With global giants like Meta, Walmart, and Zalando investing heavily, China’s digital-first supply chain might be the true disruptor.

Virtual Fitting Rooms (VFR) could be the game-changer the fashion industry has been waiting for.
By allowing consumers to digitally try on clothes and accessories, VFR technology promises to enhance the online shopping experience — while directly tackling one of e-commerce’s biggest challenges: high return rates.

If China’s manufacturing and retail ecosystems fully embrace this innovation, the impact could be global, setting a new standard for fashion logistics, brand innovation, and consumer engagement from a b2b and b2c standpoint.

Major Tech and Retail Bets on Virtual Fitting Rooms

The future of VFR isn’t speculative — it’s already underway.

In 2022, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — acquired Presize, a German AI startup focused on virtual sizing (Textile Network).
This move aligns with Meta’s broader ambitions in virtual commerce, including shopping directly through Instagram and Facebook.

But Meta isn’t alone.

In 2021, Walmart acquired Zeekit, an Israeli virtual fitting room company, aiming to transform how customers shop for clothing online by allowing them to digitally try on apparel (Walmart Corporate).

Meanwhile, Zalando, Europe’s leading online fashion platform, bought Fision, a Zurich-based startup specializing in virtual body measurement and fitting solutions, back in 2020 (Zalando Corporate). Recently the brands states that is has updated its virtual fitting room in 2024 and “available in 14 European countries featuring a selection of Levi’s upper garments for men and women, such as t-shirts, jackets or hoodies. This experience will be tested for four weeks with the aim of collecting the necessary learnings and insights to keep developing this technology. Since the initial pilot in 2022, over 80,000 customers have used Zalando’s virtual fitting room, gaining a better understanding of how garments fit and helping to reduce size-related returns.”

Emerging players are also making waves. NuvaTech, a fashion-tech company I co-founded, is actively developing Virtual Fitting Room solutions using AI and digital fashion technologies to help brands move faster and more sustainably from concept to customer.

The message is clear: virtual fitting rooms are no longer experimental — they’re becoming critical infrastructure for brands that want to stay competitive in digital fashion.

Why China Could Lead the Virtual Fitting Revolution

1. A Native Digital Culture
China’s younger generations are digitally native, mobile-first, and expect tech-enhanced shopping experiences. Virtual try-ons aren’t perceived as novelties — they’re fast becoming standard expectations (ODI).

2. Manufacturing as an Innovation Engine
Unlike the West’s fragmented supply chains, China’s manufacturing ecosystems are fast, united, adaptive, and capable of integrating technologies like VFR into production workflows at scale.

3. A New Wave of Brand Builders
Ambitious Chinese brands — from sportswear to streetwear — are no longer content to manufacture for others. They are increasingly building direct-to-consumer businesses, where consumer experience and technological innovation matter just as much as production capacity.

The Bigger Opportunity: Beyond E-Commerce

Today, most virtual fitting room technologies focus on the customer experience: virtual try-ons, personalized sizing, avatar creation.
But the real disruption could extend much deeper — into design, sampling, and production.

Imagine a future where:

• Brands create digital samples without a single piece of fabric wasted.
• Real-time consumer feedback informs which styles move to production according to user preference and body type inclusivity
• Return rates plummet due to hyper-accurate virtual sizing.
• Manufacturing becomes on-demand, sustainable, and globally responsive.

This kind of end-to-end innovation could be China’s ultimate advantage — blending manufacturing speed, digital tech, and consumer data into a single, seamless system.

Final Thoughts

Virtual Fitting Rooms are no longer just a futuristic idea.
They represent the next strategic battleground for fashion — and China is uniquely positioned to lead.

While tech giants like Meta, Walmart, and Zalando invest heavily in this space, China’s unmatched combination of manufacturing strength, digital adoption, and entrepreneurial momentum could redefine what fashion innovation looks like on a global scale.

The next big leap in fashion tech might not come from New York, Paris, or Milan.
It might come from Shenzhen, Hangzhou, or Guangzhou — reshaping not just how we shop, but how fashion itself is designed, made, and experienced.