SAN ANTONIO -

If a consumer sees a vehicle they like at the grocery store parking lot, their child’s school or just about anywhere, USAA is giving its members the opportunity to gain information immediately about potentially buying a similar unit.

USAA — which provides insurance, banking, investments, retirement products and advice to more than 12.4 million current and former members of the U.S. military and their families — announced this week it is piloting an augmented reality application that aims to make vehicle buying easier for its members.

The app, which uses Blippar’s car recognition and AR technology, can allow members who are in the market to buy to point their mobile device at any vehicle year 2000 or newer and instantly see information like purchase price, cost of insurance and any similar vehicles for sale in the area overlaid on the car.

AR — which is probably best-known for gaming apps, such as Pokémon GO — is predicted to play a key role in consumers’ shopping experiences in the future. The USAA app will allow a member to quickly access USAA’s Car Buying Service, including local dealers and interest rates, in addition to providing cost and availability information.

Providing convenient and innovative self-service solutions has always been critical to serving USAA’s members.

“Since 1922, USAA’s goal has been to provide great service through exceptional experiences,” said Chris Cox, chief digital officer at USAA. “We welcome the opportunity to explore a variety of augmented reality use cases that are ultimately meant to make our members’ lives easier and facilitate their financial security.”

The app is being piloted on USAA’s member innovation website, usaalabs.com. Members can login and sign up to participate in the pilot to test the app and provide feedback. The company will then incorporate that feedback into the next phase of the app.

“Trends show that consumers are increasingly using digital channels to complete the entire car buying process,” said Heather Pollard, vice president of USAA Auto Experience. “By testing this new augmented reality capability, we hope to transform and enhance our members’ experience by making it as easy as possible for them to access the information they want, when they want it.”