US department store chain Kmart and its media agency Universal McCann have launched a web-based augmented reality (AR) ad campaign in partnership with immersive ad tech firm OmniVirt.

Kmart worked with OmniVirt to create and serve AR display ads programmatically across the web, enabling customers to virtually try on Kmart decor and furniture products.

Users interact with the ad by playing with a 3D object of a given Kmart product. They then place the true-to-scale 3D product into their natural environment using their phone’s camera. This allows a potential customer to accurately visualize how that product would look in their own space.

OmniVirt distributed the AR ad across sites such as Daily Mail, Yahoo!, Reddit, Buzzfeed, Apartment Therapy, and more, targeting Australian consumers.

The ad is similar in nature to the AR functionality within Swedish furniture retailer IKEA’s app, which enables customer to virtually place pieces of furniture within their own home to see how they would look and fit.

According to OmniVirt, performance is a key reason why furniture retailer and other brands are investing in the technology. A study by the company showed that users spend an average of 22 seconds engaging with an AR display ad, and that 7.5 per cent of users actively engaged with an AR ad after clicking on it.