If you’re in the market for new glasses but don’t have the time to visit a store and try on some frames, Hakim Optical has the perfect digital solution for you.
On Monday the Toronto-based eyewear retailer released a Virtual Try-On app for iOS and Android devices.
Developed by Toronto-based virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) agency VusionVR Inc., the app automatically fixes a pair of virtual glasses, Snapchat filter-like, to the faces of users while they’re a shooting selfie on their smartphone.
Key to the app experience, Hakim Optical vice president of marketing John Worden said in a Nov. 21 statement, is the social nature of its filters: Much like their counterparts on Snapchat or Instagram, Hakim hopes users of its new app will share pictures of the glasses they’re considering with friends and family.
To encourage sharing, the app even adds coupon codes to every shot.
“Consumers seek social approval before purchasing glasses, especially when it comes to fashion forward frames,” Worden said in the statement. “This application removes the friction and allows consumers to poll their friends and social peers before making the purchase.”
To use the app, users need only download the Hakim Optical Virtual Try-On app onto their mobile device, or check out its desktop counterpart if they have a webcam. While shooting a selfie, they’ll see a virtual pair of Hakim Optical frames appear across their face, which they can swipe through if they want to consider a series of different looks.
It’s a nifty feat of digital transformation, though having tried the app ourselves we must concede that we needed to use a third-party app to access the photos.