Catalog giant Lands' End, which was the first to introduce a virtual model on its Web site two years ago, has teamed up with Image Twin to help promote the technology, which is designed to help consumers choose clothes on the Web that accurately fit their body type. Image Twin's plan is to develop 50 body-scanning kiosks in malls and at other retailers within the next year, according to chairman C. Cammack Morton. Data taken from the scans will be stored on password-protected sites on the Web and can be used by consumers to help make purchases at affiliated companies.
Consumers are very interested in fit.
They never fit, and I always had to return them. Now, I may just return. Body scanning isn't a new concept. Levi Strauss has operated a body-scanning kiosk to customize jeans in its San Francisco store, and Nike offered foot scanning in its Niketown store in New York, scrapping it after one year. The concept, however, never took off because of the limited technology available, according to Morton.