The Ello Blog

Short reads on virtual try-on for fashion brands. Every number is sourced.

• What Building Bag Try-On With a Luxury Reseller Taught Us: Build log: how Ello rebuilt bag try-on with a luxury handbag reseller. Real-size bags from shopper height (11–14% vs 28% median error), every carry from one try-on, natural poses. Our test data.
• The True Cost of a Fit Return, and the One-Line Formula to Find Yours: Online apparel returns at ~24%, and ~53–70% cite size/fit: so fit alone is ~13–17% of every order. Compute your own fit-return cost with a four-input formula. Fully sourced.
• Handbag Virtual Try-On: Why Bags Are the Accessory AI Solves and AR Never Did: AR bag try-on needs a 3D model per bag and stayed stuck in luxury flagships. 2D AI draws the bag at its listed size on the shopper's own photo: pennies, every visitor. Why bags are the accessory AI fits best, fully sourced.
• Google's 'Try It On' Auto-Opted Your Store In: What Shopify Merchants Need to Know: Google auto-enrolls every eligible Shopify feed in 'Try It On': no toggle, opt out only by support ticket. What it covers (tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes), what it skips (accessories), and why it doesn't replace on-site try-on. Verified September 2026.
• How to Actually Measure Virtual Try-On Lift: Holdout Design for Merchants: Most virtual try-on "lift" numbers are selection bias: they compare shoppers who chose to try on against those who didn't. The only clean measurement is a randomized holdout, and at a 2–3% fashion baseline you need ~16,800 sessions per arm to detect a 20% lift. The method, fully sourced.
• Virtual Try-On Statistics That Survive a Fact-Check (and the Zombie Numbers That Don't): Ranking pages claim virtual try-on cuts returns 36%, 40%, 48%, even 64%: none traceable to a study. The try-on stats that actually hold up, each sourced and tiered, plus a 3-step way to vet any stat. Observed 2026-09-01.
• Virtual Try-On Apps Have a Review Problem. We Counted.: We read all 223 reviews of every Shopify virtual try-on app and logged each one's 'time using the app': 5-star reviews after 2 minutes, one app with 31% first-day reviews, and an A–F integrity grade for every app. Observed 2026-08-30.
• The Best Virtual Try-On Apps of 2027, Ranked: We Read All 223 Reviews: The 10 best virtual try-on apps of 2027, ranked. We read all 223 Shopify reviews and audited how long each reviewer used the app: including the 5-star reviews left after 2 minutes. Verified 2026-08-30.
• 7 Camweara Alternatives for Shopify in 2026 (Honest Comparison): Camweara holds 5.0 across 58 reviews but prices by catalog ($39/mo for 70 products). Seven alternatives verified live 2026-08-10, entry prices 4.99 to $319/mo.
• GenLook Alternatives in 2026: What to Know Before You Switch (or Stay): GenLook verified live on 2026-08-10: 5.0 stars, 35 reviews, Built for Shopify, free 10-try-on tier: but its +32% / −24% / €12,480 performance numbers name no merchant. A full comparison vs Ello, ANTLA and Looksy with every listing fact observed live.
• ANTLA Alternatives for Shopify Clothing Brands (2026): ANTLA shows 49 five-star reviews and a Built for Shopify badge, but has no free plan ( 9.99/mo entry after a 7-day trial) and publishes 35% conversion / 10x ROI claims with no methodology. Verified alternatives: Ello ($0 plan, accessories, auditable numbers), GenLook ( 9.99/100 with a free plan), Looksy ( 4.99/100): all listings observed 2026-08-10.
• The Best Virtual Try-On Apps for Shopify in 2026: Ranked, With a Source for Every Claim: Six of seven first-page 'best try-on app' results are vendor-published and five rank themselves first. Nine Shopify try-on apps ranked by category, every review count and price re-verified on the live App Store listing on 2026-08-10.
• Virtual Try-On for Clothing Brands: The Two Products Everyone Confuses (and Which One Moves Conversion): “Virtual try-on for clothing brands” describes two unrelated products: AI model photo tools (Botika from $33/mo, WeShop AI from $9.99/mo) that replace the photoshoot, and shopper-side try-on that replaces the fitting room. Of five vendors checked 2026-08-10, four lead with the first: only the second targets the up-to-~10x in-store vs online conversion gap.
• What Virtual Try-On Actually Costs in 2026: Every Shopify App's Pricing, Compared: Live-verified pricing for every Shopify virtual try-on app (GenLook, ANTLA, Camweara, Looksy, Ello): plans from free to $249/mo (higher-volume plans on request), extra try-ons $0.09–$0.17, and the real compute cost of one AI try-on: about $0.067 (our data).
• 1 in 40 vs 1 in 4: The Online Conversion Gap Is a Confidence Gap: Online fashion converts ~1.5–3% vs 15–30% in-store: a ~10x gap. Most of it is structural, but one slice (visual confidence) is addressable before purchase. The honest, sourced breakdown.
• Sunglasses Virtual Try-On: Why AI Covers More Frames Than AR: AR eyewear try-on needs a 3D model of every frame; 2D AI renders any sunglasses from a flat photo, for pennies, seen by every shopper. Sunglasses are a style decision, not a fit decision: the honest AI-vs-AR comparison, sourced.
• Why Hats Are the Easiest Accessory to Add a Virtual Try-On To: Hats barely have a sizing problem, so a try-on for them is pure style confidence: and 2D AI covers them with no camera or 3D model. Why headwear is the easiest, least-competitive accessory to add a try-on to.
• AI Try-On vs AR Try-On: What's Actually the Difference?: AR try-on needs a live camera and a 3D model; AI try-on generates an image from a flat photo. The fork is the camera: and it decides cost, reach, and catalog coverage. A neutral, sourced explainer.
• 3D vs 2D Virtual Try-On: Why the Expensive One Stopped Winning: 3D try-on costs $99–$349 per SKU and only ~8–23% of shoppers use it. 2D AI try-on runs on your existing product photo, reaches everyone, and costs pennies. The ROI math, fully sourced.