Digital Dressing Rooms – Retail’s New Reality

Online shopping experiences continue to quickly evolve as consumers expect them to mirror (if not outright replace) the equivalent in-store experiences in terms of customer service and community engagement. The future of shopping is being created right now. Brands are increasingly embracing the need for digital transformation and innovating to render authentic experiences in the ecommerce space.

Last week, the clothing rental company Armoire launched "Looks," a digital dressing room for members, according to an email announcement sent to Retail Dive. Users can upload photos of their favorite rented looks into a curated feed and discuss the fit and style in the comments. The tool is designed to digitally recreate the in-store shopping experience of trying on new clothes, per the company.

Tangiblee will soon launch a web-based augmented reality “Try-On” feature for jewelry and wrist watch ecommerce retailers later this month. Unlike most augmented reality offerings, Tangiblee’s AR solution was designed for ‘non-tech’ users, catering to the everyday consumer. Its technology has a more precise detection algorithm and its finger-detection capability can identify the contours of a user’s finger more accurately than the current state-of-the-art for most AR Try-On applications, ARKit. The technology automatically and accurately ‘places’ a piece of jewelry on the user’s finger, rendering a hyper-personalized, visual 1-on-1 interaction with the product.

My Size, a smartphone measurement tech company, announced that it has integrated its MySizeID Technology into Sweet Fit, an interactive virtual fitting mirror. Sweet Fit's mirror uses AR technology to scan a person's body and show a virtual outfit. The technology is currently available in France, but the company has plans to expand to different countries.

Imagine a future where your customer no longer shops from a catalog of products, but instead they select a product type—a pair of pants, a car, sunglasses, or make up—and then interactively use this level of technology-driven personalization to achieve the perfect dimensions, color, and style of whatever they are looking for. They could then try on or interact with it in any environment they want—all from the comfort of their own homes.

For years, augmented reality has outpaced virtual reality in mainstream adoption, and it’s become a regular part of many brands’ marketing. From games like Pokémon Go to social media filters, augmented reality has also become a normal part of Gen Z and Millennials’ lives in many ways.

According to a Coresight Research report, consumer spending on reality technologies was projected to reach $7 billion in 2020, even before Covid-19—but the prediction is that the pandemic could drive even higher adoption of augmented reality and virtual reality technology. Brands are being forced to get more creative, innovative, and lean more on digital tools to reach their audience. Consumers are spending more and more time on their phones and on social platforms. Augmented reality is emerging as a bigger part of the potential future in many markets.

Many brands are turning to augmented reality to take online shopping to the next level. Augmented reality is driving engagement and increasing sales for fashion and beauty brands that are investing in the technology, either through social media platforms or on their sites, according to Vogue Business.

Several retailers are finding other uses for technology, including David’s Bridal and Lululemon, who are connecting shoppers with virtual stylists to help them browse merchandise online. Others, such as ASOS, a pioneer in the AR shopping space, launched an AR tool that allows shoppers to see simulated views of models wearing the site’s clothing and accessories in May 2020.

Sephora has found great success, similar to L'Oréal's make-up app, launched in 2019. Between 2016 and 2018, Sephora’s Virtual Artist application saw 200 million shades tried on during the more than 8.5 million visits to the AR feature, and they continue to see repeat customer use.

Jewelry brand Kendra Scott adapted to pandemic-era shopping — and the temporary closure of its 108 stores — by allowing shoppers to virtually try on earrings using their iPhone browsers. Etsy, the online marketplace, has a new augmented reality feature on its app that shows customers how paintings, photographs and other decor would look on their walls.

With so many retail companies feeling more pressure than ever to demonstrate profitable growth, it can be difficult to make deep investments into what feels like the long game of an emerging technology. Innovating and implementing new technology depends on several factors, but trends seem to indicate an increase in adoption of augmented reality technology among the retail industry and its consumers. A few product-centered use cases have already demonstrated a clear and sizeable return on investment.

As more retail stores temporarily or permanently close due to the Covid-19 pandemic, brands must innovate and navigate how best to represent themselves in this new retail reality. Many brands are already bringing more creative shopping experiences to market by leveraging augmented reality, which has shown to increase engagement and conversion and is becoming both more accessible to brands and more familiar to consumers.