Virtual trial rooms new feature in e-commerce

Tanya Sareen, a 25-year-old professional, goes for shopping anytime she wants. She chooses her dress in the store and asks for the correct fit and her preferred colour. Next, she does a trial to see how it looks on her before she decides on buying it. This does not sound any different from the usual procedure at any garment store. But, in this case, the experience is different, because Sareen is shopping online and just did a virtual trial of an evening gown.

Virtual trial room is a new concept e-commerce players in India are looking at seriously. Using a web-camera, users are able to click pictures of themselves and then click on a product, which is then fitted on to their bodies. This helps see how it looks on them. Players such as Zovi.com, Lenskart.com and Kingschest.com have introduced this feature. Myntra.com will do so in two months.

Zovi.com, an online apparel brand, launched the first ever virtual trial room in India. The feature called ‘Zovi Eye’ helps buyers make a purchasing decision by letting them view themselves in desired apparel via an interactive web-cam application. This feature simulates offline customer behaviour of trying out various apparel in front of a mirror to help them overcome their anxiety of how the apparel featured online would actually look on them.

Monappa Nanlyanda, marketing head, Zovi.com, says, “One of the concerns expressed by people is that they are anxious as to how a particular dress will look on them. That has now been resolved. We have seen a 25-30 per cent increase in the revenue since the launch of the feature.” He said the feature would be available across Zovi merchandise by mid-July.

Users such as Sareen say this is a great concept. “Though it is not exactly the same as a real trial room, one does get an idea of how a product will look on him/her,” she says.

Lenskart.com, the online eyewear portal, has a virtual mirror which enables customers to ‘try on’ accessories. Peyush Bansal, CEO, said they would be extending the feature to watches and jewellery in three months.

Home décor portal Kingschest.com has introduced a virtual application where you can imagine your future room by designing it in simple steps. You can select a room or an exterior from the catalogue of photos in the application, apply colours and products to a variety of surfaces in the photo and share it on social networks. Rajat Nagrath, founder, Kingschest.com, said the app helps users see how a product actually looks like.

Arushi Gupta, a 30-year-old homemaker in Bangalore, says she gets good designing ideas from Kingschest.com. “I like designing my house. Since there are a variety of products, starting from carpets, beds and wall paints, it is an engaging application,” says Gupta.

Myntra.com will add this feature in next two months. Ashutosh Lawania, co-founder and sales head, said this would be an option wherein users could upload pictures and specify the size on the application to see how a product looks on them. The firm is also looking at designing an artificial mannequin; one can click on a product and see how it looks like on the latter.