You will soon be able try on those sunglasses that caught your eye from the comfort of your newsfeed, after Facebook announced it was launching new augmented reality (AR) advertisements.
The social media giant announced it had already started testing AR ads with Michael Kors in the US, with plans to bring on more retail big names in time for the end-of-year holiday season.
Vice president of product marketing, Ty Ahmed-Taylor said the new ads could change the way people shop.
“People traditionally have to go into stores to do this,” he said about trying on items like sunglasses and makeup.
“People still really love that experience, but they would like to try it at home — so this bridges the gap.
“People now expect a personalised and visually inspiring experience wherever they shop, whether on their phone or in-store,” he said.
Facebook has indicated that beauty company Sephora was next in line to try out the product, with fashion accessories, cosmetics, furniture, games and entertainment also in the pipeline.
The ads look identical to normal Facebook ads in the newsfeed, except with the addition of a “tap to try on” feature.
It is not the first time AR-powered advertisements have been used on social platforms.
Snapchat has had significant success using 'Snap Ad to AR ad', with companies paying between US$500,000 and $1,000,000 per day to use the service late last year.
A dip in Snapchat’s popularity has seen this cost drop to around US$40,000 per day currently, Digiday reported.
Facebook has also been using AR advertisements on its Messenger service since May this year and has already collaborated with Nike.
Alongside its AR push, Facebook also announced a new Video Creation Kit which makes it easier for advertisers to format ads for phones.
