Understanding AR, VR, and MR Technologies and Their Applications in E‑commerce

In early 2017 Alipay launched the "Five Blessings" AR red‑envelope campaign, claiming to repay users with digital "敬业福" and attracting over 60 million participants, illustrating how AR can boost marketing engagement with relatively low advertising spend per user.

The article notes that, based on participation rates, AR usage in China likely exceeds 200 million users, and the total red‑envelope budget reached roughly 200 million yuan, highlighting the commercial impact of immersive technologies.

Beyond Alipay, the piece surveys Alibaba's AR/VR initiatives—including the Buy platform releases—and describes how other e‑commerce giants such as JD.com, eBay, and Amazon are integrating VR shopping experiences and AR‑enhanced retail, emphasizing the strategic importance of these technologies for competitive differentiation.

It then clarifies the fundamental differences between AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and MR (mixed reality), defining AR as the overlay of digital information onto the real world, VR as a fully simulated virtual environment, and MR as a seamless blend of both real and virtual elements.

The article provides a concise overview of VR, describing it as a three‑dimensional simulated world that delivers immersive visual and auditory experiences, and lists typical devices such as Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and others.

For AR, it explains vision‑based approaches that overlay graphics onto real‑world surfaces using markers or marker‑less techniques, and location‑based approaches that combine GPS, compass, and accelerometer data to anchor virtual content to geographic points, noting the advantages of marker‑less and LBS‑based AR for mobile deployment.

Mixed reality (MR) is presented as a newer paradigm that merges physical and digital objects in real time, with current prototypes like Magic Leap offering only conceptual demonstrations rather than mature products.

Finally, the article includes a QR‑code reminder encouraging readers to search for “ICT_Architect” or “扫一扫” to follow the public account for more content.