Virtual fitting room integrated with Tesco website

Friday, March 2, 2012 - 09:20 by Graham Miller

Anyone who wants to shop for clothes via supermarket chain Tesco's online outlet will now be able to get a better idea of what each item might look like once they put it on.

This is all thanks to a new virtual fitting room which has been added, thanks to a combination of Facebook and software developer, Metail.

There have been a number of virtual fitting room services to emerge in recent months, but Tesco could be the highest profile retailer to trial such technology via safe shopping online.

In order to make the most out of the system the consumer needs to upload a couple of full body pictures of themselves. If they do not have any to hand then they can place a headshot online and then manually enter their measurements, in order to get accurate results.

The software uses all of this information to create a 3D model of the customer, which can then be wrapped in the clothing that needs to be tested, before a final purchase is made.

Tesco spokesperson, Emily Shamma, explained that the previous iterations of virtual fitting rooms have lacked the same levels of accuracy and stylish appropriateness as the new system being offered by the retailer.

At first, just 50 items from Tesco's own F&F range of clothing will be compatible with the virtual fitting room service, although every week during which the trial is conducted will see ten more items joining the roster of available fashion kit.

Once the fitting has taken place, the user can share the results via Facebook and Twitter, adding a social element to this cutting edge way of carrying out safe shopping online.

Tesco will hopefully make this service more widely available on its e-commerce site if the tests prove to be a success.