Innovate to Engage: Transforming Fashion Retail with Virtual Pop-Up Experiences

AI Quick Summary

To enhance the retail experience and meet evolving consumer expectations, this project proposes innovative solutions such as pop-up stores in busy shopping areas, interactive booths for virtual clothing try-ons, and seamless online purchases. Incorporating advanced features like Virtual Reality, sentiment analysis, and social media interaction can significantly boost customer engagement, sales, and brand standing. Idea description Nowadays, physical and virtual reality are increasingly highly interconnected. In order to alienate with the current technological trend and to maintain a competitive role and innovative image on the market, Guess needs to advance and elevate its marketing strategy by proposing a mixed physical and virtual experience to the users interested in assessing its fashion products. With this innovative project we would like to address the fashion market need for innovative ideas to satisfy customers' always evolving expectations and to improve the retail experience. In particular, in this project we will focus on the following two main challenges. Enhance Brand Engagement: create an interactive and memorable experience that enhances brand engagement for Guess. Innovate Shopping Experience: allow users to virtually enter a Guess store, explore garments, try them on using personalized avatars and virtual reality technology, and make purchases directly from within the virtual environment. The proposed solution addresses the mentioned market needs and Guess brand challenges, by proposing an innovative, branded pop-up virtual dressing room without physical garments, leveraging VR technology. This installation is meant to be temporally set up in a high foot-traffic area of European cities, providing the hardware (headset and infrastructure) necessary to access a virtual dressing room, and offering an eye-catching, engaging, and innovative experience for users. The solution will leverage advanced VR technology, 3D assets, and emotion recognition methodologies to provide a seamless and personalized shopping experience. The main features which will characterize the proposed solutions are the following. Virtual Garments & Vitual Try-on. It will implement a virtual try-on functionality to display 3D virtual garments on personalized avatars without the need for cumbersome wearables. Virtual Reality. It will implement a completely immersive virtual experience for shop visits and dresses virtual try-on. 3D Asset Utilization. By leveraging on already existing 3D assets of garments, we will develop a virtual store presenting a selection of garments, ensuring an efficient use of resources. Emotion Recognition. The proposed solution integrates AI-based emotion recognition and sentiment analysis to gauge user reactions and enhance the experience based on emotional responses triggered during the virtual try-on. The proposed solution requires an innovative approach which addresses the following challenges. 3D line and size set. Develop a comprehensive 3D garment line with accurate size sets to ensure a realistic and fitting experience for the targeted, heterogeneous general public. Streamlined 3D content migration for interactive fashion experiences. Streamline the migration of 3D content from the editing software Cloth3D exploited by fashion designers to the VR scenario, minimizing time and costs connected to the specific adaptation/creation of assets that can be used in real-time. Hygiene and durability of VR headsets. In a VR based try-on experience available for a broad audience, it is essential to address hygiene concerns and ensure that VR headsets remain functional and durable when used by the general public. As an alternative, we will explore the use of an immersive environment (immersive cave) to mitigate these issues. VR sickness. Evaluate alternative solutions to make the experience accessible to a wider range of users, including those experiencing discomfort while interacting with a virtual environment (such as bewilderment and motion sickness). The long-term project idea is a B2C product, which is meant to reach directly potential Guess customers (end users). However, the project involves different stakeholders listed below, together with the specific benefits they derive from the implementation of the proposed technology. Guess Brand. The direct benefit of Guess brand is the enhancement of customer engagement, increased customers satisfaction, sales increase through the integration of innovative shopping experiences, and the possibility to retrieve valuable customer insights. Additionally, and above all, Guess will benefit with a clear differentiation from competitors, positioning itself on the market as a technologically innovative fashion brand. End Users (shoppers). The end users, direct beneficiaries of the proposed solution, will benefit from an enhanced, immersive, engaging, convenient and personalized shopping experience, gaining the ability to visualize and try on clothes virtually, to live a personalized experience and to easily perform purchases assessing the online store directly from the virtual experience, in a time-saving process. The proposed personalized experience will also increase the customer's confidence in purchasing decisions. Guess Marketing Sector. The benefits for the marketing sector consist in the availability of new avenues for creative and innovative campaigns, and in the access to advanced analytics related to users direct and indirect (sentiment analysis based) feedback on the proposed garments. The direct users’ feedback collection allows the possibility to implement highly personalized marketing strategies. Research institutions and Technology Providers’. The long term project provides a great opportunity for collaboration and for showcasing how innovation and advanced technology capabilities can enhance the fashion market. The project will allow the development of advanced analytics and innovative approaches for targeted marketing strategies. This project will result in a cutting-edge, branded pop-up virtual dressing room that offers a unique and innovative shopping experience. By addressing the challenges and leveraging advanced VR and AI based technologies, we will create a memorable and engaging experience that showcases Guess's commitment to innovation and customer engagement. The successful implementation of this project will set a new standard for virtual retail experiences and provide valuable insights for future developments in this space. Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The proposed idea contributes to several sustainable development goals by promoting innovation, resource efficiency, economic growth, inclusivity, and global partnerships. It sets a precedent for how technology can be leveraged to create sustainable and engaging shopping experiences in the fashion industry. Innovation in Retail: The project advances retail industry practices by integrating virtual reality (VR) and AI-based emotion recognition, which are cutting-edge technologies. This fosters a culture of innovation within the fashion industry, encouraging other brands to adopt similar innovative approaches. Resource Efficiency: Utilizing existing 3D assets for virtual garments promotes efficient use of resources, reducing the need for physical samples and potentially lowering waste associated with traditional garment production. Sustainable Consumption: By offering a virtual try-on experience, the project can reduce the frequency of returns and exchanges, which are common in online shopping and often lead to increased waste and carbon emissions. Reduced Inequalities: By making advanced shopping experiences accessible in high foot-traffic areas, the project can reach a broad and diverse audience, contributing to reduced inequalities in access to innovative retail experiences. Innovative Public Spaces: The project’s installation of VR pop-up dressing rooms in urban areas can enhance the attractiveness and functionality of public spaces, contributing to the goal of creating inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. Implementation and risks The Innovation Idea workplan is based on multiple phases, starting with a Proof-of-Concept (Phase 1) demonstrator, to be developed within the context of the present InnoBooster project. This first phase will pave the way for the subsequent evolutions into a final product according to the following plan. Phase 1: Proof of Concept (InnoBooster). Implementation of a VR-based virtual try-on system where the end-user, after an initial assessment for the collection of personal physical information (height, weight, etc.) that allow the generation of an ad-hoc 3D avatar that represents the user’s body shape. The avatar will be synthetic and static: this solution will be a proof of concept for the long-term implementation of a highly personalized and in movement 3D user representation solution. The avatar will wear the 3D model of the garments designed and branded by Guess. This system will exploit the already existing Guess 3D asset of garments and will introduce an emotion recognition functionality based on Gaze data and Cognitive analysis, for the analysis of users’ interest and preferences level associated to the visualized and virtually worn garments. This PoC will serve as a demonstrator of the long-term project idea, which will develop the full solution proposing enhancements in terms of personalization, body and garments movements in 3D environments and sentiment analysis. Phase 2: Client Scanning. Implementation of a scanning process to create personalized avatars that resemble the users and correctly represent their physical proportions and body shape. Ideally, this should be an additional functionality to be included in the VR platform, so that customers can easily get/update a scan of their profile while visiting one of the Guess’ shops equipped with such hardware. Phase 3: Virtual Store Experience (VR). Development of a virtual store that provides an engaging and immersive VR based shopping experience: in particular, it allows users to enter the virtual Guess store, explore, and try on garments using their avatars. We consider extending this experience into the metaverse for a broader engagement. Phase 4: Sentiment Analysis. Integration of advanced emotion recognition technology to personalize and enhance the user experience based on real-time explicit and implicit feedback. This will include: Analytical study of the users' actions (interaction with the virtual environment) for the inference of user’s interests. Enhancement of Gaze Analysis and integration of User actions-stream for the inference of user’s engagement and focus on the visualized garments. This technology has high potential since it allows the analysis of the user’s focus on specific part of an indument allowing for a high personalization. However, it introduces a technological challenge which requires an innovative and robust approach. Integration of phisiological data and emotion recognition methodologies for the analysis of users’ emotion polarity (positive or negative) with respect to the visualized/worn garments. Development of a personalized system based on the data mentioned above (user actions, emotions and gaze) for the development of an innovative garnments recommendation system. We identified the following risks which might be addressed proactively by implementing mitigation strategies. Technical -- Avatar Accuracy. Creating avatars that accurately resemble users may be challenging and impact user satisfaction if not done well. Technical -- Device Robustness and Hygiene. This risk will be mitigated by ensuring the VR headsets or immersive environments are hygienic and durable enough to withstand continuous public use. User Adoption and Experience Learning Curve. Users may find the technology intimidating or difficult to use, affecting their willingness to engage. Privacy and Data Security. Collecting and storing biometric data for avatar creation and for emotion recognition could raise privacy concerns and regulatory compliance issues. Additionally, it is important ensuring that the system is secure from hacking or unauthorized access to sensitive data. Infrastructure Maintenance and Support. Regular maintenance of the VR equipment and providing support to users can be resource-intensive. Physical Space Constraints. Finding suitable locations with enough space to set up immersive environments in busy city areas. Resources InnoBooster Proof of Concept – Realization of a demonstrative VR personalized experience for virtually trying-on Guess Clothing. Below are reported the Activities planned for the PoC. A1 Access to current Guess clothes digitalized 3D archive Guess & SUPSI SUPSI 1000 CHF, Guess in-kind A2 Generation of virtual environment and personalized Avatar SUPSI SUPSI 9000 CHF A3 Gaze based sentiment analysis. SUPSI SUPSI 9000 CHF A4 Implementation and validation SUPSI & Guess SUPSI 5000 CHF, Guess in-kind A5 Reporting and documentation SUPSI & Guess SUPSI 1000 CHF, Guess in-kind Total requested budget: 25000,- CHF Total Budget at the Research partner (SUPSI) The Innovation Booster will be fundamental for the proposed project on the following aspects. First of all with a financial support for the development of the PoC. Facilitating the visibility of the proposed innovative idea on the territory Supervising the marketing activities related to the PoC. Supporting with specialized training on best practices for a future application to InnoSuisse for an R&D Project grant.

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Innovate to Engage: Transforming Fashion Retail with Virtual Pop-Up Experiences
• Date: 7/30/2024 10:49:18 AM
• Administrators:

Project Idea Description

Idea description

Nowadays, physical and virtual reality are increasingly highly interconnected. In order to alienate with the current technological trend and to maintain a competitive role and innovative image on the market, Guess needs to advance and elevate its marketing strategy by proposing a mixed physical and virtual experience to the users interested in assessing its fashion products.

With this innovative project we would like to address the fashion market need for innovative ideas to satisfy customers' always evolving expectations and to improve the retail experience. In particular, in this project we will focus on the following two main challenges.

1. Enhance Brand Engagement: create an interactive and memorable experience that enhances brand engagement for Guess.
2. Innovate Shopping Experience: allow users to virtually enter a Guess store, explore garments, try them on using personalized avatars and virtual reality technology, and make purchases directly from within the virtual environment.

The proposed solution addresses the mentioned market needs and Guess brand challenges, by proposing an innovative, branded pop-up virtual dressing room without physical garments, leveraging VR technology. This installation is meant to be temporally set up in a high foot-traffic area of European cities, providing the hardware (headset and infrastructure) necessary to access a virtual dressing room, and offering an eye-catching, engaging, and innovative experience for users. The solution will leverage advanced VR technology, 3D assets, and emotion recognition methodologies to provide a seamless and personalized shopping experience.

The main features which will characterize the proposed solutions are the following.

1. Virtual Garments & Vitual Try-on. It will implement a virtual try-on functionality to display 3D virtual garments on personalized avatars without the need for cumbersome wearables.
2. Virtual Reality. It will implement a completely immersive virtual experience for shop visits and dresses virtual try-on.
3. 3D Asset Utilization. By leveraging on already existing 3D assets of garments, we will develop a virtual store presenting a selection of garments, ensuring an efficient use of resources.
4. Emotion Recognition. The proposed solution integrates AI-based emotion recognition and sentiment analysis to gauge user reactions and enhance the experience based on emotional responses triggered during the virtual try-on.

The proposed solution requires an innovative approach which addresses the following challenges.

1. 3D line and size set. Develop a comprehensive 3D garment line with accurate size sets to ensure a realistic and fitting experience for the targeted, heterogeneous general public.
2. Streamlined 3D content migration for interactive fashion experiences. Streamline the migration of 3D content from the editing software Cloth3D exploited by fashion designers to the VR scenario, minimizing time and costs connected to the specific adaptation/creation of assets that can be used in real-time.
3. Hygiene and durability of VR headsets. In a VR based try-on experience available for a broad audience, it is essential to address hygiene concerns and ensure that VR headsets remain functional and durable when used by the general public. As an alternative, we will explore the use of an immersive environment (immersive cave) to mitigate these issues.
4. VR sickness. Evaluate alternative solutions to make the experience accessible to a wider range of users, including those experiencing discomfort while interacting with a virtual environment (such as bewilderment and motion sickness).

The long-term project idea is a B2C product, which is meant to reach directly potential Guess customers (end users). However, the project involves different stakeholders listed below, together with the specific benefits they derive from the implementation of the proposed technology.

1. Guess Brand. The direct benefit of Guess brand is the enhancement of customer engagement, increased customers satisfaction, sales increase through the integration of innovative shopping experiences, and the possibility to retrieve valuable customer insights. Additionally, and above all, Guess will benefit with a clear differentiation from competitors, positioning itself on the market as a technologically innovative fashion brand.
2. End Users (shoppers). The end users, direct beneficiaries of the proposed solution, will benefit from an enhanced, immersive, engaging, convenient and personalized shopping experience, gaining the ability to visualize and try on clothes virtually, to live a personalized experience and to easily perform purchases assessing the online store directly from the virtual experience, in a time-saving process. The proposed personalized experience will also increase the customer's confidence in purchasing decisions.
3. Guess Marketing Sector. The benefits for the marketing sector consist in the availability of new avenues for creative and innovative campaigns, and in the access to advanced analytics related to users direct and indirect (sentiment analysis based) feedback on the proposed garments. The direct users’ feedback collection allows the possibility to implement highly personalized marketing strategies.
4. Research institutions and Technology Providers’. The long term project provides a great opportunity for collaboration and for showcasing how innovation and advanced technology capabilities can enhance the fashion market. The project will allow the development of advanced analytics and innovative approaches for targeted marketing strategies.

This project will result in a cutting-edge, branded pop-up virtual dressing room that offers a unique and innovative shopping experience. By addressing the challenges and leveraging advanced VR and AI based technologies, we will create a memorable and engaging experience that showcases Guess's commitment to innovation and customer engagement. The successful implementation of this project will set a new standard for virtual retail experiences and provide valuable insights for future developments in this space.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The proposed idea contributes to several sustainable development goals by promoting innovation, resource efficiency, economic growth, inclusivity, and global partnerships. It sets a precedent for how technology can be leveraged to create sustainable and engaging shopping experiences in the fashion industry.

• Innovation in Retail: The project advances retail industry practices by integrating virtual reality (VR) and AI-based emotion recognition, which are cutting-edge technologies. This fosters a culture of innovation within the fashion industry, encouraging other brands to adopt similar innovative approaches.
• Resource Efficiency: Utilizing existing 3D assets for virtual garments promotes efficient use of resources, reducing the need for physical samples and potentially lowering waste associated with traditional garment production.
• Sustainable Consumption: By offering a virtual try-on experience, the project can reduce the frequency of returns and exchanges, which are common in online shopping and often lead to increased waste and carbon emissions.
• Reduced Inequalities: By making advanced shopping experiences accessible in high foot-traffic areas, the project can reach a broad and diverse audience, contributing to reduced inequalities in access to innovative retail experiences.
• Innovative Public Spaces: The project’s installation of VR pop-up dressing rooms in urban areas can enhance the attractiveness and functionality of public spaces, contributing to the goal of creating inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities.

Implementation and risks

The Innovation Idea workplan is based on multiple phases, starting with a Proof-of-Concept (Phase 1) demonstrator, to be developed within the context of the present InnoBooster project. This first phase will pave the way for the subsequent evolutions into a final product according to the following plan.

• Phase 1: Proof of Concept (InnoBooster). Implementation of a VR-based virtual try-on system where the end-user, after an initial assessment for the collection of personal physical information (height, weight, etc.) that allow the generation of an ad-hoc 3D avatar that represents the user’s body shape. The avatar will be synthetic and static: this solution will be a proof of concept for the long-term implementation of a highly personalized and in movement 3D user representation solution. The avatar will wear the 3D model of the garments designed and branded by Guess. This system will exploit the already existing Guess 3D asset of garments and will introduce an emotion recognition functionality based on Gaze data and Cognitive analysis, for the analysis of users’ interest and preferences level associated to the visualized and virtually worn garments. This PoC will serve as a demonstrator of the long-term project idea, which will develop the full solution proposing enhancements in terms of personalization, body and garments movements in 3D environments and sentiment analysis.

• Phase 2: Client Scanning. Implementation of a scanning process to create personalized avatars that resemble the users and correctly represent their physical proportions and body shape. Ideally, this should be an additional functionality to be included in the VR platform, so that customers can easily get/update a scan of their profile while visiting one of the Guess’ shops equipped with such hardware.

• Phase 3: Virtual Store Experience (VR). Development of a virtual store that provides an engaging and immersive VR based shopping experience: in particular, it allows users to enter the virtual Guess store, explore, and try on garments using their avatars. We consider extending this experience into the metaverse for a broader engagement.

• Phase 4: Sentiment Analysis. Integration of advanced emotion recognition technology to personalize and enhance the user experience based on real-time explicit and implicit feedback. This will include:

1. Analytical study of the users' actions (interaction with the virtual environment) for the inference of user’s interests.
2. Enhancement of Gaze Analysis and integration of User actions-stream for the inference of user’s engagement and focus on the visualized garments. This technology has high potential since it allows the analysis of the user’s focus on specific part of an indument allowing for a high personalization. However, it introduces a technological challenge which requires an innovative and robust approach.
3. Integration of phisiological data and emotion recognition methodologies for the analysis of users’ emotion polarity (positive or negative) with respect to the visualized/worn garments.
4. Development of a personalized system based on the data mentioned above (user actions, emotions and gaze) for the development of an innovative garnments recommendation system.

We identified the following risks which might be addressed proactively by implementing mitigation strategies.

1. Technical -- Avatar Accuracy. Creating avatars that accurately resemble users may be challenging and impact user satisfaction if not done well.
2. Technical -- Device Robustness and Hygiene. This risk will be mitigated by ensuring the VR headsets or immersive environments are hygienic and durable enough to withstand continuous public use.
3. User Adoption and Experience Learning Curve. Users may find the technology intimidating or difficult to use, affecting their willingness to engage.
4. Privacy and Data Security. Collecting and storing biometric data for avatar creation and for emotion recognition could raise privacy concerns and regulatory compliance issues. Additionally, it is important ensuring that the system is secure from hacking or unauthorized access to sensitive data.
5. Infrastructure Maintenance and Support. Regular maintenance of the VR equipment and providing support to users can be resource-intensive.
6. Physical Space Constraints. Finding suitable locations with enough space to set up immersive environments in busy city areas.

Resources

InnoBooster Proof of Concept – Realization of a demonstrative VR personalized experience for virtually trying-on Guess Clothing.

Below are reported the Activities planned for the PoC.

A1 Access to current Guess clothes digitalized 3D archive Guess & SUPSI SUPSI 1000 CHF, Guess in-kind

A2 Generation of virtual environment and personalized Avatar SUPSI SUPSI 9000 CHF

A3 Gaze based sentiment analysis. SUPSI SUPSI 9000 CHF

A4 Implementation and validation SUPSI & Guess SUPSI 5000 CHF, Guess in-kind

A5 Reporting and documentation SUPSI & Guess SUPSI 1000 CHF, Guess in-kind

Total requested budget: 25000,- CHF

Total Budget at the Research partner (SUPSI)

The Innovation Booster will be fundamental for the proposed project on the following aspects.

• First of all with a financial support for the development of the PoC.
• Facilitating the visibility of the proposed innovative idea on the territory
• Supervising the marketing activities related to the PoC.
• Supporting with specialized training on best practices for a future application to InnoSuisse for an R&D Project grant.

To enhance the retail experience and meet evolving consumer expectations, this project proposes innovative solutions such as pop-up stores in busy shopping areas, interactive booths for virtual clothing try-ons, and seamless online purchases. Incorporating advanced features like Virtual Reality, sentiment analysis, and social media interaction can significantly boost customer engagement, sales, and brand standing.