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Can gamification solve fashion’s mix and match challenges?

March 30, 2018Written by Tom Ryan

Source: Trendage

A new startup has developed a “styling game” that claims to not only solve the challenge consumers face finding items that pair well together but feeds cross-sell recommendations to retailers as well. Trendage's insights are powered by its game app, Style Challenge, which enlists millions of community members to determine which clothes, accessories and shoes from leading brands match, building various outfit combinations on a virtual model that are shared and rated by the Trendage community. “The game is immensely addicting and a fun way for shoppers to discover new products online in an engaging manner,” according to Trendage's press release. In January, Trendage's community created more than three million customized outfits. The application uses machine learning to automatically generate data that helps customers "complete the look" based on the choices of its community. For Women’s Wear Daily, Adriana Lee wrote, “It’s easy to see how this model can yield a windfall of style and preference data — both in how the fashion gamers mix and match items and how the community responds to different combinations or themes.” Trendage also identified 216 core body types for shoppers and will enable users to create their personal avatars that will virtually try on clothes for them to improve sizing accuracy. For retailers, the recommendations are designed to help personalize product pages and e-mail marketing campaigns with frequently paired items within a shopper's age and region. Consumers could gain confidence to order more items and are expected to reduce their returns. A key selling point is Trendage’s argument that gamification delivers more accurate feedback than surveys and other sources. In a statement, Vineet Chaudhary, CEO of Trendage, said the challenge with utilizing data collected from website views, e-mail campaigns, sale and return data is that it is often not available until it is too late to influence a shopper's decision. “By the time the data is ready, the season and trends have changed," said Mr. Chaudhary. "Trendage gathers all the same data without ever having to touch a single item of clothing, or receive a return, giving retailers an important time advantage of leveraging current trends just when they need it most: at the point of sale while customers are making critical purchasing decisions.”

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