XPO "augments" home delivery service

As any dedicated online shopper can tell you, furniture and apparel retailers today often offer augmented reality (AR) apps that allow shoppers to "try on" clothing or "see" how furniture and appliances would look in their homes or offices before buying. Now, a transportation and logistics company is getting into the act as well.

Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO Logistics Inc., which is a major player in the heavy-goods last-mile delivery sector, says it will be adding AR to its Ship XPO consumer self-service smartphone app later this year. Shoppers will be able to use the technology to visualize how heavy goods, like sofas, beds, and appliances, will look in their living rooms, bedrooms, or kitchens. Among other benefits, the virtual preview will allow customers to determine the ideal placement inside the home in advance of delivery. It will also alert them to potential problems with the product's shape, size, color, or fit, enabling them to cancel the delivery before drivers carry a heavy couch up three flights of stairs, XPO says.

"The technology creates a virtual image of how an item will look in a given room, dramatically decreasing the likelihood of returns," Troy Cooper, president of XPO Logistics, said in a statement. "Augmented reality enhances the efficiency of the entire last-mile process, reducing time inside the home and the risk of product damage."