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Digital Counterfeits

Some Burberry products are showing up with high-quality 3D models in Google search results. Burberry is, as far as I know, the first brand in the UK to take advantage of the AR search feature that Google announced back in May last year. You can see an example of how it works in the video below.

Product previews and try-ons are a genuine use-case for AR, contingent on them being the right product; shoes and accessories (Burberry), spectacles (Snap), electronics (Apple), and furniture (IKEA) are all good examples.

What’s really interesting, though, is the possible emergence of a new behaviour: digital counterfeiting.

Can’t afford $645 glasses? Wear a digital counterfeit instead. If you post a video or photo to your social channels, who’ll know the difference?

As with physical goods, the quality and the detail will be the things that give away fake models. Businesses might have to rush to release high-quality 3D models of their products to avoid a flood of knock-offs.