Sizing and fit is a fashion industry macro problem, contributing to 52 percent of returns, tons of product ending up landfill and excessive shipping emissions. But it’s also a brand problem that erodes conversion rates, loyalty and consumer satisfaction.
And since there isn’t standardized industry sizing—nor should there be as each label targets customers with very specific demographics and size preferences—the solution must be tackled on the “local” brand level.
SaaS technology solutions company Bold Metrics, whose origin story traces back to a family of tailors, has a deep understanding of fit and works closely with partner brands to make “smart” sizing recommendations for each customer.
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“Because we start with the body, and then the brand’s product information or size charts, we’re able to show how something fits on someone based on how it was intended to fit,” said Jeff Mergy, Bold Metrics vice president of partnerships.
The key is making the process as non-threatening and friction-free as possible for the consumer, which was a big selling point for Pact, a fair-trade, certified organic brand that utilizes Bold Metrics’ Smart Size Chart.
“We didn’t want to introduce any new hurdles into the purchase funnel for our customers. That’s why Amazon has one-click checkout, right?” said Drew Cook, CFO and head of operations at Pact, who noted that consumers who utilize the Smart Size Chart have about a 20 percent higher rate of conversions than those who don’t.
“You are helping them understand or be more confident that this size is right for them, because they’ve provided basic body measurements and gotten a clear recommendation,” he said. Average order value (AOV) is also higher, a little more than 25 percent for customers who interact with it. “Again, it’s the confidence and the willingness to build a basket after you feel like you’ve found a solid size recommendation.”
The Bold Metrics system asks consumers a few questions that are easy and non-invasive about their body and fit preferences (read: no measuring tapes, body photos or video scans), without mentioning other brands as fit reference points.
Then the AI gets to work, calculating body measurements of individual shoppers to make recommendations, which can be added directly to the cart from the tool. The system continually builds out size profiles, and (anonymously) inputs purchase and returns data into the larger machine learning model so it gets smarter.
“Whether it be the product information itself, the fabric information, or whether people with this body type keep buying and returning and sizing up or down, all that data gets fed into our AI models. That’s what allows us to continuously learn at a brand-specific level over time,” said Mergy, who stresses that they’re not sharing brand data with other retail clients, and not just for privacy reasons, but because fit data isn’t necessarily relevant from one brand to the next.
Geography and age also factor into preferences. “In Japan, for example, everything is oversized,” said Mergy. “And a guy in Texas might wear a suit very differently than a guy in New York.”
Of course, sizing doesn’t just help with selling but it can improve upstream operations as well. If you know your customers’ body data by region or by country geographical areas, you’re able to use that data to plan a better supply chain and stock certain distribution centers based on the geographical body data of actual consumers versus general data.
“Our biggest use of funds is our working capital, most of which is tied to inventory,” said Cook. “Making sure you’re buying the right amounts, the right products, the right sizes of inventory is critical for us managing cash. So any type of data we can have that makes us smarter on that is something that’s highly valuable.”
Finally, if customers aren’t buying extra sizes to try on at home and return the rejects, delivery trucks are reduced, as are customer service teams.
“If we can continue to grow our business at a higher rate and keep our customer service team the same size, because instead of doing 60 percent of their work on returns and exchanges, they’re doing 30 percent, that would have a huge impact and enable us to continue serving customers in a way that that we really want to,” said Cook.
To watch the full webinar “Investing in AI Sizing: How Shopper Body Data Drives Revenue & Improves Operations” on-demand, click here.
