The visual economy has introduced a new paradigm for retailers - Augmented Reality (AR). The marriage between retail and AR unlocks a whole new experience for buyers to be delighted by, which means more customers for businesses.

Should you use the STEP 3D file format? Like with all 3D file formats, it depends on what you are trying to do. Here, I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the STEP file format so you can decide if it is right the task at hand.

The Wavefront OBJ format is the most widely adopted 3D model storage format. The file format name, OBJ, is in reference to its purpose of storing 3D OBJects. The OBJ format was originally the native file format for the 1980s era Advanced Visualizer 3D modeling package. Advanced Visualizer 3D is now obsolete, but some of its code was incorporated into its successor, the Maya 3D editing suite. In addition to just the OBJ geometry format, it has a sister format called MAT, which is used for material definitions.

What do helmets, couches, and watches all have in common? Not much, except that all are part of the explosive  digital commerce trend, online 3D product configuration. While the manufacturers of these products are leading the way, most products will inevitably be sold this way before long. In fact, most customers will come to expect it as a natural part of their e-commerce experience. While selecting colors and textures has been a mainstay of product customization for quite some time, the new trend is to offer customers hundreds of options so that they can see their specific come to life in intricate, exquisite detail.

We know that in today's visual economy, consumers are hungry for AR technology. In fact, 71.5% say that AR is the “future technology they are most eager to use.”  But the truth is, augmented reality (AR) on the web may not be as far into the future as some think.  It's a complex story because the underlying technology for AR on the web is not yet mature.

This week our team was in Las Vegas for the annual Shoptalk event. We met with thousands of retail leaders, industry experts, analysts, partners, and technologists. We attended fantastic sessions and loved meeting face-to-face with prospects and partners at the round table discussions. Most importantly, we learned what’s trending from the industry leaders: