Fashionista - a new service from San Francisco online recommendation provider RichRelevance that uses technology from interactive marketing agency Zugara - lets consumers see clothes projected onto their bodies onscreen and use gestures to change selections, rate them or take a picture for sharing.
"This shopping is all about me, it's not about a model onscreen," said RichRelevance CEO and founder David Selinger. "Everything is about me. From the image to the recommendations, it's reacting to me."
RichRelevance will be first to use these technologies in an online retail setting when it launches Fashionista today with San Francisco online clothier Tobi.com. The hope is that the innovative approach will increase online clothing sales, which are 8 percent of all clothing transactions.
Fashionista is also a sign of the growing momentum behind augmented reality, which involves layering virtual images on top of actual objects. Dozens of apps have appeared on iPhone and Android devices in recent months, helping people navigate, find points of interest or understand their surroundings.
A shopper visiting Tobi.com will be able to try on up to 300 pieces of women's clothes using a Webcam and a computer. The process involves briefly calibrating a Webcam by holding a design marker printed out on a page.
When the Adobe Flash-based software recognizes the marker, it starts projecting clothing items on the screen based on the location of the marker. If you don't like a particular sun dress, just wave your hand and hit a virtual "next" button and you'll see another item in its place.
You can give items a thumbs up or thumbs down using another virtual button and then later see all your favorite clothes, along with recommendations for matching items.
When in doubt, take a picture of an outfit and upload it directly to Facebook, where friends can help you decide whether to buy it.
"It's a little early, but this can definitely help address, at least from a style perspective, how our products look on customers," said Jeff Lee, vice president of products and technology for Tobi.com.
"And the social shopping aspects of being able to share a look and get opinions from friends, it really mimics the way people shop in the real world."
The service has its limits. Once a user puts down the marker, the successive clothing items are projected to one spot and don't move with the customer, something Zugara is working on.
Users still have no way of knowing how a product feels or hangs on them. And the set-up requires not only a computer but a Webcam, which is still not a standard purchase for many people.
Sucharita Mulpuru, an e-commerce retail analyst for Forrester Research said it's a novel approach that builds on previous efforts that involved outfitting avatars or online models. But she wonders how much of an impact it will have on consumer buying habits considering its limitations.
"The No. 1 reason people don't buy online is they want to touch and feel the item," she said. "This is a little closer but it's still not trying it on."
Jack Benoff, director of marketing strategy for Zugara, said the technology is meant to mimic that moment when friends hold up clothes to their bodies and see how they look initially. He said the technology cannot only boost sales but it can help convert indecisive shoppers and minimize the return rate.
"People will be more confident with their purchases, and with Facebook, they'll have validation from friends and be more excited about it," Benoff said.
What is augmented reality?
Augmented reality involves the layering of virtual imagery and information over real-world objects. The technology has gained momentum in recent months because of augmented reality applications designed for the iPhone and Android mobile devices.
