While the metaverse and Web3 may be the fashionable tech trends of the moment, capturing the most amount of attention from many key proponents in the digital space, AR may well be a far more significant innovation practical and immediately applicable to some use cases that can provide direct value and enhancement to your life.

And with AR glasses in development at several of the tech giants, it certainly does seem like AR is going to become a much more important factor at some point-probably before the VR-led metaverse becomes real.

But it doesn't get anywhere near the same attention or interest.

So how do people actually feel about AR, and why is this element being passed over mostly by businesses?

To put that into better perspective, Snapchat recently partnered with Ipsos to survey more than 25k people across 16 markets better to understand consumer views and also how brands consider AR and its worth in a variety of applications.

You can download the full, 34-page 'Augmentality Shift' report here, but we'll cut down the highlights for you in this post:.

That's the advanced opportunities that make AR, beyond fun filters and tools, according to the report.

Snapchat maintains that:

"When it comes to Augmented Reality and its full potential, brands are just seeing the tip of the iceberg."

In fact, Snap reveals that, by 2025, some 60% of people in the US - and nearly everyone who uses social/communications apps - will be using AR every day.

Again, with such predictions, it feels like we're jumping too early on the metaverse-and falling behind on Web3 projects in NFTs.
The potential to use developing AR capabilities to enrich the shopping experience is huge, given the rise of e-commerce and the role that AR may have in providing more context for buying decisions.
But it's more than that – AR can also have variously educational and inspirational purposes and offer extended involvement in many ways.
Nevertheless, the report indicates huge gaps which separate consumers' perceptions of value delivered to them by AR from the ways it is being delivered by brands.
Again, it gives a sense that the bets on the far-off metaverse are driving attention away from what may exist in the bridging technology of which it is one pole. In a way, AR can be of more direct use - unlike brainstorming for digital collectibles as a promotion or designing a virtual world for your brand.     The report further burrows into ways that the augmented reality component may fit into the buying path of e-commerce.

There's also plenty of tips about how to introduce AR into the business process, as well as some key considerations to be used for effective implementation.
A good guide, and in ways possibly a wake-up call, breaking companies out of their hype cycles, then back into what is of more value right now.
Of course, some will argue that the 'metaverse' concept and Web3 collectively encompass AR, so it's all one big next-level push. It's not. Each is a separate element, and AR experiences can be built today to deliver real, practical value within your campaigns.