If you’re in the apparel industry, then you might already know how the industry has plummeted, thanks to the ongoing pandemic.
The reason for the crash is quite evident given the need for social hygiene and distance.
Even though most of the malls and physical clothing stores have reopened, they’re still following a no-trial procedure before purchasing and they aren’t allowing anyone into those fitting rooms.
This adds more frustrating steps to the purchase by taking the purchased apparel home, trying it on, and if the size or fit is incorrect, going all the way back to the store, and ask for a return or an exchange.
While this is the case for the B2C side of the business, the B2B sector is going through a completely different challenge.
For instance, when it comes to the workwear industry, either the employees have to risk
going to the uniform distributor to get a physical measurement, which involves contact and increased potential exposure to COVID-19, or to book an appointment with the uniform provider to get the measurements taken, which involves a whole lot of waiting.
This may be the case in the current scenario, however, issues with size and fitting have existed even before the outbreak.
Many retailers, especially those with online apparel stores, have lost a lot of sales because of the doubt customers have when choosing a different brand and finding the correct fit and size. Sizes and fits run differently for each brand, of course.
But I digress. As you might have already guessed from the title of the article and its highlights, a body measurement app is the need of the hour for your e-commerce apparel store.
What is a body measurement app?
A body measurement app or sizing app or 3d body scan app is a sizing solution that allows you to scan your body measurements and input them, either manually or through a scanning application, and provides you size recommendation for specific clothing or brands.
These types of sizing solutions are increasingly becoming handy in overcoming the measurement requirements in today’s social distancing world.
That being said, it is well on its way to becoming the norm in a COVID-19 world, as well.
What are the types of body measurement apps available?
The market today is swarmed with a variety of automatic sizing solutions. Let’s take a look at the latest and greatest among them.
Manual Input
This is the most basic yet handy sizing application that has been available for a long time.
All you have to do is fill in details like height, weight, age, and gender, and then select a best-fitting shirt or pant from a particular brand, and the size you wear in that brand.
The application will then provide you an appropriate size for the clothes or brand that you choose.
It’s a pretty straight forward and simple application that provides the exact information you need for proper size and fit and removes the risk from the process.
On the con side of the coin, it lacks the tool to measure yourself. You need to know your exact measurements to be able to get a valid size recommendation. That being said, you can change your measurements anytime you want and receive size recommendations, accordingly.
Artificial Intelligence
This sizing solution retains the features from a manual input model and uses the additional power of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to go through data and locate other customers with similar dimensions and preferences.
Based on the data, whether they have kept that size or swapped with a different one, the AI system will recommend your perfect size.
Furthermore, such solutions are being developed to generate a 3D model for the customers to view the tightest areas in clothing.
Contact-free body measuring solution
This sizing solution takes the body measurement app to the next level by eliminating the need to guess one’s measurements.
It provides the functionality to measure yourself through your mobile device’s camera.
The application precisely calculates a person’s body measurements, while its algorithms determine a precise size recommendation. Pretty neat, isn’t it?
This eliminates the unnecessary need to go to a physical location to get your measurements done and try on different sizes. It also saves a lot of time, money, and effort and it’s a pretty popular use case in the uniform industry.
This type of sizing solution comes in many different functions and features, depending on the solution provider. Other solutions also utilize a mobile phone’s camera to determine your measurements and recommend sizing, albeit in a different way.
For example, a popular sizing solution provider, who’s looking to integrate their sizing solution into SellersCommerce’s e-commerce platform, offers the functionality to measure yourself by running a mobile phone’s camera over your body from one end to the other for more accuracy; 98% to be precise.
Machine Learning
This is perhaps the most resourceful sizing solution with simple and easy-to-use functionality.
It doesn’t require you to do anything or provide any inputs as it learns from your previous purchases and return orders and determines which size fits right for you.
Body measurement app to the rescue
Since the changes in the apparel industry in the last few months are clearly here to stay, a contactless option to get the right size recommendation is the way to go, going forward.
While this is true for a contactless size recommendation option in today’s scenario, it also holds strong for customers who are accustomed to convenience, and diminishing forbearance, especially while purchasing a product.
Here’s why we think a body measurement app is essential for your e-commerce apparel store:
- It’s relevant and necessary in a world that now requires transactions to be contact-free.
- The sizing solution provides a neat and convenient way to measure as well as recommend accurate sizes.
- It eliminates the need for trial wear.
- The wait time to get a physical measurement as well as the overall wait time to receive your fitted garment is cut down significantly.
- You can provide your customers with the confidence to choose a different brand without having a second thought about the size variation.
- This technology has the added advantage of providing a size recommendation that is accessible across all of the brands who have used the same solution while ensuring 100% security for your data.
- It significantly cuts down on your return orders due to incorrect size and fit issues.
- Most of these sizing solutions boast an incredible accuracy of 84%-98%.
- Lastly, but most importantly, more and more customers nowadays are increasingly looking out for such convenient solutions in the online apparel world.
As you can clearly see, there are numerous advantages to integrating a body measurement app into your online apparel store.
But, what’s the catch?
Well, there aren’t many e-commerce platforms that allow such integrations or provides the required support and service you may need after integrating with your online store.
As for SellersCommerce, we have readily available integrations and have collaborated with various sizing solution providers already. You may also want to check our other article that talks about the 5 vital points you must consider before choosing a body measurement app.
Intrigued by the concept and the functionality we provide? Hop on a quick call with one of our experts to know more about it.