Walmart acquires Zeekit, a virtual fitting room firm

If Walmart’s latest acquisition goes as planned, apparel shoppers can send their return receipts to the paper shredder. Yesterday, Walmart said it will purchase virtual fitting room tech firm Zeekit for an undisclosed amount.

The details: Zeekit’s tech lets shoppers upload a photo of themselves to see how an item fits, or choose from a range of models with different body types. Once Zeekit is available at Walmart…

• Shoppers can virtually try on items from Walmart’s national partners and private label brands.
• A social plug-in will allow shoppers to ask for friends’ opinions on a ’fit.

The rationale: “Virtual try-on…solves what has historically been one of the most difficult things to replicate online: understanding fit and how an item will actually look on you,” Denise Incandela, Walmart EVP of apparel and private brands, said in a statement.

• Better fits for customers = reduced return costs for retailers. Last year, US shoppers sent back $102 billion worth of stuff bought online, according to NRF.
• Pre-acquisition, Zeekit told Insider its virtual fitting rooms slashed return rates across its clients by 36%.

Retailers from ASOS to Farfetch have jumped on virtual fitting tech for this exact reason. Even Snap snapped up Fit Analytics, a Zeekit rival, in March for $124 million as part of its push into e-commerce.

Source: Retail Brew