Lotte's home shopping channel introduces virtual fitting service

SEOUL -- The home shopping channel of Lotte, the fifth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, will launch a virtual fitting service that allows shoppers to try on fashion accessories through mobile devices without visiting stores, using augmented reality technology.

The service was applied first to sunglasses and glasses products, and Lotte Homeshopping plans to expand its service scope to products such as hats, necklaces, watches and rings next month. Shoppers can use the service by showing their face on the mobile phone and see the images of the top, bottom, left and right depending on the movement of their face.

Lotte Homeshopping will hold a special broadcast for its real fitting service on July 14. The Lotte Group has bolstered its e-commerce business under the control of Lotte Shopping, the operator of Lotte hypermarkets and department stores. In April this year, Lotte Shopping launched an integrated online e-commerce platform that recommends customized products by analyzing the behavior and attributes of customers.

Shopping function based on virtual experience is utilized at off-line stores, online shopping malls, home shopping. A virtual fitting room enables shoppers to try on clothes to check one or more of size, fit or style, but virtually rather than physically. It is in use by a growing number of retailers. 3D fitting rooms use computer-generated 3D images to create an experience similar to that seen in virtual world computer games.

In November 2018, FXGear, a technology company based in Seoul, unveiled a mixed reality-based virtual fitting solution using a 3D avatar that allows consumers to reduce the effort of putting on clothes. FXGear used FXMirror, a virtual fitting solution that can help consumers try on a variety of outfits virtually. The system virtually recreates the shopper's body and skeleton by analyzing heights, feature points, depth map data, and a cloth database.