Exclusive Q&A: Aetrex Worldwide takes footwear scanning to new level with True Fit

A comfort footwear and orthotics brand wants your shoes to fit perfectly, regardless of where you buy them.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Larry Schwartz, CEO of Aetrex Worldwide, about the company’s new partnership with fashion personalization and customer experience platform True Fit. 

In addition to selling its own custom footwear and orthotics products, Aetrex also runs the foot health site foot.com and has developed its proprietary “Albert” 3D foot scanner technology. The technology uses computer vision, sensor, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning technologies to determine individual consumer data such as size, length, width, height, pressure, and arch type in under one minute.

How is Aetrex working with True Fit?

“We have joined in a strategic partnership to combine True Fit’s Fashion Genome connected data set and personal size, fit and style recommendations with the Aetrex technology suite, including our Albert 3D foot scanner, Fit HQ AI solution, and Albert mobile applications. The result is an interactive, omnichannel experience that connects in-store foot scanning data to direct the shopper and recommends the best-fitting footwear for both their foot type and fit and style preferences.  

“The foot scans will enrich each shopper’s True Fit profile, and will enhance accuracy and relevance of the footwear recommendations anywhere True Fit is available. True Fit currently serves personal style, fit, and size recommendations to over 125 million True Fit registered users globally across its network of retailers and partners. This new partnership enhances True Fit’s ability to serve consumers in store and digitally by creating an engaging way for shoppers to interact in the store with sales associates, enrich their True Fit profiles, and increase their chances of finding a pair of shoes they’ll love and keep.”

What does this technology partnership enable?

“This partnership is particularly useful for consumers with special foot fit and sizing considerations, as well as specific performance needs. Aetrex 3D foot scans add an extra layer of data that represents a more nuanced view of the foot. By giving consumers the option of adding the additional 3D scan data to their True Fit profile, True Fit and Aetrex aim to provide better shoe recommendations in store and everywhere they shop digitally.” 

What about this offering is new and notable for stores?

“Providing the right style, fit, and size the first time helps retailers create a better customer service experience, resulting in an increase in customer loyalty. This means higher sales conversions, higher rate of trying new brands and styles, higher keep rate on orders with multiple items, and 30-50% reduction of size-related returns for True Fit users. For merchants, marketers, and product designers, the addition of 3D foot scans increases understanding of consumers, product knowledge, product design, and merchandising.  

“In addition, parents have a new tool at their disposal to improve their ability to get their child into the best size. Retail associates are further enabled as fit experts and personal shoppers, and newer employees can be almost as efficient and effective as their best store associates starting on day one.”

How does it impact and benefit shoppers?

“Shoppers benefit by having increased confidence to make a purchase knowing that the shoes being recommended are considering an even more nuanced view of their foot, combining True Fit’s rich style preference and deep product information with Aetrex’s detail 3D foot scan data. Shoppers themselves or the store associate are now able to quickly locate personalized footwear options based on their foot dimensions, preferences, and the inventory available in store or online from a particular retailer.”