Analysis: Using technology to your advantage

As a cutting-edge fashion retailer popular with young, tech-savvy consumers, Pretty Green generates a significant proportion of its sales online. As such the label, founded in 2009 by Liam Gallagher, has had to deal with the unique set of challenges that face online fashion retailers.

Chief among these is the inability of shoppers to physically engage with the product before purchase and, in particular, the impossibility of trying on a garment before they buy. The upshot is online conversion rates for clothing retailers are typically well below high street conversion rates of 20% to 25%, while returns are also higher.

With an eye on rising levels of online sales, menswear retailer Pretty Green wanted to find a solution to these problems. In August 2011, it contacted Fits.me about deploying its virtual fitting room solution in its online store. Two months later the software-as-a-service solution was up and running and already having a positive effect on conversion rates by giving Pretty Green customers the confidence to purchase clothes having already seen a visual demonstration of fit.

Doing the FitBot

To create Pretty Green’s image database, Fits.me’s sophisticated robotic mannequin – a FitBot – is dressed in each key garment from the range in every available size. Each permutation is then photographed at high speed while FitBot runs rapidly through thousands of different body shapes.

Now, when a shopper comes to decide the size of garment they want to buy, all they need do is input a few basic measurements (height, neck, chest, waist, arm length) and they get to see exactly how the garment will look on their exact body size and shape when the item is delivered.

The shopper can choose to see how other sizes will look, giving a looser or tighter fit, and will be warned where the fit may be unsatisfactory, such as in the sleeve length or collar size.

The deployment of the virtual fitting room has already delivered some impressive results. In the first six months of 2012, Pretty Green’s online conversion rate soared by 62%, according to head of digital Tim Kalic. “We have tracked our savings and increased sales on a monthly basis, generating a very satisfactory return on investment,” says Kalic.

Question of size

Pretty Green also became aware that almost three-quarters of buyers did not know the size they would need to buy to suit their style. “By enabling them to tell us their measurements, they didn’t need to know. Fits.me provides these potential customers with the visual fit information they need to make a purchase,” says Kalic.

Consumers can now buy secure in the knowledge that they are unlikely to need to return the item for reasons of fit. Indeed, 79% of all virtual fitting room users said they either would not have bought without the fitting room or would have ordered the wrong size, guaranteeing returns.

And beyond the positive effects on conversion rates and returns, the implementation of Fits.me technology has also been beneficial to Pretty Green’s brand loyalty. “As our customers will receive the garment that fits them as expected, they will be more likely to return and purchase again with confidence,” explains Kalic.