Retailer H&M has debuted a virtual fashion show featuring selections from its fall/winter collection within the GoldRun application as part of the ten-year anniversary celebrations for CondeNast’s Style.com.

The H&M promotion allows iPhone users to view, interact with and take pictures of virtual H&M apparel and accessories in front of any of the fashion retailer’s 10 Manhattan locations. Users simply select the items they want to view and then capture them by snapping a picture to receive an instant 10 percent discount on any H&M purchase.

“The most innovative aspect of the H&M promotion is related to its combined use of augmented reality and GPS, and its ability to deliver an immediate, context-sensitive reward,” said Shailesh Rao, vice president of creative at GoldRun, New York.

GoldRun combines the visual impact of augmented reality and the precision of GPS to deliver virtual goods, user rewards and interactive advertising in the form of social media games, virtual guides, couponing and loyalty programs.

Social AR
With H&M, specifically, the retailer is focusing on the use of augmented reality imagery and animation combined with integrated photo sharing on Facebook.

H&M shoppers will be able to virtually try on outfits, take photographs and post these images to Facebook to create their own personal look books.

The H&M augmented reality initiative is GPS-linked, which not only obviates the need for hardware or codes to scan, but also means the retailer can place objects at any location.

H&M is able to manage its content within the GoldRun platform via a CMS tool, meaning the retailer can create, modify and manage content on the fly.