Position Paper 1 - Mobile Apps

Hannah Diffee

Professor Reppert

Internet Communication

Feb. 2025

Position Paper 1 - Mobile Apps

Warby Parker: "We've Got Your Eyes Covered"

Warby Parker is an American retailer and manufacturer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses. Based in New York City, it began as an online-only service but has since expanded to over 200 retail locations across the United States, including one in Rogers, Arkansas. 

Since its founding, Warby Parker has been dedicated to providing quality vision care for everyone. The company believes that "buying glasses should be easy and fun," so it offers products and services at affordable prices. Customers who switch to Warby Parker can leave behind the hassle and financial strain often associated with traditional eye appointments. All glasses start at just $95, which includes prescription lenses with scratch-resistant and anti-reflective coatings. Additionally, all pairs of glasses ship for free.

Warby Parker is also dedicated to transparency in its mission and business practices, providing a comprehensive guide to its manufacturing process. Warby Parker designs its frames in-house, orders its own materials, and sculpts each frame by hand. Customers can order products with ease knowing that they are carefully crafted and ethically sourced. 

The company aims to make a positive global impact through its "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" initiative. Through partnerships with organizations such as VisionSpring, LV Prasad Eye Institute, and Ver Bien Para Aprender Mejor, Warby Parker ensures that for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is donated to someone in need.

Read More About Warby Parker's Global Impact <-- link

Style Quiz
Warby Parker's style quiz allows users to select their preferred frame style, colors, and materials for a more personalized shopping experience. With over 297 frames available, the style quiz helps users discover the frames that best fit their needs. The quiz is not required before purchasing frames but is highly recommended for the best user experience.

After taking the quiz, users can browse a list of recommended frames to try on virtually or at home.

Virtual Try-On Tool

In 2019, Warby Parker launched its virtual try-on tool, designed for online shoppers unable to try on frames in-store. The tool uses augmented reality (AR), technology that overlays digital content onto real-life images. In this case, the tool simulates how a pair of glasses will look on a user's face, "taking into account how your unique facial features interact with the frame." The tool is available on both the Warby Parker website and app. 

Warby Parker's Virtual Try-On feature was initially made possible by the face-mapping technology in Apple's iPhone X. This technology utilizes the FaceID service to map a person's face with 30,000 invisible dots and an infrared image. While advanced face-mapping technology was originally exclusive to the iPhone X series and later models, it is now also available for Android users. 

Warby Parker had previously experimented with AR by creating a custom Snapchat filter; however, the filter was inaccurate and had several limitations. Since its founding, the company had envisioned a try-on tool and awaited the technological advancements to make that vision a reality. "Until we were able to have a one-to-one reference and have our glasses be true to scale and fit properly on somebody's face, none of those [AR] tools were functional," Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO, shared. Now, six years later, trying on glasses is easier than ever.

Above: "I tried Warby Parker's new feature that lets you try on glasses virtually and the results were surprisingly life like"

"The virtual glasses look so similar to the physical ones that when I sent the images of both to my family, they couldn't tell the difference between the two pairs."

- Lily Oberstein

Home Try-Ons
Warby Parker also offers a home try-on service, enabling users to physically try on glasses free of charge.

How Home Try-On Works

• Choose up to five frames (shipping is free!)
• Try the frames for five days (prescription lenses not included)
• Send the box back with the included shipping label and order your favorite frame

App
Warby Parker's app allows customers to try on glasses virtually, browse the full product selection, view recommended frames, and track orders in one convenient place. Users can also view their lens prescriptions and schedule vision appointments with the tap of a button.

Quickly locate helpful resources and view previous orders in the Warby Parker app.

View a personalized list of recommendations and your most recent glasses prescription.

Above: Easily reorder contact lenses by scanning the barcode on your box.

Google Play Store Download

Apple App Store Download (iPhone Only)

My Experience with Warby Parker
In 2023, I bought my first pair of glasses from Warby Parker. My previous pair had broken in half, and it was inconvenient for me to travel two hours home for an eye appointment. Additionally, I hadn't had a great experience with my current eye doctor, so I wanted to try something different. 

Ordering from Warby Parker was easy, and the company offered excellent customer service to assist me along the way. I utilized the Virtual Try-On tool and ordered a Home Try-On box to find my perfect fit. Once I selected my frames, I received an email recommending that, due to my strong prescription, I might benefit from the ultra-thin 1.67 high-index lenses. However, I did not want to spend an additional $50, so I politely declined. 

I received another email asking me to measure my pupillary distance (PD). If I had an iPhone X or newer model, I could have measured my PD using the app, but since I am an Android user, I used the website instead. The process was relatively simple, and I appreciate the convenience Warby Parker offers, especially for busy college students such as myself.