Art retailer Murus Art collaborating with AR company Poplar Studio to bring online offering virtually to the homes of customers

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Art retailer Murus Art collaborating with AR company Poplar Studio to bring online offering virtually to the homes of customers.

Augmented reality (AR) and 3D creative platform, Poplar Studio, has partnered with Murus Art, the disruptive online art retailer, to launch a new augmented reality experience enabling customers to try and buy art from their home.

Poplar Studio and Murus Art are launching the most seamless customer experience for buying art online. The AR technology allows customers to ‘try before you buy’, revolutionising the market and creating a unique way of buying art - connecting customers and their homes with contemporary affordable art.

The collaboration will see digital-only art retailer Murus Art’s website, launching this Saturday, improved with AR visualisation capabilities, enabling virtual try-on of pieces from their collection of 600-800 paintings at home in the first-of-its kind AR adoption on an art retailer’s or gallery’s website. Visitors to the website will be able to visualise the art on their own wall through going to the painting page and clicking on the ‘View on your wall’ option, available for each piece. The adoption of AR experiences into their catalogue is done through a tool created by Poplar Studio to take all the images of paintings and convert them to 3D models. As the demand for these experiences increases, so does the creation of time and cost-effective solutions. 

In September, the art retailer will be hosting a pop-up event in London, with scannable QR codes available to visualise paintings within the house, combining the digital and physical experience through AR. 

The pandemic has caused a shift in buying patterns, forcing customers online across all sectors. For online-only businesses such as Murus Art, having the competitive advantage of a user-friendly experience online has driven demand since the pandemic. 

Throughout the pandemic, art businesses have been looking at how to replicate the in-person experience of viewing and buying art pieces. Many have been turning to AR technology to adapt to an online or hybrid form of retail, engaging with customers in new ways through campaigns, though Murus Art are the first to have this level of tech innovation for their whole collection. 

Rose O’Shea, co-founder Murus Art, said: “Our mission has always been to make buying art online easier and more accessible. We knew from speaking to our customers one of the biggest pain points in buying art online was the inability to visualise what a piece of art would look like in their home. The solution developed through our partnership with Poplar Studio solves this problem and gives our customers an unprecedented service, offering the full augmented reality experience across our entire catalogue of affordable original art.”

David Ripert, CEO and co-founder of Poplar Studio, said: “The pandemic has forced many brands online, increasing competition as they all vied for customers’ attention. With online-only businesses such as Murus Art already leading the way in customer engagement and experiences online, it’s only natural that they’re one of the first within the art world to utilise AR technology to enhance the customer experience shopping from home. We’re thrilled to add Murus Art to our growing clients within the art world as we move to a new way of viewing and purchasing art through technology.”