BrandLab, a California-based start-up providing virtual reality showroom technology to the fashion industry, has reported a huge rise in customer interest.
Prior to the pandemic, the company had deployed the solution to over 200 labels around the world including UK, Italy, South Africa, Dubai and the US. However, after the pandemic the number of new customer enquiries about the solution has increased by 2,000 per cent.
The company specialises in creating customised virtual showrooms by recreating the brands’ physical space, floorboards, the shapes of chair and even the hangers.
The customers can browse for the collection of the brand with a 360 degree showroom, close up view of the fabric texture, clickable links to the product and price of information, watch catwalk shows filmed exclusively on BrandLab’s 50 foot long catwalk and add products directly to orders.
As a result of the high demand of the product and fulfilling the need of the customers, the company is planning to open offices in Los Angeles, Paris and New York.
It has now 250 customers and has witnessed 10 times increase in the revenue during April to June compared to the same period in 2019.
“We were seeing fantastic growth at the start of 2020, mainly with brands seeking to improve their sustainability credentials and reduce huge costs in wholesale buying. When the pandemic hit, all of a sudden we were the number one solution.
For brands, the ability to maintain customer relationships in a world where they could not meet face-to-face was very important, and we are the only business to offer this type of immersive and interactive showroom appointment,” said O’Connell, Co-founder of BrandLab.
The virtual reality once seen as a marketing gimmick is now the biggest answer to the crisis that the industry is facing right now. The technology helps in reducing cost through travel, physical space and clothes wastage and also helps improving the environmental footprint.
