A rising number of stores have introduced virtual changing rooms in recent years, spurred on by online shopping. That includes Nike, Macy’s, Walmart, and Amazon, the leading apparel retailer in the United States. Using interactive simulation technology and texture-mapped product images, the virtual rooms enable customers to ‘try on’ clothing. It can reduce refunds and encourage hesitant customers to complete their purchases.
Virtual fitting rooms, however, could backfire on businesses if they believe all interactions with the technology would be pleasant, according to findings from a recent study. Professor Huifang Mao, a Dean’s Fellow in Marketing at Iowa State, is one of the co-authors. Her studies of consumer behaviour utilise a psychological perspective.
“We shouldn’t think consumers are all the same and will respond in the same way because they don’t. Our research shows virtual fitting rooms can hurt the self-esteem of certain customer segments. We want to make sure technology can help companies make money without hurting customer welfare,” says Mao.
To learn how and why customers with a high body mass index (BMI) would encounter virtual fitting rooms differently than those with a low BMI, the researchers carried out six tests.
For a Chinese online retailer of women’s clothing, this involved the analysis of data from more than 8,000 clients. Researchers discovered that consumers with low body mass indices bought more while using virtual technologies. Customers with a high BMI saw a decline in sales.
In a follow-up study, the researchers discovered that participants with high BMI had decreased self-esteem due to the technology, which had a negative impact on product assessments.
According to Mao, people who are dissatisfied with how they think they look may transfer that dissatisfaction to the goods. Such trends, according to the researchers, also occur in actual fitting rooms, but the impact of virtual rooms is greater.
“One possible reason for this: There are fewer distractions with virtual rooms. It’s just your image with the clothes and a white background. When the only thing you are looking at is your own image, you may view it with a more critical eye,” she explains.
