchat users plan to shop this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and 79% are interested in using AR to try on or visualize products in a space. Last year, Snap saw a 119% increase in total online purchases from its user base in November and December compared to the year prior. 

Snap was not available for comment.