30+ Extended Reality Statistics: Market Size, Trends and Facts in 2024

Th XR market was valued at $131.54 billion in 2023, estimated to reach $183.96 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2032.¹ 

The gaming industry accounted for 28.6% of the global extended reality market share in 2023. VR gaming and cloud gaming companies are some of the pioneers of extended reality technology. Using XR, these gaming extended reality companies have successfully enhanced game graphics, and boosted the engagement and speed of game consoles.¹ 

North America accounted for 40% of the global extended reality market share in 2022. North America’s notable dominance in the XR market highlights its substantial role in fostering XR growth and adoption across various industries.⁷

North America’s booming landscape of tech companies, research institutions and venture capital organizations — as well as its high emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship — have made it the epicenter of XR development and investment.⁷

Spending in Europe in 2023 on AR was valued at $1.1 billion and spending on VR was valued at $3.4 billion, totaling $4.5 billion. Combined AR/VR spending is predicted to reach $10.5 billion in 2027, growing ata 24.9% CAGR from 2022 to 2027. While AR/VR spending in Europe was reduced in 2023 due to high inflation and other macroeconomic factors, many companies have taken cautious measures to resolve these issues.⁵

AR had a significant market share of 55% in 2022, with regard to technology, and is forecast to grow by a CAGR of 30.8% from 2023 to 2032. This segment’s substantial growth indicates the increasing integration of AR technology in smartphones, smart glasses and other devices.⁷

With regard to component analysis, the software segment accounted for 65% of revenue share in 2022. Its dominance in the XR market can be attributed to the growing demand for software solutions that enhance the immersive experience in extended reality environments.⁷  

These solutions span various software categories that augment extended reality experiences, including content creation tools, development platforms and application software.⁷

A 2023 study shows that the use of VR and AR in has increased in education, with 78% of respondents indicating that their organization had adopted XR technologies, compared to 54% in a 2019 study.⁸

Just 55% of institutions that have embraced extended reality solutions indicated moderate to extensive use. Higher education institutions reported 67% moderate to extensive use, while further education reported 46% moderate to extensive use.⁸

More than half of respondents in higher education had invested in at least 50 extended reality headsets. Only 25% of respondents in further education (FE) reported the same level of investment in headsets. The higher levels of investment in HE compared to FE suggest greater resource allocation for XR tech in higher education institutions.⁸

Of those surveyed, 31% of respondents from higher education (HE) institutions had purchased a large number of headsets (over 100) for their organization. The study showed that investment in XR tech was directly proportional to usage.⁸

Of those surveyed, 68%of the organizations that had actively invested in XR reported that they had obtained content via a mixed model approach — some of the resources were developed in-house, and others were obtained from open-source and external providers.⁸

During a 2022 survey of 1,250 event organizers and attendees, 90% of organizers thought all large events would be hybrid or virtual in 2023, while 84% of the respondents wanted to have a virtual option for events. Ease of setup and the ability to attend from any global location were two key factors contributing to this preference for virtual meetings.⁶

In 2021, 92% of event organizers had adopted virtual events as their main mode of hosting meetings, and 94% of them had planned to host virtual events in 2022.⁶

Of those surveyed, 73% of virtual event attendees expressed high satisfaction with their experiences at virtual meetings, even when companies had to host impromptu events in unfavorable conditions. In addition, 93% of attendees applaud companies for how they switched from in-person meetings to online meetings.⁶

Of the event organizers surveyed, 28% cited increasing brand awareness as their main objective for hosting virtual events, compared to 21% who said they created virtual events to generate revenue through ticket sales. In addition, 17% said they hosted virtual meetings to build new relationships.⁶  This shows a shift away from relationship building, compared to in-person events, when the main goal for organizers was to build relationships (32%).

The top reason for attendees to participate in virtual events is to learn more about the company or brand (36%), compared to in-person events, when attendees cited building new relationships (39%) as the top reason.⁶

Valued at $1.86 billion in 2023, projections indicate that head-worn AR could reach $5.34 billion by 2028, which is a 23.52 CAGR. Although headworn AR is considered the final aim of AR technology, it’s still in its early stages because it relies on advanced technology.⁹

However, there are several indications that the growth of VR headset usage will start to pick up, such as the advent of mixed reality in VR. Mixed reality refers to the blending of physical and virtual worlds through next-generation sensing technologies.¹⁰

Just 26% of consumers say they’re willing to try VR technology. In addition, 82% of consumers who expressed their disinterest said that they were “just not interested.” The low levels of customer satisfaction and interest in VR technology highlight a catch-22 dilemma for the industry.¹⁰

For VR tech to achieve customer satisfaction, people must first be willing to try it. Yet based on the above statistics, non-users show low levels of interest in the technology. This poses a huge challenge for VR proponents tasked with fostering the technology’s adoption.¹⁰

The market is also forecast to grow at a CAGR of 39.8% from 2023 to 2030. This growth can be attributed to an increasing interest from leading corporations — including Google LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc. and others — to incorporate augmented reality (AR) technology in numerous applications.³

This segment led the market with a share of close to 60%. Its dominance can be traced to the rising demand for augmented reality technology worldwide and its compatibility with older hardware devices.³

This projected growth can be linked to the increasing implementation of AR technology in medical training, surgical visualization and vein visualization.³

North America comprises world-class technology companies such as Google LLC, Apple Inc., Microsoft and more, which was a contributing factor to the growth in this region.³

The Asia-Pacific region continues to grow rapidly because of its booming industries, such as the logistics, manufacturing, gaming and automotive industries. Another contributing factor to this growth is the increasing adoption of 5G technology in the Asia-Pacific, which fosters the use of AR technology and AR-based solutions across the region.³

The Global augmented gaming market was worth $3.331 billion in 2017, and it’s expected to grow by $24.12 billion between 2022 and 2027. Rising investment in AR is a key factor contributing to growth in this field. These increased investments foster innovation and development. Additionally, the rising prevalence of cloud gaming technology facilitates high-quality AR and VR gaming experiences without requiring expensive hardware.¹¹ 

Consumers have a higher level of interest in augmented reality than brands are interested in providing those features. For example, 78% of consumers are interested in AR in navigation maps, while only 31% of brands have that interest.² Additionally, 68% of consumers are interested in AR for exploring the world and traveling, while only 26% of brands are interested.²

In this category, 77% of consumers said they would like to adopt AR for learning and 68% are interested in AR for instructions. With this technology, educators and teachers can use AI to incorporate personalized, game-based learning into their curriculum, optimizing the learning experience.²

Of the consumers surveyed, 67% said they want to experience AR at events and conferences, while 74% expressed interest in AR-driven experiences for entertainment at concerts and sporting events.²

Six in 10 consumers say AR helps them shop differently, in ways that are new and exciting, including allowing them to “try on” products to purchase with more confidence. In fact, there is a 94% higher purchase conversion rate for products with AR experiences.² 

Brands such as Nike have demonstrated the power of integrating AR with the online shopping experience. Its innovative use of AR in the social commerce space has increased its popularity among younger demographics.² 

When it comes to making returns, 80% of consumers said that using AR in product testing could lead to fewer product returns. By allowing consumers to have an immersive feel for products through AR technology, they can make more informed and accurate purchasing decisions, resulting in fewer returns.²

Of those surveyed, 77%of consumers indicated a high interest in testing a product with AR technology before buying. This underscores the growing trend of consumers seeking more engaging experiences before making purchasing decisions.²