It’s commonplace for online shoppers to order the same styles in a range of sizes so they can recreate the in-store try-on experience at home and then send back what doesn’t work—often at the expense of retailers offering free return shipping.
Now, Trupik is aiming to prove there’s an easier way for both the buyer and seller to find what fits.
The Silicon Valley-based start-up, which secured $1 million in seed funding in January 2014, has unveiled Trupik Connect, a mobile app that lets consumers virtually try on clothes before they order them.
Trupik has teamed up with four menswear labels for the app’s soft launch in India this month, including Raymond, Indian Terrain, Allen Solly and Wills Lifestyle.
Each brand partner has a scanning kiosk at its stores in the southern city of Hyderabad, where a Microsoft Kinect camera can snap a customer’s photo and create an avatar using 3-D body mapping technology.
Once that digital persona has been created, customers can download the app to see how different sizes, styles and fabrics drape on their bodies from wherever they choose to shop. If they see something they like, users can pick it up from the store or choose the home-delivery option.
The technology also promises to figure out each shopper’s preferences and likes so it can send relevant product suggestions.
For retailers, it claims to increase brand awareness, reduce customer attrition and drive loyalty, improve store efficiency and drive quality engagement beyond the store.
Eleven more brand partners are reportedly in the pipeline and, according to the company’s website, it’s planning for about 750 scan stations. The company also has its sights set on initiating a Series A funding round next month.
“Subsequently, [Trupik] will be rolled out to other parts of the country, the continent and the rest of the globe,” CEO Sridhar Tirumala said at the app’s soft launch last week.