Mobile augmented reality (AR) revenue is expected to reach $1.2bn by 2015 thanks to games, a report from the Juniper Research has predicted.
The AR revenue in 2013 was more than $180m, while games contributed to over 40% of AR downloads in 2013.
The report said because AR adoption is becoming more common in lifestyle, enterprise and general entertainment applications, these sectors are expected to boost annual mobile AR revenues to over $1bn over the next five to six years.
Brands like Unilever, Nestle and Heinz are looking at AR as an important means of improving and increasing engagement within campaigns because mobile has grown as a primary engagement channel.
In the future AR revenues are expected to be primarily driven by smartphones, while AR apps through smart wearables will offer significant profits, as Google Glass is expected to be launched later this year and Samsung is rumoured to showcase its own smart glasses.
The report forecasts that the number of AR app users will reach 200 million by 2018.
