Zara AR experience unveiled in over 100 stores

Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara will unveil an augmented-reality experience for two weeks in 120 flagship stores globally.

Aimed at encouraging customers both outside and inside the store to shop and share, the innovative concept superimposes technology on the retail environment via the Zara AR app. The activation plays out at three different sites: store windows, central podiums and atop e-commerce boxes.

When smartphones focus on the signs, models Lea Julian and Fran Summers seemingly come to life in seven- to 12-second sequences on the phone’s screen. They pose, move around and even speak while dressed in the SS18 Zara Studio collection. Their clothes and accessories can be bought instantly through a single touch on the app, as well as in store.

The experience will have high visibility from the street, with store windows appearing completely empty aside from bold signs encouraging people to access the Zara AR app. Downloading is easy by connecting to a dedicated Wi-Fi network, or by QR code, via iTunes and Google Play, or through the link on Zara.com or the app.

As well as the shopping feature, a social-media sharing feature invites people to take and send photos alongside the holograms, establishing a virtual connection. To maximise the limited-time experience, different sequences of new looks will be introduced after the first week.

Zara’s AR venture is the conception of Paris-based creative director Ezra Petronio, who developed the app with French technology company Holooh and research partner Inria (the French national Institute for computer science and applied mathematics). The 12 dynamic sequences were captured as holograms in a 170sqm studio involving 68 cameras, among the largest recording systems of its type in the world.