Walmart Adds Virtual Try-On for Apparel
Walmart is doubling down on fashion and its virtual try-on technology.
The retail giant has spent the last few years working to grow its assortment of quality, on-trend and accessible apparel and accessories. More recently, Walmart has prioritized the creation and introduction of innovative shopping experiences that encourages discovery of its assortments, such as recently adding two augmented reality features to the Walmart mobile app for furniture and home decor shopping.
In May 2021, Walmart revealed plans to acquire and implement the Zeekit virtual try-on platform, saying the shopping assistance would be a huge part of its strategy. In 2022, the retailer introduced the first implementation of the Choose My Model technology, which Walmart says was met with positive customer response.
Walmart is continuing to build on that momentum by introducing Be Your Own Model, a technology that aims to bring the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers. This experience allows shoppers to use their own photo to visualize how clothing will look on them and gamifies shopping.
“Our technology accomplishes this key differentiator with algorithms and intricate machine learning models — techniques originally utilized in developing highly accurate topographic maps — to show how an item of clothing will look on someone,” Denise Incandela, executive vice president, apparel and private brands, Walmart U.S., wrote in a new retailer blog post. “Other experiences typically lay a photo of an item on top of another image, making it appear computer-generated. With Be Your Own Model, a customer sees an ultra-realistic simulation with shadows, fabric draping and where clothing falls on their figure in seconds.”
For example, a single shirt can come in six different colors, seven different sizes and two sleeve lengths. The new technology captures all the variations and shows how they look on an individual body type.
The feature is now available for more than 270,000 items across Walmart’s portfolio of exclusive and private-label brands, including Free Assembly, Scoop, Sofia Jeans and Sofia Active by Sofia Vergara, Love & Sports, ELOQUII Elements, Time & Tru, Athletic Works, Terra & Sky, No Boundaries, Avia and The Pioneer Woman.
Select items from some national brands like Champion, Levi’s and Hanes, as well as some items on the Walmart Marketplace, are also part of the new experience. Walmart will continue to expand the participating brands in coming months.
How It Works
If an item is enabled for virtual try-on, shoppers will see the “Try It On” button on the item page and have the option to view clothing on themselves (via Be Your Own Model) or another model of their choice. To use the Be Your Own Model feature, shoppers 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.
Be Your Own Model is currently rolling out to iOS users of the Walmart app. Shortly, iOS users will also be able to take their image in the Walmart app to use the feature via desktop or web. It will be available on Android devices in the coming weeks.
“Launching this next iteration of virtual try-on technology delivers on our continuous goal of making online shopping an inclusive, engaging and personalized experience that better replicates in-store shopping,” Incandela added.