Virtual Fitting Room

Online retail sales only account for 8% of total retail sales. This is due in part because customers are skeptical that if they can't try the clothes on before buying them, the clothes may not fit them properly. Customers don't want to go through the long process of having to return their clothes and exchanging it for a different size that once again may or may not fit. This is also very inconvenient for retailers because they have large amounts a returns which increases their costs. Previously I talked about UpCload, a size profiling technology that tells you whether a specific clothing item will fit according to your body measures taken through a webcam. However that technology does not let you see how a clothing item will look on you before you buy it. "Fits.me" is an Estonian startup offering a solution to this problem using a robotic mannequin that can mimic your body shape so you can see exactly how a clothing item would look on you online before purchasing it. The robot is capable of replicating 2000 body shapes. 

Retailers that sign up with Fits.me, send their clothes to Fits.me so that the robot can cycle all the body shapes it knows with the clothes on. At the same time a camera is taking shots and storing them in an online database. When a customer goes online and they enter their body shapes, the software calls up the picture of the mannequin that corresponds to that body shape. This way you can see exactly how a clothing item fits on you online. The robot can show you how a medium looks on you versus a large. Fits.me has increased sales of some online retailers by 300% and reduced returns by 28 %. This new technology is certainly very useful in my opinion for customers and retailers, but I am sure that the robot will not be able to mimic exactly how a clothing item looks on every body type. Each individual has a different and unique shape. Also another reason why customers don't like to buy online as much and prefer buying clothes offline is because they like to feel the fabric of the clothing before buying it. Fits.me will definitely solve some of the problems involving returns an low purchasing rates but it won't solve the problem entirely. Here is a video showing how the robot takes different body shapes.