How In-app Try-on Could Change Mobile Shopping Forever

Style and fashion are constantly evolving. Yet, a few trends always come back in style (here’s looking at you platforms and chokers). The same is true for shopping. Before online shopping and mobile shopping became the norm, we were perfectly content with shopping in the real world. Well, maybe not perfectly content, because who didn’t get upset when the shirt they wanted to buy was not available in their size? Shopping in brick and mortar, retail stores had many downsides for a vast majority of customers: limited quantities, colors, and styles; inflexible hours of operation; navigating through waves of shoppers. However, there was an upside to shopping in real life that made the parking spot hunt on a busy Saturday worth it: being able to try on what you wanted to buy.

For years we’ve had a love-hate relationship with online and mobile shopping. While the day of getting whatever we want whenever we want enthralled us at first, with time we have become wary of our online orders. Often times, the item we order and the item we receive are two very different items. Other times, the item we receive looks exactly like the product photo (score!) but the item does not fit properly or does not suit us at all. We can’t help but wish we had been able to try the item on while we were browsing for it.

Some app developers and established retailers have heard our complaints loud and clear. They have decided to combine the best aspects of both online shopping and real world shopping. These apps are revolutionizing the way we shop by giving us more options, style, and (finally!) a way to try on our favorite items while we shop in-app!

In the FashionTIY app, users have access to thousands of trendy accessories including jewelry and scarves. Users can browse through accessories using their picture as the model. This allows the user to browse and simultaneously try on the merchandise. The app boasts that the try on effect gives users a similar experience to trying on accessories in real life without the hassle. Download the FashionTIY app here.

A plethora of apps for trying on eyewear are available. Some apps like the glasses.com app allow you to try on thousands of frames from various brands by adjusting the glasses onto a picture of your face. The app allows you to adjust various aspects of the eyewear like the bridge and arms of the glasses to get a more realistic idea of how the glasses will look. They also provide a similar app, the Ray-Ban Virtual Try-on app, that allows you to try on Ray-Ban sunglasses.

On the other hand, the Reframe app allows the user to try on glasses in real time. The user can use his or her phone's camera to see how the glasses look from various angles. Users can also save their favorite frames to purchase later.