A company called Fit Just Right is trying something similar for clothing. So whether you buy something in a real-world store or online, you can be assured it'll fit.
NEW YORK -- How can retailers use technology to make your shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable? That's what the X08 is for -- a mock store of the future, an annual creation at the National Retail Federation's conference and expo.
IBM is just one company trying to immerse more shoppers into virtual stores. Their system is a way for do-it-yourselfers to try a product before they buy it, to make sure they like it before they spend big bucks on it.
"It's a virtual reality that puts you right in the middle of your room," said Tyrone Parnell of IBM. "You can select the flooring, the technology, the speaker capability. We use 3D graphics. You get the textures, the pallets, construct it before they make any significant investment."
A company called Fit Just Right is trying something similar for clothing. So whether you buy something in a real-world store or online, you can be assured it'll fit.
"We take your measurements and for every single garment we take each point of measure with your body with each point of measurement of the garment, so you know exactly what size to buy and what's the right fit," said Jodi Healy of Fit Just Right.
Developers of all of these technologies, and others, say you'll be to take advantage of them as soon
If you still prefer to try on your clothes in the store, see how they feel and fit on your body, come take a step inside the dressing room of the not-too-distant future. It starts with a sales assistant scanning your clothes so that he or she knows exactly what you're taking into the Retaligent dressing room.
"As the customer is in the fitting room, you can request a different size, different color for a particular item," said Russ Miller of Retaligent Solutions. "They may want to request coordinating items. They may just want to page the associate for additional assistance, so they'll use the kiosk in the fitting room to do those things, and then the associate will get a page on their mobile device that says bring a blue medium or bring the coordinating sweater for this item or just stop in and help."
Developers of all of these technologies, and others, say you'll be to take advantage of them as soon as final deals are made with retailers and clothing manufacturers, which developers are hopeful will happen by the end of the year.