by Victoria Reichinger -

UX in the Fashion Industry

SUSTAINABILITY X TECHNOLOGY
How can online shopping become more convenient and sustainable through interaction design?

The fashion industry constitutes one of the biggest players in the world economy. In the last decade, shopping for clothes online has gained a lot of popularity, leading to the global growth of e-commerce and m-commerce. An increase of global e-commerce fashion revenues from $481.2 billion in 2018 to $712.9 billion in 2022 is expected. Since some 20% of online purchases are made via mobile phone, retailers are creating mobile applications to improve the user experience for online shopping. The industry is strongly driven by competition, which makes it all the more important to build connections with customers and offer an experience rather than a mere product. 

The success of e-commerce fashion websites or apps depends on the confidence that customers have in their use. In order to increase confidence and generate trust, visual aspects, as well as usability of the website or application, need to be taken into account. Fashion brands in particular are facing certain challenges in online customer experience because customer satisfaction is mainly based on product aesthetic and product fit. The deriving key obstacles in fashion e-commerce are therefore wrong size and bad fit, leading to high return rates. To improve customer experience online and reduce return rates, the integration of smart technologies and service design is enhanced in terms of virtual fitting rooms. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology of trying on clothes without touching them has become more popular. By using AR or AI, customers can use their mobile device to try virtually selected garments on a 3D avatar with body features resembling their own or to scan their own body to create a 360-degree 3D model. Such technologies could help customers to make more intentional decisions and build a slower, more sustainable relationship with fashion. In addition, pre-order systems are deployed to counteract overproduction and reduce waste of resources. Offline fashion stores could take recourse to such systems by equipping retail space with virtual mirrors instead of pre-made garments and changing rooms.

Virtual fitting rooms could help online shoppers increase their purchase confidence.
The questions that need to be posed in that context are as followed.

  • What is the most effective way to use this technology?
  • How can this technology transform service touchpoints?
  • How can this technology be explored in the future from a sustainable design perspective?
  • How can a virtual system be easy to use for customers?

References

Augmented Reality Platforms for Virtual Fitting Rooms:
Publication by Kostas Kapetanakis and Ioannis Pachoulakis on Researchgate

Influence of Website Design on E-Trust and Positive Word of Mouth Intentions in E-Commerce Fashion Websites: Publication by Antonio Trigo and Pedro Manuel do Espírito Santo on Researchgate

Unlocking the Potential of the Salesperson in the Virtual Fitting Room:
Publication by Eirini Bazaki and Vanissa Wanick on Researchgate

User Research and Real User Problems: Improving the User Experience of Online Shopping:
Publication by Lauren Ciulla on Researchgate

Online Clothing — a UX Case Study:
https://uxplanet.org/online-clothing-a-ux-case-study-13d9b7f5c1c8

Virtual Dressing Rooms: A Guide For Fashion Retailers:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/16/virtual- dressing-rooms-a-guide-for-fashion-retailers/?sh=57eb6e5eb87e 

What are Virtual Fitting Rooms and Why Should Retailers Use Them?
https://www.shopify.com/retail/virtual-fitting-rooms

by Marton Szabo-Kass -

Augmented Reality solutions and their challenges for in-car UX/UI

| a short introduction to the research topic

Drivers of new cars nowadays are served by several different assistance systems, presenting information about the car and the environment. With the evolution of digital interfaces, the cars GUIs improved in quality, size and customizability.

Besides displays on the dashboard and center console, the Head Up Displays (HUD) were developed with growing importance due to their optimal positioning directly in the driver’s line of sight. Displaying information on the windshield is the perfect condition for using Augmented Reality in vehicles. By this technology a completely new user experience is enabled without any need for clumsy AR-glasses. There are already some expanded systems in new, high-end cars on the market, and newest demos of suppliers like Continental and Panasonic indicate a fast spread of augmented reality technologies for vehicles in the future.

With further evolution of connected cars and smart cities, there will be countless of inputs and data to be shown besides of driver navigation. Until the cars are not completely autonomous, the collected big data will be more and more used to help the driver on his way. On one hand, probably some implementations like HUDs will become mandatory equipment, because of their safety benefits. On the other hand, the data and information has to be selected and designed precisely, not to overwhelm, confuse and distract the driver in any way.

In my research I want to examine the current and possible future trends of AR solutions for in-car user interfaces and the involved challenges that have to be overcome. Some examples of questions I want to get answers to are:

  • What in-car AR solutions are already on the market and in development?
  • What are the possible digital information groups that can truly help drivers behind the steering wheel?
  • In which ways can AR be implemented to deliver helpful information to the driver?
  • What are the boundaries of the human perception and which psychological aspects have to be considered to design a safety critical in-car AR interface?
Source: Futurus

Inspirations:

Forbes: Are You Ready for Augmented Reality in your Car?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/08/26/are-you-ready-for-augmented-reality-in-your-car/?sh=3ffda8973144

Wards Auto: Augmented Reality HUDs Will Make Vehicles Safer, But There’s a Catch
https://www.wardsauto.com/vehicles/augmented-reality-huds-will-make-vehicles-safer-there-s-catch

Next Reality News: Augmented Reality in Cars — the Companies & Tech Driving Us into the Future
https://next.reality.news/news/augmented-reality-cars-companies-tech-driving-us-into-future-0182485/

First literature examples:

Pesce, M.: Augmented Reality – Unboxing Tech’s Next Big Thing; Polity Press, 2021

Aukstakalnis, S.: Practical Augmented Reality: A Guide to the Technologies, Applications and Human Factors for Ar and Vr (Usability); Addison-Wesley Professional, 2016

Castro, C.: Human Factors of Visual and Cognitive Performance in Driving; CRC Press, 2009

Azzam, M.: Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Safety Rules; Independently published, 2019

Jacob, P. & Jeannerod, J.: Ways of Seeing: The scope and limits of visual cognition; Oxford University Press, 2004

Wiklund, M.E., Costantino, C., Post, R. et al.: Designing for Safe Use: 100 Principles for Making Products Safer; CRC Press, 2019

Parker, P.M.: The 2021-2026 World Outlook for Augmented Reality Products; ICON, 2020