Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has recently revealed a set of augmented reality (AR) shoe try-ons. Fashion label Gucci is the first brand to delve into the technology with the recent launch of its Snapchat AR Lenses.
Gucci had come up with two lenses, each depicting two of its latest shoes. The four styles being showcased include the Gucci Rhyton, Gucci Ace, Gucci Screener and Gucci Tennis 1977. Snapchat users can select the shoes on their screens, point their device’s camera at their feet. This enables them to try on the shoes virtually. Users who decide to make a purchase can do so without having to leave the application, owing to the Shippable AR technology from Snapchat. Clicking on the ‘shop now’ button lets users buy the products of their choice.
The launch of this new lens is one among several AR efforts by Gucci in recent times. Gucci had launched an AR try-on feature in its iOS application last year. It let users project virtual overlays of the brand’s Ace sneakers by using their phone cameras. Gucci has collaborated with Wannaby, the vendor which offers the machine learning technology fueling the foot tracking mechanism for the AR shoe try-on on Snapchat. Gucci’s application also contains try-ons for eyewear, lipstick and several other products.
Gucci’s collaboration with Snap is being seen as another step towards adopting technological innovation. Geoffrey Perez, Snap’s global head of luxury, reported to WWD that the company has been in partnership with Gucci for some time. He explained that bringing users into engaging and immersive experiences with tools like the Gucci Portal Lens and this year’s limited Gucci Spectacles editions.
The Portal Lens campaign took Snapchat users on a trip to a Gucci-themed island. Spectacles 3, the brand’s limited-edition offering in collaboration with visual artist and director Harmony Korine, offered a luxury camera-equipped glass models. The two companies had partnered in the past to create a lens for the Met Gala. The new Snapchat Lenses are creating opportunities for Snapchat and Gucci. The social media brand represented the first use-case of branded technology. Gucci is using this new technology as a new method of appealing to a worldwide audience.
Based on Snap’s numbers, the social media application has a reach of more than 100 million individuals across the US. 90 per cent of that audience is in the 13 to 24-year-old age range, with 75 per cent in the 13 to 34 year-olds. Upwards of 170 million Snapchatters use the Snapchat AR application every day. The technology brand understands that such observations indicate that there is greater potential support for e-commerce.
According to Perez, the Shoe Try-on feature focuses on enabling Snapchat users to explore and shop for the new sneaker collections by Gucci. He said that the company is getting into marketing methods for conversion, signifying the way forward for social commerce.
The Gucci Lens is set to launch soon and will be available for Snapchat users across the U.S., U.K., Italy, France, Australia, Japan and U.A.E.