TEAM
Sunny Lee - UX Lead
Devansh Garg - Product Management
Justin Morgan - iOS Lead
Andrew Bradnan - iOS Development
Harrison Shapley - Android Lead
Alexander Biemann - Android Development
Suresh Peddisetti - React Native
Mike Gourdin - Quality Assurance Lead
Aaron Wedin - Quality Assurance
Sudharsan Uthayasuriya - 3D Modeling Lead
Vairam Vignesh - 3D Modeling
Jonathan Bergeron - UX Research
Georgia Carlsson - UX Content
Dave Kover - UX Standards
Vidhya Subramanian - Accessibility
DURATION
6 months
CLIENT
Best Buy - Seattle Technology Development Center
TOOLS
Figma, UserTesting.com, MIRO, 3DStudioMax, VRay, Blender, Reality Composer, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Lottie, PowerBI Analytics, OpinionLab, and JIRA.
PLATFORMS
iOS: ARKit, SceneKit, and RealityKit
Android: ARCore and Sceneform
OVERVIEW
In late 2022, following the pandemic, Best Buy retail stores faced substantial losses due to theft, leading the company to implement protective enclosures for high-value products to reduce shrink. This measure restricted customers’ ability to try on smartwatches and glasses in-store, negatively impacting sales and increasing return rates as shoppers were unable to accurately assess sizing before purchase.
To mitigate the risks associated with high-value items on shelves while still enabling customers to virtually try on wearables, we were tasked with developing augmented reality (AR) solutions to provide a comprehensive alternative to in-store fittings.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
We designed a bottom toolbar with a menu drawer for browsing related SKUs. Users could navigate between watch series by swiping the drawer or using on-screen gestures. The feature also included dimension tools to ensure accurate sizing.
For glasses, we adopted a similar user interface approach, differing primarily in the presentation of variations within the drawer and the display of dimensions to users.
GLASSES MVP
The Glasses Try-On feature developed in partnership with Meta and Luxottica was deployed on October 17, 2023, enabling real-time AR visualization to assist users in selecting optimally fitting eyewear styles. This innovation enhanced decision-making precision while providing a personalized, interactive interface.
WATCH MVP
The Watch Try-On feature was launched on January 12, 2024, exclusively on Android. A functional iOS prototype was also developed and submitted to Apple for review but was not approved for release. This process underscored the political, technical, and platform-specific complexities of implementing advanced ML features across different ecosystems.
LESSONS LEARNED
The project stalled because we didn't properly communicate with Apple first. Leadership thought showing a working prototype would excite Apple about how the technology could benefit users, but we should have secured their approval before proceeding. Without Apple's support, leadership decided not to move beyond the MVP.
Despite this, engagement with wearables and the virtual try-on feature remains strong, with placement rates outperforming 3D visualization of the product by over 75%.
CASE STUDIES
ENVISION
VIEW IN ROOM
SMART CAMPUS
BESPOKE SERVICES