Snapchat is adding one more string to its in-stream commerce bow, this time in partnership with Amazon and via a new deal, adding thousands of Amazon's best-selling eyewear models to Snap Lenses in the app for virtual try-ons.
The 'Amazon Fashion' profile in the app now carries wide-ranging choices for virtual try-ons on eyewear, effectively providing as an ancillary shopping channel to the same item ordered online through Amazon.

As described by Snap:

"The new Snapchat try-on Lenses feature thousands of Amazon's popular eyewear products, enabling Amazon brands to leverage their Amazon AR assets and showcase styles in a fun, interactive experience to millions of Snapchatters."

According to Snap, customers will now be able to explore, shop, and digitally try on thousands of eyewear styles right within the app and then seamlessly purchase in the Amazon Fashion store.

The process works in tandem with Amazon's recently released AR try-on display options for glasses in its app and allows retailers now to pair their AR creations across to Snap as well, maximising reach.

More customers shop on mobile-more than one billion fashion items ordered by Amazon Fashion customers last year on mobile. Now, Amazon's best-selling eyewear brands including Maui Jim, Persol, Oakley, and Costa Del Mar among others are also available to Snapchat's ever-growing community of 363M daily active users.

This is one of the primary chances for AR: as a sideline channel for trying out items that you are thinking of buying online. The flaw in shopping online is that the consumers can't really see the item and get a feel for what it is like. AR is the closest to such a simulation, although it is fairly limited at this point, in terms of scaling virtual items to the right size, and giving one a realistic user experience; the technology is always coming along, with improved LiDAR detection in new phone models now making all-new options for AR simulation tools possible.
And don't bet against it, Snap is going to be leaning on this. Snap is currently developing more advanced AR models to provide more product options for display and enhanced virtual experiences, and as such, you can bet, as the technology continues forward, Snap will continue to tack on more AR shopping improvements along the same lines.

That would actually be a huge opportunity, for the short as well as long term, within the foreseen metaverse shift.