Wanna Kicks is a new app that uses augmented reality to let people "virtually" wear a pair of shoes. Here's how it works
Lovers of online shopping but chronic indecisive? The developers of Wanna Kicks have thought of you: available for iOS and created by the startup Wannaby, the app uses augmented reality to allow you to "try on" different pairs of sneakers and find the ones that are right for you.
The application was developed by a Belarusian startup, specialized in "augmented reality commerce" (it develops ad hoc services for e-commerce). Thanks to Wanna Kicks, virtual purchases become real: no worries about color, appearance or shape. To try on the sneakers of your choice, all you need today is a camera. The application, although still in the testing phase, is very simple to use: it takes only a few seconds to wear the new pair of "virtual" shoes.
How Wanna Kicks works
To test the next sneakers to buy, with Wanna Kicks is sufficient to choose them from the list of 3D models and point the camera towards your feet: immediately, the new shoes will be worn and you can actually see the style and fit.
The effect is quite synchronized and detects movements and rotations of the feet: even while walking, Wanna Kicks keeps track of your footsteps. Differently, it doesn't work as well in front of a mirror, but the usefulness of the function is not underestimated and is being improved.
"Our mission is to break online commerce barriers," say Wannaby CEO and former Google employee Sergey Arkhangelskiy.Augmented reality helps customers shop online because it eliminates the difference between offline and online shopping. The ability to try on sneakers with your phone before buying online should increase sales and decrease returns.
What you can do with Wanna Kicks
In addition to a real facilitation in terms of purchase choice, Wanna Kicks is also a great marketing tool: not surprisingly, the app allows you to save a photo of your feed with new virtual sneakers and share them on social media. Work in progress, instead, for video sharing.
The use of algorithms together with neural networks that identify the position of the shoe in space, allows the start-up Wannaby to achieve its mission: to make users learn more about new versions of sneakers through augmented reality that finally allows them to choose and decide whether each customer likes a shoe or not without visiting a physical store. In short, to buy a new pair of shoes you no longer have to leave the house, but just take your smartphone and activate the camera.