After the development of a prototype for a digital changing room with the help of the Berlin VR expert NeXR Technologies SE and the implementation in German branches, the Swedish clothing group H&M is further expanding its digitization efforts: NeXR announced that the company will be the technology partner for H&M Thailand for the implementation its virtual fitting solution.
This means that H&M customers will be able to create their own digital avatars in the newly opened H&M Townsquare in Thailand from the beginning of next year. NeXR’s body scanner creates a digital twin of the user and simultaneously takes relevant body measurements.
These are stored together with the avatar in the Avatar.Cloud mobile app and made available to users. Based on the body measurements obtained in this way, customers then receive recommendations as to which piece of clothing fits best in which size.
“We have embarked on an exciting, technology-driven journey to create more exciting and interesting experiences for our customers. We see so many new opportunities to develop the H&M brand in Thailand with technical solutions that offer genuine service and satisfaction to all. We are therefore very excited about this partnership with NeXR and can’t wait to bring it to life here in Bangkok,” said H&M Thailand CEO Philippe Lassaux in a statement.
This function will initially be available offline, but will also be available online later this year. The 3D scanner technology that makes this possible was previously explored during the partnership with H&M beyond. successfully tested in Berlin and Hamburg and since then has been continuously improved and further developed.
3-D scanner is designed to minimize queues and returns
“We have set ourselves the goal of using the full potential of avatars in use cases possible today, such as in the fashion industry. Using high-resolution body scanning technologies, we are able to create perfect digital twins of H&M Thailand customers and offer valuable customer insights that both H&M Thailand and the customers benefit from,” comments Markus Peuler , CEO of NeXR Technologies SE.
The aim is both to optimize the shopping experience through significantly leaner processes and time-efficient shopping, but also to avoid queues in front of the changing rooms and reduce avoidable returns.
However, what a digital solution does not concern is the fact that fast fashion brands like H&M, Zara, Forever 21 and others do not adjust their clothing sizes for different markets. This means that standard dimensions that were developed for a European or North American target group are used without adjustment in Asian countries such as China, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, for example, without considering the different physiques and body dimensions of the customers there .
This creates frustration and returns that not even the best body scanner and avatar can fix. If the customer measurements obtained are actually used to adjust clothing sizes regionally and to produce clothing in the appropriate sizes, this would be a real step forward.