Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / How Brands Use Social Media for Virtual Product Try-Ons
Transcript
- Lucas: You've probably seen it on Instagram or TikTok — someone taps the screen, and suddenly they're wearing a pair of sunglasses or testing out a new shade of lipstick without actually having the product in hand. That's a virtual try-on, and it's become a pretty serious marketing tool for brands. Luna: I've definitely used one. Sephora's virtual lipstick thing — I've spent way too much time cycling through shades. But does it actually move the needle on sales, or is it just a fun toy? Lucas: That's the question, and the data says it does more than entertain. Warby Parker, the eyewear company, was an early pioneer. They launched a virtual try-on feature on their website back in 2019, and they found that customers who used it were two to three times more likely to purchase than those who didn't. Luna: That's a huge lift. But that was on their own site. Now brands are putting these try-ons directly into social media feeds — Instagram Stories, TikTok effects. Does the conversion hold up in a platform where people are already in a browsing mood? Lucas: It does, and in some ways it works better. A brand called Good American — the denim company co-founded by Khloé Kardashian — launched an AR try-on for their jeans on Instagram. They reported a 30% increase in sales among users who engaged with the filter. And that's apparel, which is harder to fit virtually than, say, a pair of glasses. Luna: Right, because a pair of glasses just sits on your face. Jeans have to fit your waist, your hips, your inseam. How does the technology even approximate that? Lucas: It's a combination of body-tracking AI and pre-existing size data. The camera maps your body shape in real time, then overlays the garment in a way that accounts for how it would drape. It's not perfect — you're not getting the exact feel of the fabric — but it gives you a visual sense of proportion and color. For a brand, that's often enough to reduce hesitation. Luna: And hesitation is the enemy of conversion. I've read that for fashion and beauty, the biggest barrier to online purchase is 'I'm not sure it will look good on me.' So if a try-on filter can reduce that uncertainty, it directly addresses the friction point. Lucas: Exactly. And there's another benefit that brands don't talk about as much — returns. When a customer uses a virtual try-on, they're less likely to return the product because they already have a realistic expectation of what it looks like. Sephora reported that customers who used their AR try-on had a return rate that was 11% lower than the average. Luna: That's a meaningful cost saving. Especially for beauty products, where returns are often destroyed due to hygiene regulations. So the ROI on a try-on filter isn't just in incremental sales — it's also in reduced reverse logistics. Lucas: Now, not every brand needs to build a custom AR experience from scratch. If you're a smaller business, you can use platform-native tools. Snapchat has Lens Studio, where you can create a simple try-on lens in a few hours using their templates. And Shopify has an AR integration that lets you add a 'View in your space' button to product pages. Luna: But there's a catch, right? I mean, the user has to grant camera access. And with privacy concerns around facial data, some people are going to hesitate. Lucas: That's a real tension. The technology works by scanning your face or body, and that data has to be processed somewhere. Most brands use on-device processing to avoid sending images to servers, but the user still has to trust that. Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore both emphasize on-device processing, which helps. But the brand also needs to be transparent about what happens with that data. Luna: And a lot of fashion brands have been burned by data scandals. So if you're a smaller brand trying this, you need a clear privacy policy. Otherwise, the try-on becomes a liability instead of a benefit. Lucas: True. But for brands that do it well, the payoff is real. Let's talk about one specific case: the sneaker brand Vans. They launched an AR try-on for their Classic Slip-On sneakers on Instagram. Users could point their camera at their feet and see the shoe appear on their foot. Luna: I remember that. It was in Instagram Stories, and you could tap to see different colorways. It felt very natural. Lucas: Vans reported that users who tried on the shoes virtually were 44% more likely to add the product to their cart. And the average session time for those users was over a minute — that's huge engagement for a social media ad. You're essentially getting the customer to play with your product before they buy. Luna: That engagement also feeds the algorithm. Instagram rewards content that keeps people on the platform. If your AR filter has a high completion rate or share rate, the platform will push it to more users. Lucas: Right. So it's not just a direct conversion tool — it's also a distribution strategy. The filter itself becomes content. People share their try-on videos with friends, and that generates organic reach. A beauty brand called NYX Professional Makeup ran an AR try-on campaign on TikTok where users could try on different eyeshadow looks. The campaign generated over 1.5 million user-generated videos. Luna: That's the dream, right? You're not paying for impressions; your customers are making them for you. But let me push back a little — do you think the novelty is wearing off? I see more and more brands jumping into AR try-ons, and some of them feel a bit gimmicky. Like, do I really need to try on a watch virtually when I can just look at a picture? Lucas: That's a fair point. The key is whether the try-on adds genuine utility. For something like a watch, where you care about the size on your wrist and how it looks with your outfit, it can be useful. But if you're just slapping a filter on a product without thinking about the user's decision process, it will feel like a gimmick. Luna: So the filter has to solve a real problem. For glasses, it's 'Will these frames suit my face shape?' For lipstick, it's 'Is this shade too bold for me?' For furniture, it's 'Will this couch fit in my living room?' If the filter doesn't answer a specific question, it's just flash. Lucas: Exactly. And the best brands are integrating try-ons into the entire purchasing journey, not just the top of the funnel. For example, you might see an Instagram ad for a dress, tap to try it on, then tap again to see it in a different color, and then swipe up to buy. The whole thing happens inside the app. Luna: That seamlessness is important. If you have to leave the social platform and go to a website, you lose some of the impulse. But if the try-on and the purchase are in the same flow, you capture that momentum. Lucas: And that's where the platforms are investing. Instagram Shops now support AR try-ons for certain products. TikTok has been testing a 'Try On' feature for beauty products. The platforms want to keep the transaction within their walls, so they're giving brands the tools to do it. Luna: Let's talk about the cost. For a small business, is it worth the investment? Building a custom AR filter through a development agency can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000, depending on complexity. That's not trivial. Lucas: But you can start much cheaper. Snapchat's Lens Studio is free, and you can create a basic try-on lens with their templates in an afternoon. It won't be as polished as a professional build, but it's a way to test the concept. Or you can use a third-party platform like Zappar or Blippar, which offer subscription models starting around a few hundred dollars a month. Luna: So the entry barrier is low enough that even a boutique brand can experiment. But the real ROI comes from data. When you run a try-on campaign, you get data on which products users try on most, how long they engage, and which colorways are most popular. That's valuable product intelligence. Lucas: Definitely. And you can use that data to inform inventory decisions. If you see that users try on a certain shade of foundation but don't buy it, maybe that shade isn't matching well, and you need to adjust the product or the filter. Luna: That's a smart feedback loop. And I think that's what separates the brands that succeed with AR from the ones that don't — they treat it as a learning tool, not just a promotional gimmick. Lucas: We've talked a lot about the benefits, but let's be honest about the limitations. Virtual try-ons still can't convey texture, weight, or smell. For a product like a perfume, an AR try-on doesn't make sense. And for high-end fashion, where the cut and fabric quality are critical, a virtual try-on can only go so far. Luna: Right. It's a complement to, not a replacement for, the physical shopping experience. But for a lot of everyday products — sunglasses, lipstick, sneakers, even some clothing — it's a powerful tool. Lucas: And the technology is improving fast. We're seeing brands experiment with 'virtual fitting rooms' that combine AR with AI to recommend your size based on your body measurements. That's where it gets really interesting for apparel. Luna: Yeah, I know you're always excited about these marketing conversations — and I think a lot of listeners are too. If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used, it's worth mentioning that we do this without any ad sponsorship. We keep the show ad-free because we think it makes the advice more trustworthy. Lucas: That's right. We want to keep it that way. If you value having no ads interrupting the flow, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to help us keep doing what we're doing. Luna: And we really appreciate it. Okay, back to AR — I want to talk about something I've noticed: some brands are now using AR try-ons for 'try before you buy' but also for 'try and share.' Like, you try on a product and then post a story with the filter, and your friends can tap to try it too. That's a viral loop. Lucas: That's exactly what Gucci did with their Ace sneaker filter on Instagram. Users could 'try on' the sneakers, and then they could share a photo of themselves wearing them. The filter became a status symbol — you're showing that you're considering a Gucci purchase, even if you haven't bought them yet. That social proof is incredibly powerful. Luna: So the filter becomes a form of social currency. It's not just about the product; it's about the identity you project by using the filter. That's a whole other layer of brand engagement. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why I think virtual try-ons are here to stay. They're evolving from a novelty into a standard part of the social commerce toolkit. In five years, we might look back and wonder how we ever bought things online without them. Luna: It'll be interesting to see if the major platforms eventually bake it in so deeply that every product has a try-on option by default. That would change the game for small brands. Lucas: Agreed. And we'll be watching that closely.