Wannaby's Wanna Kicks AR App Lets You Digitally Try on Sneakers
“Our mission is to break online shopping barriers.”
A Belarus-backed startup known as Wannaby has introduced a new app for trying on shoes. Known as Wanna Kicks, Wannaby’s new iOS app utilizes augmented reality to allow consumers a chance to virtually “try on” sneakers. To use Wanna Kicks, all users have to do is log onto the app, pick a selection from a lineup of “3D models,” and then point their phone’s camera directly towards their feet — that’s it. Once that process is finished, you will then be “virtually wearing” a pair of sneakers. The entire process can be done very quickly, and it even follows you as you walk and move around. Users can also use the app to save a picture of their feet as they wear their new digital footwear and upload it to social media. According to Wannaby and TechCrunch, the virtual try-on procedures happen through the use of advanced “3D geometry algorithms together with neural networks to identify the position of the shoe in space.”
“Our mission is to break online shopping barriers,’ Wannaby CEO Sergey Arkhangelskiy explained to TechCrunch. “We believe that AR try-on can help customers to shop online and will wash away the difference between online and offline shopping. We see two major problems in the shoe market. Online conversions are quite low, and returns are quite high, in comparison to traditional ‘brick-and-mortar’ shopping. The ability to try sneakers with your phone before buying online should shift conversions, engagement and returns.”
“Many shoe brands are presenting their new releases both online and offline,” Arkhangelskiy added. “Lots of customers are eager to know more about new sneaker releases, and AR is a great new way for people to experience sneakers that are new to the market or are about to get to the market. Essentially, this is the main idea behind Wanna Kicks: allowing users to choose and decide whether they like a shoe or not without visiting a physical store. We’ve built Wanna Kicks for Gen Z and millennials who are interested in buying sneakers and eager to know whether they will fit their style or not … we’ve accomplished a really difficult task in computer vision and rendering.”
Wannaby’s Wanna Kicks app is currently in its beta stages, and the startup has already earned $2 million USD in seed funding so far. For more information, check out the app’s promotional vignette above and head on over to the app’s official website.
