The Webcam Social Shopper, often referred to as virtual dressing room software, debuted online in June 2009 and was created by Los Angeles–based software company, Zugara. Cited initially as an "

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

dressing room", The Webcam Social Shopper allows online shoppers to use a

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in Videotelephony, video telephony, live streaming and social media, and Closed-circuit television, security. Webcams can b ...

to visualize virtual garments on themselves while shopping online. The software also uses a

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

system that allows users to use hand motions to navigate the software while standing back from their computer. Social media integration with

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

also allows users of the software to send pictures of themselves with the virtual garments for immediate feedback. Though the Webcam Social Shopper has also been called virtual fitting room or virtual dressing room software, Zugara has referred to the software as an advanced product visualization tool for retailers. On September 25, 2012, Zugara was granted US Patent No. 8,275,590 for "Providing a simulation of wearing items such as garments and/or accessories". The patent relates to Zugara's augmented reality social commerce platform, the Webcam Social Shopper.

Technology

The Webcam Social Shopper software can utilize 2-dimensional webcams or

3-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position of a point. Most commonly, it is the three-dim ...

or depth sensing cameras like Microsoft's

Kinect Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...

History

In November 2009, the Webcam Social Shopper was first deployed as Fashionista by online fashion site, Tobi.com. This initial version of the Webcam Social Shopper, used an

marker for placement of the virtual garment on the subject. In February 2011, a new version of the Webcam Social Shopper was debuted publicly for the first time at the DEMO conference in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. This latest version of the software removed the need for a marker and instead used facial tracking for placement of the virtual garment. Dubbed the "Plug and Play" version of the Webcam Social Shopper, this version of the software was designed for easier integration for

retailers Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler ...

and

ecommerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile comm ...

sites."Zugara Engages Online Shoppers With Dress Up Visualization"

VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. ''VentureBeat'' is a tech news source that publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. The ''VentureBeat'' company was fou ...

, 28 February 2011, retrieved 4 July 2012 UK Fashion Retailer, Banana Flame, was the first retailer to integrate the Plug and Play version of the virtual dressing room software. According to Matthew Szymczyk, CEO of Zugara, the new version of the Webcam Social Shopper can be integrated by a retailer in less than a day. Banana Flame deployed the software to offer a virtual dressing room for online shoppers to "try on" the clothes virtually on Banana Flame's website. On July 10, 2012, Zugara released an

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

for the Webcam Social Shopper for ecommerce platform integration.

PrestaShop PrestaShop is a freemium, open source e-commerce platform. The software is published under the Open Software License (OSL). It is written in the PHP programming language with support for the MySQL database management system. It has a softwar ...

began offering the new Webcam Social Shopper module to its 127,000 retailers that same month. On October 3, 2013, Zugara released a

enabled version of the Webcam Social Shopper software called, "WSS For Kiosks". On December 10, 2013,

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

debuted a

mobile payments Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

enhanced version of WSS For Kiosks at the LeWeb conference in Paris.

Initial criticism

Virtual Dressing Room software, such as the Webcam Social Shopper, received early criticism for not helping users determine the fit of a virtual garment. However, subsequent users of the software have noted its effectiveness when matching colors while trying on dresses. The company has stated that the software simulates the "at the rack" moment found in physical retail stores when shoppers hold items of clothing up to themselves."Another Blow To Retailers Virtual Dressing Rooms"

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

, 9 August 2011, retrieved 4 July 2012 With the growing popularity of

, The Webcam Social Shopper has also been cited as a tool for online shoppers that might potentially decrease sales at

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

retailers.

Reviews

TIME magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

cited the Webcam Social Shopper as one of the few useful

applications that could be advantageous to both retailers and consumers.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

also addressed the Webcam Social Shopper software in an article entitled, "Brands Embrace An Augmented Reality". In the article, a young woman used the Webcam Social Shopper software on Banana Flame's retail site and ended up buying a dress as it helped her make a purchase decision. Major news sources such as

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, have also profiled The Webcam Social Shopper in a segment on

Results

Barbie Dream Closet Kiosk Example Of Webcam Social Shopper

Internet Retailer published a report on Virtual Fitting Rooms and Fit Simulators on February 1, 2012. Danish

social shopping Social shopping is a method of e-commerce where shoppers' friends become involved in the shopping experience. Social shopping attempts to use technology to mimic the social interactions found in physical malls and stores. With the rise of mobile ...

comparison site LazyLazy.com deployed the Webcam Social Shopper in late 2011 and saw its conversion rate immediately jump with 17% of shoppers using the software converting two to three times more than those who did not use the software. In February 2012, the

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

brand,

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

, used a kiosk-enabled version of the Webcam Social Shopper for a

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

event where attendees could try on virtual Barbie outfits. Data released by Zugara, showed that the web version of the Barbie Dream Closet software showed increased usage over a 3-month period. From February 2012 to April 2012 use of the software increased from 20% to 33% and 50% of those users took an average of 6 photos each."Barbie Augmented Reality Data"
We Are Organized Chaos, 29 May 2012, retrieved 4 July 2012

References