Pinterest Inc. is shaking up the furniture shopping world by allowing users to see how furniture will look in their living space with augmented reality. The new tool is in partnership with West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and Wayfair Inc. and will include a staggering 20,000 products initially. Augmented reality is a natural fit for furniture shopping and Senior VP of engineering at Pinterest, Jeremy King, says the AR will allow shoppers to make better decisions by visualizing the furniture in their existing space. Pinterest already leverages the mind’s eye with virtual trying-on of clothing items. Augmented reality was originally used as a brand awareness tool but is swiftly shifting into the facility of the sale of items. There are still lots of limitations to scale and model accuracy when it comes to AR but the field is growing rapidly and other brands are rushing to pair with AR companies for their products.
