Etsy Augmented Reality Wall Art Tool

The problem with buying art—big canvases especially—is that you never know how it will look in your apartment, or if it will even fit in your apartment. You’re often left guessing and hoping that when you do actually make a purchase, everything will be just as you’d hoped (it never always does).

Etsy is trying to solve this with a new feature that allows users to see how a print, painting, or photograph will look on their wall before they buy it. Using augmented reality, users can now project art in different sizes to get a feel if it’s right for them.

Here’s how the fairly simple feature works: Open the Etsy app and choose an item that’s categorized under Art and Collectibles. Tap the AR icon on the top righthand corner of the item image, move your camera to where you’d like to hang it up, and tap again to preview. If multiple sizes are available, you can also zoom in and out to see which canvas size looks best.

The introduction of the feature is timely, as it can now assist more buyers who have been turning to the online platform to fill their décor needs amidst the pandemic. According to Etsy, they’ve seen a 94 percent increase in searches for wall art in the last three months compared to last year. Likewise, there’s been a 63 percent increase in searches for paintings and a 54 percent increase in searches for prints and illustrations.

For now, the Etsy AR is in beta and only works on iPhone and iPad, but the company hopes to make it available on Android as soon as possible.