Helping customers find the right fit

A neat tool that sits at the side of the product page, Virtusize helps online retailers extend customer service by allowing their customers to get an accurate fit using a garment they already own as a reference.

CLOTHING and fashion apparel is one of the top sellers online. But for online fashion retailers such as Zalora, convincing online shoppers that it is easy to shop for clothing online is still a challenge. To overcome this, Zalora recently added a customer service tool called Fit Visualiser, a garment fitting solution developed by Swedish company Virtusize.

“Virtusize helps online retailers to visually illustrate the size and fit of clothing. We help online shoppers buy clothes that fi t, every time,” said Andreas Olausson, Asia-Pacific regional manager of Virtusize.

Virtusize is a solution that meets the challenges of both online consumers and retailers, said Olausson. “It is hard for online shoppers to understand what size to choose when buying clothes online and to visualise whether a garment will fit.

“Although there are various standard size measurements, an American ‘S’ can sometimes translate to a Japanese ‘L’ sometimes translate to a Japanese ‘L’ and even if shoppers know their size in a specific brand, it is impossible to know the fit of each style.”

A neat tool that sits at the side of the product page, Virtusize helps online retailers extend customer service by allowing their customers to get an accurate fit using a garment they already own as a reference.

Shoppers click on the Virtusize button next to the size selection information. They interact with Virtusize without ever leaving the website.

There are two ways to tag a reference garment. The user can measure a favourite garment. It takes just a few minutes as Virtusize only requires two to four key measurements. Or the customer can tag a previously bought item. Shoppers find items they own from a website already using Virtusize. They click on the ‘I own it button’ and Virtusize automatically tags the item and adds it to the shopper’s virtual wardrobe within the service.

Olausson said Virtusize’s own research attests to the impact of Virtusize for online retailers.

“A high rate of returns is a significant problem for an online retailer and costs the e-commerce industry billions of dollars per year. By ensuring the right fit, Virtusize reduces fi t-related returns by up to 50%. Virtusize makes it possible for the shopper to find the right fit of garment within two clicks. Also, with Virtusize’s soon-to-be-released Smartphone version, customers can do their garment purchase comfortably on the fly.”

There is also significant impact on sales. “Many consumers are not comfortable with online clothes shopping because of fear of wrong size and fit. Typically only a few percent of online fashion shoppers make a purchase. Potential customers often abandon a purchase when shopping for clothes online because they are unsure of how the item of clothing will fit and what size to choose. Virtusize solves this problem — 20% of shoppers that use the Virtusize fitting solution make a purchase at the online retail store.”

The sales value increases as well, said Olausson, as over time, Virtusize users become comfortable and assured of buying the garment with the right size and fit.