Retails | AI | Conversational | Enhanced Customer Experience
How AI is Revolutionizing Apparel Retail
Is It The End of Sizing Nightmares?
For apparel retailers, achieving satisfied customers and increasing sales depends heavily on one critical factor: THE FIT. Poorly fitting clothes often lead to frustration and returns, hurting profits and damaging a brand's reputation.
The High Cost of Poor Fit
Fit is a crucial aspect across the apparel industry, influencing product design and customer satisfaction alike. Beyond financial impacts, this aspect causes logistical challenges and raises environmental issues.
75% of online apparel returns stem from poor fit, resulting in a staggering $890 billion in losses for retailers worldwide annually.
The Traditional Sizing Struggle: A Flawed System
Traditionally, size charts have been the main guide for online shoppers to find the right fit. However, these charts differ between brands, causing confusion and a lack of standardization. This confusion often leads to bracketing, where shoppers buy multiple sizes of the same item and return the ones that don’t fit. This frustrates customers and adds costs for retailers due to processing and restocking returns.
AI for Personalized Sizing Solutions
AI-powered sizing solutions are revolutionizing how apparel retailers tackle fit and sizing issues. These advanced tools use AI’s capabilities to offer a personalized and data-driven shopping experience, enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Here’s how AI makes a difference:
- Unlocking Customer Data: AI analyzes extensive customer data, including purchase history, return behaviors, and style preferences.
- Building Digital Twins: AI creates digital models of shoppers’ bodies, enabling brands to understand how customers prefer their clothes to fit and optimize sizing accordingly. Imagine a virtual representation of yourself, based on photos and body measurements, used to simulate how garments would fit your unique physique!
- Personalized Recommendations: AI generates tailored size recommendations for each shopper using this data. These recommendations factor in individual body types and fit preferences, ensuring a more accurate fit and reducing the need for returns.
The Benefits of AI-powered Sizing
The adoption of AI-powered sizing solutions offers a multitude of benefits for both retailers and customers:
- Increased Customer Satisfaction
A study by IBM found that businesses deploying AI-based solutions witness a 12% increase in customer satisfaction.
- Reduced Returns: When customers receive clothes that fit well, the chances of returns decrease. This leads to significant cost savings for retailers.
- Better Operational Efficiency: Streamlining the online shopping experience with accurate sizing reduces the need for customer service interventions and minimizes returns processing.
- Data-Driven Insights: AI solutions provide valuable data on consumer preferences, informing marketing strategies, product development, and inventory management.
- Better and Clear Shopping Experience: AI creates a smoother and more enjoyable shopping journey by helping the customers to choose the right size the first time.
AI Creating a Unified Shopping Experience
Personalized Sizing
User: Hi there, I'm interested in this dress, but I'm not sure about sizing.
Chatbot: No problem! Can you tell me a bit about your usual size in dresses and any fit preferences (e.g., loose or fitted)?
User: I'm usually a size 8, but I prefer dresses that flow a little.
Chatbot: Based on your information and your purchase history, we recommend a size medium in this dress. It should offer a comfortable, slightly loose fit.Virtual Try-On with AI-Generated Avatars
User: I'd love to see how this shirt looks on, but I'm hesitant to order without trying it first.
Chatbot: Absolutely! Would you like to use our virtual try-on feature? You can tell me your height and weight, and we'll create a 3D avatar for you.
User: Sure, that sounds great!
Chatbot: Once you have your avatar, you can virtually try on different sizes and styles of the shirt.AI-powered Chatbots for Fit Guidance
User: I have broader shoulders, and sometimes shirts feel too tight in that area. Do you think this top would be a good fit for me?
Chatbot: Thanks for your question! This particular top has a relaxed fit through the shoulders, so it should be comfortable for you. Would you like to see our selection of tops designed for broader shoulders?Case Study: How Eileen Fisher Found the Perfect Fit with AI
Eileen Fisher, a leading American brand known for its timeless and flattering designs, has long prioritized empowering women to feel confident and comfortable in their clothing. Yet, achieving an ideal fit was challenging for online shoppers. Eileen Fisher launched “The Closet” in late March 2024.
The Closet: Revolutionizing Virtual Try-On
“The Closet” uses the power of AI to create a revolutionary virtual try-on experience. Here’s how it works:
- AI-Generated Body Doubles: Customers can select from eight AI-generated images of models with various body types. This ensures shoppers can see how a garment might fit on a figure resembling theirs.
- Multiple Views: “The Closet” doesn’t just show a static image. Shoppers can virtually rotate the model to see the garment from different angles, including the back and how a shirt might look tucked in. This comprehensive view provides a more realistic sense of how the piece will fit and move on their body.
Impact and Success
- Increased Confidence and Reduced Returns: By allowing shoppers to visualize the fit of different body types, “The Closet” has boosted customer confidence in size selection. This has led to decreased return rates, benefiting both customer satisfaction and Eileen Fisher’s bottom line.
- A Broader Customer Base: Eileen Fisher’s implementation of diverse AI-generated models in “The Closet” underscores its dedication to inclusivity. This strategy ensures that more customers can discover clothing that enhances their body type, thereby deepening brand loyalty.
- Aligning with Brand Values: Eileen Fisher’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices is evident in “The Closet.” By improving fit accuracy and minimizing returns, this initiative promotes a sustainable business model that reduces waste associated with unnecessary returns and shipping, aligning with the brand’s core values.
Conclusion
The adoption of AI marks a transformative moment for the industry. Moving forward, embracing personalized sizing and leveraging customer data will be pivotal in:
Streamlining operations and cutting costs.
Elevating customer satisfaction and improving loyalty.
Fueling sustainable growth through data-driven strategies.
The future of apparel retail is here, where the power lies not just in your hands, but also in the insights derived from your data.
