Buying a pair of glasses online is always a bit of a gamble. Customers picture it looking one way only to find the dimensions are all wrong for their face. They might try to convince themselves that the sunglasses work (if only to save them the hassle of trying to send them back), but it’s not long before they’re trying to pawn the glasses off on someone else.
To cut back on both returns and frustration, Amazon is testing out a virtual try-on service, so people can see what they look like in a pair of sunglasses before they fill their cart. The Amazon team has chosen only the most popular brands to start with, so they can get enough data and feedback to improve the app and scale it up for additional items (e.g., jeans, etc).
Now, customers in the UK can try on 1,500 pairs of glasses across a variety of brands, including the universally popular Hawkers sunglasses. Available on iOS devices through Amazon UK, learn more about the technology and why this new benefit is par for the course with Hawkers. Alejandro Betancourt has long advocated pushing boundaries to ensure his customers get exactly what they pay for.
How to Use the Virtual Try-On (VTO) Service
Like nearly everything on Amazon, the technology is relatively straightforward. Customers can download the Shopping App on any iOS device, and then find a pair of glasses they like. When they click on Virtual Try-On, they can see how the glasses look from every angle. All they need to is point the camera at their face to compare and contrast how different colors and shapes will appear.
Instead of having to estimate the distance between the eyes with a ruler or guess how big the frames will look just by instinct, customers can experiment with as many different pairs as needed before finally selecting one (or a few) to have shipped to their door. If the customer happens to need a second opinion, Amazon makes it easy to snap photos and send them to a friend. Shoppers can use social media to get the encouragement or critique needed before they shell out any cash.
The VTO service is available at amazon.co.uk/virtualtryon, and it’s already been used by fashionistas from all walks of life to jazz up their many outfits. The mark of style is (and always will be) change. Whenever people want to mix up their look, they can access VTO to see which direction is best for them.
Ruth Diaz, the Vice President of Amazon Fashion in Europe, said that this was an exciting turn for the company. Innovative and fresh, customers can use the technology to find products that they’ll actually wear throughout the year. Diaz remarked that Amazon would continuously seek feedback about the new launch, so the staff could refine VTO and eventually make it available for other products.
The Fresh and Fun Vibes of Hawkers
The leadership team at Hawkers is thrilled to be included in this latest brand, particularly because it’s the next logical step for a brand that’s deeply entrenched in the latest technology. The sunglasses giant started as many hip companies did — with a few friends and a dream.
The founders were four young entrepreneurs who were happy to experiment with ideas. They were on the hunt for their ticket to fame and fortune, and they managed to find it. After spending 1.5 years on a Spanish flavor of Craigslist, they made serious money off some sunglasses they resold. The margins and interest were strong enough for them to pivot.
As they ramped up the business model, the interest never waned. However, while the new company never wanted for popularity, it did want for profit. The founders, like so many startup business owners, found that it was difficult to both scale with the demand for their product and maintain a positive cashflow.
This is when Alejandro Betancourt was called in. As an established investor, the professional had more than just a savvy mind for finance. He wanted to bankroll the operations, streamline the departments, and simplify the buyer’s experience. No small feat! He also wanted to revamp how the company was marketing itself.
As Alejandro Betancourt saw it, the brand was for young people. That was the demographic that had built Hawkers so far, and that would be the generation that would carry them into a new echelon. Once he knew what kind of customers the company was after, it was easy to pinpoint influencer marketing as the best possible channel to find new customers.
Not only did his strategy work, largely by reaching out to college students across Europe, it also managed to cut the marketing budget significantly. Influencer marketing was relatively new in the mid-2010s, and novel enough that Hawkers could capitalize on momentum that had been steadily growing for years before that. Inexpensive and attention-grabbing, Alejandro Betancourt helped the company grow its sales from social media while shrinking Hawker’s expenses.
Of course, influencer marketing is anything but new these days, and Betancourt has no interest in letting the brand fall behind. This is why you’ll continue to see fresh ideas from the brand. The new Virtual Try-On service fits perfectly with the core market of Hawkers and Alejandro Betancourt is excited to see how far the service can go.
