What Happened
Following Walmart’s acquisition of virtual fitting room platform Zeekit last year, the company is rolling out the acquired technology for customers shopping on Walmart.com or the mobile app.“One of the most frustrating aspects of shopping for clothes online is understanding how an item will actually look on you,” Walmart said in a news release. “With Zeekit, our goal is to deliver an inclusive, immersive and personalized digital experience that will better replicate physical shopping.”
Beginning Wednesday, Walmart customers are able to access the “Choose My Model” experience. The feature allows users to select a model who best represents their height, body shape and skin tone, in order to better understand how an item will look on them.
Customers currently have the ability to choose from 50 models between 5’2” and 6’ in height, ranging from sizes XS to XXXL. Walmart plans to add 70 additional model options in the coming weeks.
Why It Matters
Walmart has been battling it out with Amazon.com Inc. for quite some time, and is increasingly turning to e-commerce, which Amazon has largely dominated in the U.S.Interestingly enough, today’s announcement comes just over a month after Amazon opened its first physical clothing store, featuring technology in the same vein as what Walmart is touting.
Amazon Style aims to combine the best features of shopping on Amazon.com with an in-store shopping experience. Using the Amazon Shopping app, customers can send items to a fitting room, where they can use a touchscreen to browse more options, rate items and request more sizes or styles.
As Amazon looks to increase its market share by improving the physical retail experience, Walmart is introducing new technology for its digital experience. Both companies seem to have set their sights on fixing the problems that customers encounter when shopping for clothes.
