Virtual Try-On Limitations

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Being Transparent About Limitations

Virtual try-on is a powerful tool, but it’s not magic. Understanding its limitations helps set realistic expectations and ensures the best customer experience.

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Core Limitations

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1. Style, Not Sizing

What virtual try-on shows:

• How the style looks on you
• Color and pattern visualization
• Overall garment appearance
• How the product looks on different body types

What virtual try-on does NOT show:

• Whether a size will fit
• Precise sizing recommendations
• Fit predictions

Virtual try-on reduces style-related returns (doesn’t look as expected, color doesn’t suit). It doesn’t solve sizing issues.

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2. Visual Representation

The AI model delivers highly realistic results across all product types. What customers see:

• Realistic garment rendering
• Accurate colors and patterns
• Natural placement on their body
• All textures, embellishments, and details

What’s not represented:

• Physical sensation (fabric feel, weight, breathability)
• How the fabric moves
• Tactile properties

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3. Product Coverage

Fully supported:

• All apparel (tops, dresses, outerwear, activewear, swimwear, pants, shorts, skirts)
• Accessories (jewelry, bags, scarves, hats, belts, sunglasses)
• Footwear (sneakers, boots, heels, sandals, all shoe types)

Coming soon:

• Multi-item try-on (try on multiple products simultaneously)

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Revealing Products

Only product limitation: Very revealing garments may fail to generate results. Examples:

• Lingerie
• Very revealing swimwear
• Extremely revealing clothing

Why: Protection against misuse. Recommendation: Disable these products in your Looksy admin if you encounter issues.

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Image Quality Dependencies

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Virtual Try-On is Only as Good as Your Images

Input matters:

• Poor product images → Poor try-on results
• Low-quality selfies → Inaccurate rendering
• Busy backgrounds → Garment isolation issues

Cannot fix:

• Fundamentally poor photography
• Very low resolution images
• Extremely bad lighting

Can help:

• Modest lighting issues (brightening, contrast)
• Simple background removal
• Minor quality enhancements

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Technical Limitations

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Internet Connection Required

Why: AI processing happens on cloud servers Impact:

• Won’t work offline
• Slow connections = slower results
• No connection = feature unavailable

Mitigation: Looksy is optimized for mobile networks (4G/5G work great, 3G is slower but functional)

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Device Requirements

Minimum:

• iOS 13+ or Android 8+
• Modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
• Camera for taking selfies (or ability to upload photos)

Not supported:

• Very old devices (iPhone 6 and older, Android 7 and older)
• Internet Explorer
• Severely outdated browsers

Impact: Small percentage of users (< 5%) may not be able to use the feature

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Processing Time

Typical: 15-20 seconds Factors that increase time:

• Slow internet connection
• Large image file sizes
• Server load during peak times

Limitation: Not instant (unlike viewing product photos) Mitigation: Looksy optimizes for speed, but physics prevents instant results. Most customers find 15-20 seconds acceptable.

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Accuracy Limitations

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Body Type Diversity

Supported:

• Wide range of body types
• Diverse skin tones
• Various ages

Better results:

• Standard proportions
• Full body shot showing more of the body
• Enough body visible for garment placement

Challenges:

• Extreme proportions (very tall/short, very large/small)
• Unusual poses or angles
• Poor selfie quality

Why: AI is trained on diverse data, but extreme edge cases may not render as accurately

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Lighting Variation

Challenge: Selfie lighting affects color perception Example:

• Selfie in yellow indoor lighting → Garment appears warmer
• Selfie in blue outdoor lighting → Garment appears cooler

Limitation: Cannot fully compensate for colored lighting in selfies Recommendation: Instruct customers to use neutral lighting (natural daylight or neutral white LEDs)

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No Physical Sensation

Cannot convey:

• Fabric feel (soft, rough, stretchy)
• Weight of garment
• Warmth or breathability
• How fabric moves

Why: Virtual try-on is visual only Recommendation: Provide detailed product descriptions covering fabric feel, weight, and other tactile properties

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Use Case Limitations

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Not for All Product Categories

Works well:

• Fashion apparel
• Activewear
• Casual wear
• Formal wear

Doesn’t work (currently):

• Home goods
• Furniture
• Electronics
• Beauty products
• Accessories (most types)

Why: Looksy is purpose-built for apparel try-on. Other product categories require different technologies.

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Not a Full Virtual Fitting Room (Yet)

Current: One item at a time Cannot do (yet):

• Try on multiple items simultaneously
• Build complete outfits
• Mix and match
• See full-body view (with pants + top)

Future: Multi-item try-on is on the roadmap for 2026-2027

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Privacy Limitations

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Customer Consent Required

Requirement: Customers must opt-in to use try-on Cannot:

• Force customers to use the feature
• Use photos without permission
• Store images without consent

Why: Privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) require explicit consent Impact: Some customers won’t use the feature, and that’s okay. It’s opt-in only.

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No Stored Customer Data

Benefit: Maximum privacy Limitation: Cannot save try-on history or preferences (without customer account creation) Why: Looksy prioritizes privacy by not storing images Workaround (future): Optional customer accounts for saving try-ons

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Competitive Limitations

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Not the Only Factor in Conversions

Virtual try-on helps, but doesn’t fix:

• Poor product selection
• Uncompetitive pricing
• Bad customer service
• Slow shipping
• Low-quality products

Reality: Virtual try-on increases conversions 15-25%, but it’s not a silver bullet for all e-commerce challenges.

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Other Merchants Have It Too

Initially: Competitive advantage (most stores don’t have try-on) Over time: More stores will adopt virtual try-on Your advantage: Implementation quality, product selection, optimization Recommendation: Focus on executing well, not just having the feature

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Setting Customer Expectations

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What to Tell Customers

Do say:

• “See how the style looks on you”
• “Visualize the garment before you buy”
• “Get a realistic preview of the product”
• “Helps you decide if the style is right for you”

Don’t say:

• “Perfect fit guarantee”
• “100% accurate representation”
• “Exactly how it will look in person”
• “Replaces trying on in-store”

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Managing Disappointment

If customers say “it doesn’t look exactly like me”:

• Acknowledge it’s an approximation
• Emphasize it’s for visualizing style, not exact fit
• Point to size charts for fit guidance
• Offer hassle-free returns if unsure

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When Not to Use Virtual Try-On

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Situations Where Try-On May Not Help

1. Very low-quality product images
   • If you can’t improve images, don’t enable try-on
2. Products with critical fine details
   • If details are essential and won’t render well, skip try-on
3. Non-apparel products
   • Stick to clothing for now
4. Stores with very low traffic
   • If < 500 monthly visitors, ROI may be minimal (but still positive)
5. When customers need tactile feedback
   • Fabrics where feel is critical may not benefit as much

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Continuous Improvement

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Looksy is Always Improving

Current limitations that will be addressed:

• Multi-item combinations (ongoing)
• Enhanced texture rendering (ongoing)
• Faster processing (ongoing)
• Better edge case handling (ongoing)

How we improve:

• Model updates every quarter
• New training data
• Algorithm optimizations
• Customer feedback integration

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Questions About Limitations

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The Bottom Line

Virtual try-on is not perfect, but it’s highly effective. Despite limitations:

• 10-25% conversion increase
• 15-30% return reduction
• 5-10x ROI
• High customer satisfaction

Most limitations are:

• Well-understood
• Manageable with proper setup
• Being actively improved

For the vast majority of apparel stores, the benefits far outweigh the limitations.

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Next Steps