Walmart to offer virtual try-on for apparel 

Walmart announced Thursday (Sept. 15) the next phase of its virtual try-on technology that will bring the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers. The retailer touts that the fitting room is as close as your phone.

Walmart said its acquisition of the Zeekit virtual try-on platform is a part of that strategy. Earlier this year, Walmart introduced the first implementation of the technology dubbed Choose My Model, which was met with positive customer response. Denise Incandela head of apparel and private brands for Walmart U.S., said Walmart is now embarking on the next phase of virtual try-on technology with Be Your Own Model, industry leading technology that brings the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers.

“This experience allows customers to use their own photo to better visualize how clothing will look on them. Walmart is the first to offer a virtual try-on experience for apparel brands at scale, and it’s the most realistic application I have seen,” she added.

Walmart said the technology accomplishes the more personal experience with algorithms and intricate machine learning models that were techniques originally used to develop highly accurate topographic maps. Now the application will show how an item of clothing will look on someone.

Walmart said the new feature is available on more than 270,000 clothing items. The retailer said the application is easy to use. If an item is enabled for virtual try-on, customers will see the “Try It On” button on the item page and have the option to view clothing on themselves (Be Your Own Model) or another model (Choose My Model). To use the Be Your Own Model feature, the customer will be prompted to take a picture of themselves within the Walmart iOS app. Once an image is saved, the customer will be able to view themselves as the model each time they use the virtual try-on experience.

Walmart said the technology is rolling out to iOS users of the Walmart app and will soon be available on Android devices. Industry analysts have said the virtual try-on technology should help Walmart with its apparel sales online and perhaps make some inroads against Amazon that continues to take fashion business away from competitors.