By Roland Piquepaille
Only 3% of online shoppers for CDs or books return them to the senders. By contrast, about 40% of the people who purchase clothes on the Net return them, mainly because they're not satisfied with the fabrics. Why this disparity? Because you can't 'feel' the fabrics on line. This led to the creation of a software and a small U.K. company carrying the same name, Click 2 Touch. This software will become commercially available next year for retailers. But you can see demos on the site. With it, you'll be able to use interactive virtual reality animations to look at various fabrics and their respective qualities, such as smoothness or elasticity. For more information, you can read two short articles from e4engineering.com or BBC News Online. Or you can read more below...Let's start with the introduction by e4engineering.com.
The Click 2 Touch programme, which uses a series of interactive virtual-reality animations to accurately mimic the movement of various fabrics as a mouse is dragged across them, is being commercialised by Nicola Davison, who came up with the idea while studying for an MA in Fashion and Textiles at the University.
Nicola, who is in talks with both national high street chains and independent retailers, is certain it will help to slash the number of online shopping returns which stands at almost 40%. Her business, Click 2 Touch, has recently been awarded a research development grant from the Department of Trade and Industry to help her develop the software even further.
Click 2 Touch's software provides realistic 'sensations' for ten feelings -- softness, fullness, smoothness, hairiness, prickliness, drape, thickness, elasticity, rigidity and warmth. Different 3D animations are used to convey the feeling of each sensation.
Here is how the software will work.
For example, for the hairiness sensation a close-up image of the garment's surface is shown. By moving the mouse up and down it you can stroke the fibres and watch them ripple in a realistic way. The thickness sensation allows you to lift up the edge of a garment and drop it back down, while elasticity lets you stretch the garment before it returns to its original shape.
By using the mouse, a user can also rotate the images and zoom in for a closer look at details such as necklines, patterns and seams. To develop the software, Nicola watched people shopping to see how they interacted with garments.
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Here is a screenshot of one demo of 'Click 2 Touch' (Credit: Click 2 Touch). Here are the direct links to the demos, here and there. |
As Davison says, "The internet only appeals to two of our five senses - sight and sound, but clothing requires the sense of touch."
She hopes that her software will dramatically reduce the number of clothing items returned by online shoppers. She also thinks that the volume of clothes bought by online shoppers will increase. Here is what she said to BBC News Online about the near future.
"In the future I plan to develop the software to include home furnishings such as carpets, curtains and sofas," she added.
Miss Davison is in talks with high street chains about the software. She expects a completed version to be ready next year.
I've bought many things online, but I never purchased clothes. Maybe I'll change my mind next year.
Sources: e4engineering.com, October 4, 2004; BBC News Online, September 10, 2004; 'Click 2 Touch' website
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