Education, healthcare, discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing, and professional services are the highest spending industries, and will dominate over the forecast period. These five industries registered 65% of 2022 spending for commercial use cases among the 19 industries covered by IDC. Training emerged as one of the top three investment priorities for four out of five industries listed above. Collaboration is gaining incremental impetus, with education, discrete manufacturing, and professional services being the forerunners in adopting AR/VR technologies.
APAC AR/VR Spending to Reach $16.6b by 2026
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Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APEJ) spending on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies will grow with a CAGR of 42.4% from 2021 to 26 and reach $16.6 billion by 2026, according to a report by the IDC. The penetration of the wireless-first strategy amongst enterprises, industries, and public sector organizations will drive AR/VR technology investment. However, from a retail consumer perspective, there is a lack of consumer-friendly AR/VR technology, which will change over the next couple of years. Vendors will improve VR goggles and AR for smart glasses and phones, and disrupt augmented audio technology, thereby offering promising growth opportunities to the consumer market.
“In both the reality types, hardware showcases maximum investment in 2022 followed by software, and services.”
“Customer agility is one of the primary aspects driving investment in AR/VR technology. It helps in improving the customer journey by offering an immersive experience,” says Abhik Sarkar, Market Analyst at IDC Asia/Pacific IT Spending Guides, Customer Insights & Analysis.
The top five use cases captured nearly 60% of the total 2022 investment. Training captured the largest revenue share in 2022 and grew by 44.7% from 2021. With collaboration, it will capture a spending share of 30.1% in 2022. For the enterprise VR users, metaverse will act as a collaborative space for partners, employees, and customers. VR gaming is the most significant contributor to the consumer industry owing to users’ immersive and enhanced gaming experience.
Investments in VR contributed to around 66% of the total market in 2022. It is driven primarily by the growth of consumer market adoption of virtual reality games. Spending on VR training and collaboration will also lead to VR technology investments during the forecast period. As far as AR is concerned, training, retail showcasing, and industrial maintenance will lead to increased investments. In both the reality types, hardware showcases maximum investment in 2022 followed by software, and services. This trend is expected to stay the same over the forecast with hardware growing at a CAGR of 48.1%, software at 47.1%, and services at 20.8%.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which specific industries are leading the investment in AR/VR technologies?
Which specific industries are leading the investment in AR/VR technologies?
A.
Education, healthcare, discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing, and professional services are currently the highest spending industries. These five sectors accounted for 65% of commercial spending in 2022 and are expected to dominate throughout the forecast period.
Q.What is driving the growth of AR/VR spending from a commercial perspective?
What is driving the growth of AR/VR spending from a commercial perspective?
A.
Organisations' demand for new immersive experiences in their business operations and interactions with clients and employees is a key driver. Also, the increasing penetration of a wireless-first strategy among enterprises, industries, and the public sector is also fueling investment.
Q.How do consumer-facing AR/VR technologies compare to enterprise adoption?
How do consumer-facing AR/VR technologies compare to enterprise adoption?
A.
There is currently a lack of consumer-friendly AR/VR technology, but this is expected to change in the next couple of years. Vendors will improve VR goggles and AR for smart glasses and phones to offer growth opportunities in the consumer market, particularly for VR gaming.
Q.What are the primary investment areas within AR/VR technology?
What are the primary investment areas within AR/VR technology?
A.
Hardware currently attracts the maximum investment, followed by software and then services. This trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, with hardware seeing the highest compound annual growth rate at 48.1%.
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