Ensuring a Perfect Fit
Helping customers achieve a perfect fit the first time around is the holy grail for many online retailers, and there’s little mystery why: A less-than-ideal fit is the No. 1 reason online purchases are returned. It’s difficult for a consumer to visualize how an item on a digital screen will look on their body. It’s especially challenging for women’s apparel because no two brands size their products the exact same way. Romney Evans, cofounder of True Fit Corp., recently explained to Chain Store Age how new fit technology leverages personalized consumer data and purchase history to offer individual online apparel, accessory and footwear recommendations, helping customers determine whether an online purchase has the proper size, shape and style for their unique proportions.
What is the main motivator for retailers to invest in fit technology?
The digital apparel and footwear market is booming, but online sales have been suppressed relative to other consumer categories due to low consumer confidence. Only 10% to 12% of apparel/footwear is bought online, and as much as 40% of these online sales are returned. This is because so few consumers are confident that they’re going to have a successful purchase, with unsure fit topping the list of reasons why.
To solve the confidence challenge, retailers need a translation service that shows consumers which styles fit and flatter and translates size and designer intent for each shopper. This kind of one-to-one personalization technology allows retailers to maximize revenue by offering consumers high confidence, personalized fit recommendations that drive new sales and fewer returns.
What role does technology play in the division of consumer spending between digital and brick-and-mortar?
In recent years, technology has become the common denominator between digital and brick-and-mortar channels, especially as shoppers diversify their path to purchase and alter spending preferences. Technology can help bring the confidence of in-store purchasing to the digital world, while bringing some of the data-driven convenience and richness of digital to brick-and-mortar. After all, retailers who offer consumers a rich, easy and confident shopping experience will be well positioned to hold a disproportionate share of the increasing percentage of digital sales whether online or in-store.
How does a data-driven approach optimize conversions for retailers and product discovery for consumers?
A data-driven approach allows retailers to leverage massive data on the backend in order to keep use effort very low. With just a little information from users, retailers can help their consumers efficiently discover items they’re most likely to love and keep.
In addition, retailers can deploy technology on the backend that will analyze millions of styles in seconds and prioritize items that have attributes that most closely match up with the user’s attributes. The faster consumers find relevant styles, the more likely they are to buy.
What does True Fit offer?
True Fit provides consumers with personalized recommendations and also provides insights to partnering retailers and brands, which leverage these insights to accelerate personalization and growth, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales and decreasing returns.
How does True Fit technology help break down the main barriers to online shopping: fit and personalization?
True Fit’s ‘Confidence Engine’ powers discovery and confidence. Its machine-learning algorithms get smarter over time, analyzing a user’s profile and transaction history to generate personalized recommendations across all styles for every consumer. In its essence, it’s a relationship solution and a product solution; it churns out suggestions based on items consumers already own and love, and gets them into new styles and brands that they’re going to keep.
The honesty in True Fit’s scale rating gives retailers transparency with shoppers, turning browsers into buyers and buyers into repeat buyers.