Fashion Brands Use Augmented Reality

The NY Times article, Brands embrace an augmented reality brought me back to a 90s classic film that I, along with every other high school girl across America, must have watched over a thousand times- it was called Clueless [and if you say you’ve never seen it, well, your lying].

There’s a scene in the movie where Cher, Alicia Silverstone’s character, virtually tries on every outfit in her closet to prepare for a big date (turns out the guy was gay, but that’s another story). A picture of herself appeared on her computer screen and she could actually see how her outfits looked on her without physically trying them on. It was brilliant. Why didn’t we have one? Why did we have to spend hours trying on clothes when Cher could just press a button? The idea seemed so futuristic to us back then, something out of the Jetsons. My friends and I would all daydream that one day, we’d be able to do that too...Well, as it turns out, that day has arrived.

AR, the acronym used for this technology, is a new trend that fashion brands are using to help customers visualize what their products look like on them without trying them on. Does this particular shade of red go with my skin tone? Will the cut of the trousers make my butt look big? Just take a look at the screen and you can decide for yourself. Customers can use virtual controls to adjust the garment’s position, change the color & size and show your friends [for approval].

Research has shown that customers are responding well to AR because it not only makes shopping easier, it’s making it fun too. Sure, AR has been experimented with different types of products in various industries, but in the fashion world, it seems to just ‘fit’.

The Financial Times recently reported that the AR market for handheld devices in the US alone was predicted to grow from $6 million in 2008 to $350 million in 2014. That’s a pretty optimistic projection. Here’s what we know: About 2% to 3% of all online browsers actually make a purchase, compared to 20% to 40% of shoppers that purchase offline. In addition, online return rates are unusually high at 25% to 40%, partly because customers have no idea what the clothes will look like once they’re on. These numbers led to the idea that if customers could get the ‘at the rack’ experience online, it could potentially change the way we shop. And so, the race to make the perfect virtual changing room began. From scanning booths to size-matching kiosks, the purpose of these innovative technologies is the same- to replicate a person’s proportions and encourage them to shop, both on and offline.

It’s true that AR will never be real – we won’t be able to physically touch the material and see how it feels, but I’ll take what I can get. Visualizing myself in an outfit by looking at myself on a screen is a great first step and I’m excited to see how this technology is going to change the way we shop.

16 years later, I think Cher would wonder what took us so long.