Virtual Try-On in Optical Retail

Benefits of eyewear virtual try-on

Can you describe what are the main benefits you're getting out of Fittingbox’s virtual try-on on Specsavers’ website for both e-commerce and drive-to-store initiatives?

I initially talked a little bit about the removal tool and why this tool is good for those with high prescription needs. But I think when we talk about a live journey, we talk about something that is frictionless. It is easy to engage with and always works on your device.

So, when you combine removal and a live try-on, that makes the Fittingbox experience easy to engage with.
Then the additional step is the quality of the graphics. There's been a lot of work, particularly in the last couple of years, to improve the quality of how the glasses look, how they fit on the face, not only the precision fitting, but also the high graphics to show the different materials.

As you probably know, the materials in the glasses space are very complicated. There's a lot of different translucent materials and so on. Bringing life and working on the shadows and how they look on your face is really important to making it as realistic as possible. And I think when it looks realistic, it also gives a lot of faith to the customers.

So, the virtual glasses are as close as the real fit of the glasses will be. And that's where I think the tool is really the competitive advantage when you combine that easy to use, usable for everybody and then high-quality experience together.

Some advice and AI perspectives

What advice would you give to other companies in the eyewear space that will be considering similar technologies?

I think a lot of businesses will be thinking about what's the value for us. Maybe you're a store business that doesn't convert a lot online. Maybe you're an online business that is really struggling with the metrics of the price versus your product positioning.

But what I would say is the thing to consider is that experiences are king in the modern world.
So, in the digital world, having the best-in-class experience, having something that replicates the physical as close as possible is what most people expect.

We still live in a world where 85 to 90% of customers are buying in-store. That means 85 to 90% are doing a real feel and touch of the glasses. You can't replicate the physical feel of the weight of the glasses online, but you can replicate a lot of the other ways in the look, the positioning on the face, the quality of the materials, the uniqueness of how something will fit you.

So having a more accurate tool and having a tool that gives a more solid representation is going to reduce your rate of returns and all this kind of things. But it's going to really help your customer experience, help confidence to purchase and help make sure that overall, you're providing the best-in-class experience in an online world.

How do you see the role of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality evolving in the eyewear retail industry?

Well, some people might be aware of how much we've used some AI previously in some kind of level of recommendations and facial assessments.

I think where the future is likely to go is to look at things that look at your face shape and your indication. And then start to augment that with more customer data, more customer experiences and really build an insightful experience that's based on you, and is really highly personalised to bring down more solid recommendations to help you buy the right frame for you, not only in style, but also in fit.

And I think those kinds of insights about how fit is going to be a big future part of making sure the try-on is accurate and gives experience to you when you get the real glasses in the real world.