Walmart plans to acquire Zeekit, a female-founded, Israeli-based virtual fitting platform. The deal will help Walmart enhance its customer and social experience by offering virtual try-ons designed to provide shoppers with more inclusive, immersive and personalized experiences.
Once the experience goes live on Walmart.com, shoppers can upload their picture or choose from a selection of models that best represent their height, shape and skin tone. They can then see each article of clothing to get a better idea of how it would look, and share these virtual outfits with their friends to get a second opinion.
The Zeekit integration will initially let shoppers try on national brands including Free People, Champion and Levi’s Strauss; exclusive and private label brands like Time and Tru, Terra & Sky, Wonder Nation and George; and elevated brands such as ELOQUII Elements, Free Assembly, Scoop and Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara.
Walmart believes the technology could be used for more experiences in the future, including the ability to build a virtual closet and to mix and match styles. The retailer’s goal is to enhance the social aspect of the digital experience by encouraging shoppers to showcase their personalities and preferences.
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Zeekit’s social commerce potential holds particular interest for Walmart, which has been experimenting with the format in recent months. The retail giant hosted a livestream on TikTok in mid-March and launched a virtual experience on Mashable in April. CEO Doug McMillon has called TikTok a “discovery opportunity” for shoppers and has been in talks with the platform’s owner, ByteDance, to try and make social commerce easier and more convenient for shoppers.
Following the acquisition, Zeekit’s team will be integrated with Walmart. Zeekit CEO Yael Vizel, CTO Alon Kristal and VP of Research and Development Nir Appleboim will be among those who join Walmart, and they will lend their expertise in real-time image technologies, computer vision and AI to the retailer’s efforts.
