Finding the Right Fit for Online Clothing Sales
Vorsprung durch Technik, roughly translated as "Advancement through technology," was the catchphrase for several years in Audi and Volkswagen television ads in the U.K. So the headline made sense to Guardian readers when it was used to describe the latest system for ensuring that clothes purchased online actually fit when delivered.
According to The Guardian, only seven per cent of total clothes sales in the U.S. are made online although 61 per cent of total book sales are made that way. Furthermore, the article quotes findings by German research institute, ibi, that 40 percent of clothes bought online are returned.
In an effort to change all that, UPcload, a Berlin-based start-up, will enable customers to upload their measurements and check the fit before moving from online "changing room" to checkout. One of the two founders, Asaf Moses, said "We can take the biggest uncertainty out of online shopping," adding that their goal is to "become as ubiquitous as Paypal."
The procedure involves shoppers holding a CD in front of them (to provide "a reference object to calculate the size of everything else in the picture") while posing near a webcam so that UPcload's software can calculate their measurements. UPcload creates a "passport" profiling dimensions and styling preferences. The procedure is said to take just ten minutes.
Collaboration with Dutch company MimicMe will enable shoppers to move into a virtual dressing room once their measurements have been recorded. MimicMe claims retailers will benefit through increased items viewed each visit, increased order value and the ability to "sell complete outfits with automated generated looks based on real-time stock inventory."
Participating retailers use a widget connected to UPcload's confidential database. When customers log on, the software tells them how something is likely to fit and whether the fit matches their preferences for loose, snug or "just right."
UPcload doesn't intend to launch until late February. Meanwhile, it is beta testing with North Face and planning its relationship with four German retailers. Mr. Moses has also held talks with eBay executives. This was described by the Guardian as "an exciting development, given that it was after buying an ill-fitting garment on the auction website just over two years ago that the idea for UPcload was born."