Returns are the lumps of coal in retailers’ stockings during the peak holiday season. But 3D and augmented reality shopping tools can not only prevent returns, they can boost confidence that shoppers are picking the right holiday items, and offer immersive features that can drive sales and brand trust.

The peak holiday season is also when returns and exchanges spike. While year-round return rates for retail hover hover around 10%, during the holidays that number more than doubles, with an estimated 28% of holiday gifts returned or exchanged, according to data from Red Stag and Optoro.Online, the number is higher still.One in three global consumers have returned an online purchase in the past three months, according to research from UPS, which predicts that during the holiday season, returns spike 26% higher than average. Such high volumes of inbound returned merchandise put a strain on retail staff, cause inventory pileups, and cut into holiday margins.

Thankfully, merchants have a powerful tool to combat the scourge of holiday returns. The technology that powers 3D and AR commerce is rapidly becoming mainstream, which means shoppers can view products from multiple angles and virtually try items in context, all without needing specialized equipment or cell phone apps. Demand is rising for 3D and AR tools that help connect shoppers with the right products: 57% of respondents in a Vertebrae survey want AR to help visualize how items would look in their environments, and a quarter said they want to use AR to try on makeup or new looks.

Shoppers who use 3D and AR to select items for purchase are less likely to discover unpleasant surprises when they arrive. During the holidays, not only can immersive tools help gift givers pick the right items to match others’ wish lists; 3D and AR can also eliminate uncertainty for the more than half of consumers who buy items for themselves during the holidays. By meeting expectations the first time around, sellers can boost confidence in their brand.

To stem the tide of holiday returns using 3D and AR assets, retailers should:

Start with marquee products

Merchants should spotlight 3D and AR for the high-consideration products likely to earn top seller status. Especially when shoppers are rushing to take advantage of limited-time offers, enabling close inspection of big-ticket items can boost online purchase confidence: shoppers can ensure electronics have the right ports, handbags are made of the right materials, or furniture fits in its designated space. 3D and AR are also especially apt for products that can be personalized; custom configurators can bring shoppers’ designs to virtual life, enabling them to view items in detail and at real-life scale prior to placing orders.

Promote 3D alongside AR

In the rush to promote cutting-edge AR features, merchants tend to overlook 3D, which can be a valuable tool in its own right for helping holiday shoppers comprehend product sizing, style, and dimensions. Overall, shoppers find 3D to be 38% more engaging than traditional 2D photos, according to a study by Vertebrae — and the ability to zoom in and examine products from every angle is especially crucial for mobile shoppers, given that the inability to see items clearly is a leading mobile purchase hurdle. Enabling accurate product evaluation on smaller screens is especially important during the holidays, when some 70% of smartphone users say they’ll use their devices to buy holiday gifts.

Integrate throughout the holiday experience

Retailers invested in 3D and AR assets should make them widely available across the growing number of touchpoints that support web-based immersive features. On the e-commerce site, the availability of 3D and AR should be highlighted in gift guides and available through interactive offerings such as customer support live chat and personal shopper messaging services. Offline, brands should experiment with 3D and AR links in printed catalogs and on store signage and shelf tags to encourage shoppers in the aisles to connect with immersive assets.

Additionally, brands should take advantage of new opportunities to syndicate 3D and AR content widely. Facebook is working with Vertebrae to help retailers develop AR commerce across its properties, while earlier this year, Google announced 3D and AR product visualizations would be accessible in search results.

Given that more than half of shoppers look to search engines and one in five turn to social media for gift inspiration, accurately portraying details and dimensions through immersive assets can help retailers set product expectations from the earliest stages of the holiday shopping journey, boosting chances that gifts will satisfy sender and recipient alike.

Sellers are bracing not only for peak season sales, but also the wave of returns that inevitably follow. By addressing key questions before shoppers click “buy,” immersive 3D and AR tools can minimize the potential for returns, ensuring that brands succeed during the holidays and establish a credible reputation for the long term that earns trust and loyalty.