Kohl's Partners With Snapchat AR for Holiday Pop-Up & Black Friday Promotions

All Kohl's wants for Christmas is Snapchat augmented reality.

In conjunction with a holiday pop-up hosted in New York City from Nov. 7 through Nov. 10, Snapchat ran a sponsored portal lens available to targeted Snapchat users in the AR carousel. The experience gave users the ability to virtually transport themselves to the pop-up.

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Built on Snapchat's Shoppable AR e-commerce platform, users were also able to shop for products through Kohl's online store.

For those who were able to attend the pop-up in person, a marker-based lens enabled attendees to take a selfie with a virtual replica of designer Vera Wang at the Simply Vera Vera Wang shop.

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

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Kohl's will continue to deploy Snapchat AR for Black Friday with a football mini-game that challenges users to catch gifts and Kohl's Cash (the retailers take on loyalty rewards) in their cart. (While footage of the AR experience was not available at the time of publication, the experience sounds similar to the camera effect recently published by Target.

Traditional brick and mortar retailers typically have to choose between using augmented reality to provide in-store experiences that draw customers to their physical locations or to push shoppers to shop online. And Snapchat has the AR technology to facilitate either approach.

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

Tommy Palladino/Next Reality

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For in-store experiences, Snapchat's marker-based technology enables brands to turn point-of-purchase advertising into exclusive AR experiences, as exhibited by Nike, the NBA, and HBO.

Meanwhile, Shoppable AR turns AR experiences into calls to action, whether it is to purchase products online or install apps, as employed by brands like Levi's, Sony Pictures, and Blizzard Entertainment.

With Kohl's holiday pop-up, Snapchat demonstrates how retailers can have their cake and eat it, too.

Cover image via Kohl's/YouTube