Virtual Shopping Made Easy

With the availability of the Internet and the advancements in technology, shopping at physical locations is now not the only option that consumers have. Whether in the market for new clothing, household items or entertainment, purchases are easily made online. However, according to the team at The TechPanda, companies continually strive to improve the online shopping experience.

Online Browsing

Traditionally, shoppers chose products online by scanning the array of listed items. Sites like Boxed even bring the convenience and value of virtual bulk discount experience to the Internet by offering a large selection of beauty, grocery, household items along with personal care products online that are shipped to a desired location. However, a Japanese food company known as Yihaodian plans on taking browsing to the next level by implementing technology in 1,000 supermarket locations that would allow shoppers to walk up and down grocery store aisles using the screens of mobile devices. Shoppers would then place their order online and have food delivered to their door.

Virtual Fitting Rooms

Buying apparel once meant going to the store, choosing two or three items and heading to a fitting room to assess proper fit and overall appearance. Making these purchases online was considered risky business and often resulted in returned products. However, a number of well-known brand websites now feature unique interactive technology that ensures a greater likelihood of making the appropriate choices via virtual mannequins. Shoppers need merely customize a mannequin with their precise measurements and body shape. Whether desiring new bottoms, tops or undergarments, consumers view the garments on a rendered model of their body.

Shop Using 3D Technology

Daily Finance discusses how Apple and Google are working on 3D imaging technology that would enable shoppers to choose apparel items online while ensuring proper fit. According to statistics, while shoppers spent more than $54 billion worth of clothing online, dissatisfaction led to 40 percent of purchases being returned. Shoefitr is designed to change the problem. By combining efforts with more than 1,000 famous footwear brands, the company constructed an expansive database of 3D scanned shoe styles. Using the app, consumers select a style of choice, which is automatically compared to entered data of a well-fitting shoe currently owned. The software then assesses various dimensions and determines the appropriate size with similar attributes in the new shoe style. The success of the approach has already drastically cut returns by 20 to 25 percent.

Engineers at both software companies are actively working on technology having the ability to create a 3D image of a person from the privacy of the home. The information would then be transferred online to the store of choice and used to purchase anything from hats to shoes. Equipped with an individual”s perfect measurements, consumers could then make purchases with confidence and a guarantee of proper fit. The project entails finding the means to equip mobile devices with sensors that would perform the body scan and transmit the data in real time. Developers explain that the software might function similar to the depth sensing electronics used by the Kinect technology commonly found in XBox game consoles.