AR Door, a Russian agency specialized in Augmented Reality solutions, teamed up with Topshop, a woman and man clothes retailer, to create a virtual fitting room for a new collection of dresses Dress up.
The virtual fitting room is built on the most sophisticated technologies: augmented reality and Microsoft Kinect. Augmented reality allows the customers to select a garment off the rack without having to try it on physically. As a customer, you see yourself onscreen with a 3D copy of a dress. Kinect allows the user to control the program by simple gestures pushing virtual buttons right in the air.
Kinect Fitting Room for Topshop
Topshop, an international fashion retailer; recently installed a virtual fitting room in its flagship Moscow store last week as an experiment. The virtual fitting room, designed by AR Door, makes use of a Kinect motion sensor as well as a camera and a large screen to let customers try out clothes without going through the hassle of actually changing their clothes.
Clothes buying, both in-store and online, is set to change with help from interactive and virtual assistants. Interactive mirrors, virtual changing rooms, a personalised fitting service and a mobile app all aim to help consumers find the clothes and the look they want more easily. They may also reduce costs for online retailers and help them reach new customers.
The first test unit was available as a pop-up for use by shoppers (in English, Chines or Japanese) in Ikebukuro from June 17th to 30th. Look out for similar machines in train stations, departments stores and airport terminals; Urban Research plans to install six virtual fitting room vendors in 2014 and to have around 100 units in operation by 2020, including overseas. The brand already has a showroom in Taipei and wants to push the new virtual dressing room to Asian markets in the future, since it is much cheaper than opening up actual branches in new regions. Its online retail arm also currently occupies roughly a 20% share of its sales and it is aggressively expanding on this.
Virtual fitting rooms, augmented reality applications, product information displayed via iPads -- there is no doubt that the traditional high-street retail experience is changing and the trend for in-store technology is growing.
Getting social Supermarket chain Tesco is also one of a number of retailers to utilize social media and the shopping experience in a virtual manner with the creation of its Facebook Dressing room. This concept, launched February 29, combines the popular social networking site with an ability to try on clothes without leaving the house. Users simply log onto the clothing at Tesco Facebook page, create a 3D image of themselves by either uploading a photo of their face and body or by entering their measurements; they can thereafter superimpose clothes from Tesco's range over this avatar and share the results with their friends via the social networking site. Emily Shamma, director of Tesco Clothing Online, commented on the appeal of Tesco's Facebook integrated virtual fitting room "It [is] quick and easy to use, particularly for customers who don't have the time or dislike having to trek around the shops."
From the internet to your living room However it is not just brick-and-mortar stores that are embracing cutting-edge technology in order to make their customers feel confident about buying clothes without trying them on, in the traditional sense, first. Popular online-only retailers such as Tobi.com, which first introduced online fitting rooms in 2009, and Bananaflame.co.uk among others are making use of the shopper's webcam to provide a virtual fitting experience. A representative of Fits.me a leading provider an online fitting rooms explained the rising trend for virtual fittings among internet-only retailers to Relaxnews, "It is the same as brick-and-mortar stores, different brands have different sizes and customers have a right to know that what they are buying fits them before they purchase it, the same as in a bricks and mortar store." Consumer concerns However despite the booming trend to include cutting-edge technology in the high street, online and mobile shopping experience some have their doubts. In 2011 blog businessnerds.wordpress addressed issues with Topshop's virtual fitting room in Moscow complaining that the virtual clothes are "still and static" and asking "can you trust the system?" while in a March 10 New York Times business article Sherry Turkleprofessor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology complained that "shoppers lost something intrinsic to the human experience when they avoided salespeople."
Nowadays, Fashion players are under pressure to become digital-first by leveraging new technologies. Retailers are using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce automation tools that offer personalized customer experiences. Moreover, innovative brands will likely take share as fit technology, virtual fitting rooms, AI-powered virtual shopping assistants and virtual stylish which helps consumers tailor or select the size and look most closely aligned with their tastes.
AR and VR are core pillars influencing fashion, but it seems that AR has so far been leading the charge. Apparel industries will use AR mirrors to try on products conveniently and customers might be able to see themselves wearing the products, which personalize some items online or buy digital versions of the clothing to dress online avatars. For example," TIMBERLAND is experimenting with virtual fitting rooms created with KINECT. Shoppers stand in front of a camera and see a virtual version of themselves on a large screen."3 In Addition to this," TOPSHOP is another apparel brand that is using KINECT to create virtual fitting rooms. They partnered with AR Door to create this experience for customers in their Moscow store."4 AMERICAN APPAREL is a clothing brand that has also equipped customers with mobile app-driven experiences. SEPHORA is my favorite cosmetic retail and e-commerce has a powerful strategy of social contact when customers try on its products. I enjoy the experience of trying new makeup to boost my looks according to my outfits, sampling fragrances via touchscreen and what I have never expected trying on makeup virtually and to elevate the experience its stores are dog-friendly. Last Saturday, I went to the Retail and Luxury Conference of Harvard Business School and Ceo of Sephora was invited as a keynote speaker and he pointed out: The future of retail is how tech fits into it and fashion goes beyond narrative. 2ff7e9595c
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