What is a Virtual Fitting Room? Advantages and Early Adopters

January 5, 2023 Staff

By Heekyeong Jo and B. Ellie Jin

One of the major concerns of online shopping is a consumer’s inability to touch, feel, and experience products. This concern is more problematic for fashion products when the right fit is critical for purchase decisions. Virtual Fitting Room (VFR), a technology that allows you to test size and fit without having to try clothing on yourself, eases this concern.

What is a Virtual Fitting Room (VFR)?

A Virtual Fitting Room (VFR) is a function that shows and visualizes a shopper’s outfit without physically trying on and touching items. VFR utilizes Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). By using AR for VFR, a webcam scans the body shape of shoppers and creates a 360-degree, 3D model based on their body shape. AI further operates VFR by using algorithms and machine learning to design a full-body 3D model of a shopper standing in front of the camera. Combination of AR and AI technology allows VFR to place items on real-time images as a live video so that customers can check the size, style, and fit of the products they’re considering purchasing.

VFR also enables a remote shopping experience beyond use in offline stores. Shoppers can try on clothes and shoes at home without visiting a physical store. What is needed for this is to first prepare a cellphone and its camera function. Consumers must then download fashion brands’ mobile applications with the Virtual Fitting Room function or visit apparel brands’ websites that support this VFR function and just upload a photo of their body shape. Depending on the brands, the function of creating an avatar with a body shape similar to customers and wearing fashion items virtually can also be supported.

What are the benefits of a Virtual Fitting Room to fashion retailers?

Provide convenient shopping experience

The National Retail Federation’s research in 2020 stated that 97% of consumers actually have given up shopping because it wasn’t convenient enough. It is inconvenient to choose the exact size from the hanger, walk to a dressing room carrying items, and swap their clothes, and online shopping is perceived to be even more inconvenient. VFR eliminates all of these processes. Shoppers can walk over to the VFR and see what the clothes look like quickly without needing to change them.

Overcome the limitations of online shopping

As of 2017, 62% of shoppers preferred to shop at physical apparel stores because they could see, touch, feel, and experience products. This was a major problem that online shopping could not overcome. VFR solves this problem effectively. According to the Retail Perceptions Report, about 40% of buyers said they would be willing to pay more if they could experience the product through augmented reality (AR) technology. By incorporating new technologies, VFR makes shopping fun and offers a personalized shopping experience to customers, which can attract more people to online channels.

Reduce return rate

High return rates are a big administrative headache for fashion brands. Moreover, it threatens to cut into the profits of fashion brands if they offer free returns. In fact, 30% of the return rate in e-commerce fashion shopping is due to purchases of small-sized products, and another 22% happens due to purchases of too large-sized products. However, VFR alleviates this problem. Whether in store or online, people can check the fit and size of items without having to wear them themselves.

Who utilizes this Virtual Fitting Room (VFR)?

Gucci

Gucci is the first luxury brand which adopted VFR by partnering with Snapchat to launch Gucci’s augmented reality shoe try-on campaign. It created a virtual lens that superimposed and overlaid a digital version of the shoe on the shopper’s foot when the foot was photographed using a cell phone camera. Along with the Shop Now button, which guides shoppers to its online store, Gucci achieved 18.9 million Snapchat users and reported positive return on ad spend (ROAS), which is a marketing metric that measures the amount of revenue earned on all dollars spent on advertising from this campaign.

Otero Menswear

Otero Menswear is a brand focusing on menswear whose size is under 5’10”. Otero installed VFR software on its online store to provide perfect fitting sizes to its customers. First, it consists of 4 quick questions asking customers’ height, leg length, waist size and body type and then offering a virtual avatar corresponding with the answers. By using it, shoppers can dress the avatar to check how each size fits.

Walmart

In May 2021, Walmart announced that they plan to acquire Zeekit, a virtual fitting room platform to provide enhanced and social shopping experiences for customers during the pandemic. Through Zeekit, when customers upload pictures of themselves and enter their body dimensions, the company builds a virtual body and then customers can dress it accordingly. Customers will simply post their photos or choose virtual models on the platform that represent the best fitting of their height, body, and skin tone. Customers can even share their virtual clothes with others to get various opinions. Walmart brings a comprehensive and social experience to digital shopping for customers through this acquisition of VFR.

According to research by Valuates Reports, it is expected that sales of the global virtual fitting room market will grow to $6.5 million by 2025. By adopting VFR, consumers will be able to experience convenience in an advanced shopping environment. In addition, fashion retailers will be able to receive enormous advantages by increasing online sales and reducing return rates through offering customers personalized online shopping experience using VFR technology.

References

Dopson, E. (2021, May 20). What are Virtual Fitting Rooms and Why Should Retailers Use Them?. Shopify. Retrieved from https://www.shopify.com/retail/virtual-fitting-rooms#1

Byrne, A. (2020, October 15). Virtual fitting room market forecast to double by 2025. FASHIONUNITED. Retrieved from https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/virtual-fitting-room-market-forecast-to-double-by-2025/2020101551399

Dietmar, J. (2021, September 16). Virtual Dressing Rooms: A Guide For Fashion Retailers. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/16/virtual-dressing-rooms-a-guide-for-fashion-retailers/?sh=1d9288cfb87e

Expert Commentator of Smart Insights. (2020, January 28). Convenience is driving e-commerce growth and influencing consumer decisions. Smart Insights. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/convenience-is-driving-e-commerce-growth-and-influencing-consumer-decisions/

Danny, P. (2021, August 10). Virtual fitting and size-inclusive brands are a perfect match. Glossy. Retrieved from https://www.glossy.co/fashion/virtual-fitting-and-size-inclusive-brands-are-a-perfect-match/
Walmart. (2021, May 13). Walmart Announces Plans To Acquire Zeekit, a Leading Virtual Fitting Room Platform, To Enable Enhanced and Social Shopping Experience for Customer. Walmart. Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/05/13/walmart-announces-plans-to-acquire-zeekit-a-leading-virtual-fitting-room-platform-to-enable-enhanced-and-social-shopping-experience-for-customer