Online clothing retailers hunt for better fit to cut
costly returns
Send a link to a friend
[December 21, 2018]
By Emma Thomasson and Sonya Dowsett
BERLIN/MADRID (Reuters) - Models testing
fashion brands like Adidas, Benetton and Gap are finding that almost a
third of the shoes and clothes they try on are bigger or smaller than
the size on the label indicates, explaining why many clothes bought
online are sent back.
Calculating sizes more accurately could help online retailers like
Germany's Zalando and Britain's ASOS cut costly returns and improve
customer satisfaction.
"If you try on the same brand in a different color it is sometimes a
different size," Zalando fitting model Savina Bellotto said as she
squeezed a foot into a stiletto shoe with a shiny silver buckle that dug
into her ankle.
Discounting to shift stock means fashion retailers are struggling to
preserve profit margins, and ASOS's warning on Monday of a major
downturn caused retail shares to tumble.
Targeting returns, fast fashion firms like Zara and H&M have introduced
software that suggests sizes for online customers. Customers type in
height and weight, which are processed alongside historic data on
purchases and returns.
"It's a big burden for the retailer," said Nivindya Sharma, director of
retail strategy at trend forecaster WGSN. "Free returns started off as
being a competitive advantage but now they're the norm."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Dec/21/images/ads/current/Nutrien_quarter_CHRISTMAS_2018.png)
FAST FASHION Around half of Americans expect to return clothes ordered
online this holiday season due to poor fit, according to a survey by
technology firm BodyBlock.
"Returns cost you a fortune. Firstly, you've got an unhappy customer,
but also you've got the re-processing and putting it back into stock,"
said Charlotte Kula-Przezwanski, a partner at Columbus Consulting, which
specializes in retail processes.
To crack the sizing problem, Zalando, Europe's biggest online-only
fashion retailer, told Reuters it was augmenting the data it gathers
online with feedback from models who check new styles.
"If we can put an article on a fitting model, just before or as an
article is online, we immediately know there is a fitting problem," said
Zalando's head of sizing Stacia Carr, adding that models flag about 30
percent of stock as too big or too small.
Returns are a major issue for Zalando as about half the products it
sells are sent back. A tradition of catalog shopping with free returns
means customers in its German home market are comfortable sending back
unwanted goods.
Problems with processing returns contributed to a third-quarter loss
that prompted a sell-off in Zalando shares and sparked speculation it
could be a takeover target for Chinese e-commerce giants like Alibaba or
JD.com.
Zalando co-CEO Rubin Ritter said in November the problems with
processing returns had been resolved and the company was taking steps to
increase the profitability of smaller orders such as making size
recommendations to reduce returns.
A change in fabric or design can have a big impact, Carr said, noting
that size-related returns soared recently for one major denim brand
after it adjusted its design. When Zalando flagged the issue, it changed
back.
"In this era of turning around articles very quickly, the corners that
get cut sometimes impact the fit of the garment," she said.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/122118pics/busine35.jpg)
A fitting model checks out sizes for a shoe which goes on sale at
the online shop of fashion retailer Zalando in Berlin, Germany,
December 17, 2018. Picture taken December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio
Bensch
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Dec/21/images/ads/current/watkins_lda_CHRISTMAS_2018.png)
Zalando's small team of models initially tested shoes, but now they try on
clothes too. Dresses, its top selling category, also have the highest rate of
returns.
Models try on up to 120 shoes a day, measuring the inside with a special ruler
and noting how each fits at heel, ankle and toes, while also looking for strong
smells or quality issues.
"It is very subjective. That is why we get the average between three models,"
said model Gerard Nieto, as he measured a fleece-lined leather lace-up boot.
THE HUMAN TOUCH Cracking the sizing challenge is like solving the Rubik's cube
because there are so many variables, Carr said.
"We know the Nordics like things more loose and oversized. The further south you
go, it's a tighter fit, the bodies are different," she said. "We've all been
surprised that we've been able to put a dent in this because it is such a
complex topic."
British lingerie retailer Figleaves, owned by fashion group N Brown, supplements
artificial intelligence with a feature letting a buyer speak to a fitting
assistant via Skype.
"Often it's the customer care person who is showing on her body how something
should fit," said CEO Miriam Lahage. "What's most important is that you have two
people looking face-to-face and making a human connection."
Customers like the feature and returns have dropped since its introduction
around 15 months ago, she says.
A rise in returns is an inevitable part of the e-commerce boom, retailers say.
"There's a growing trend in return rates globally as the market matures," said
Roger Graell, director of e-commerce at Spain's Mango, which expects to make at
least one-fifth of sales online by 2020.
"What we hope to do with technology is make that growth rate slower."
Mango uses sizing tools powered by Berlin-based software firm Fit Analytics,
which was launched eight years ago and works with more than 200 companies --
including ASOS, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss -- across 95
countries.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Dec/21/images/ads/current/parkdistrict_lda_CHRISTMAS_2018.png)
Fit Analytics has more than doubled revenue every year over the past three
years, says CEO Sebastian Schulze.
"Margins are under pressure across the industry, you have to make sure people
buy several times otherwise you don't make money," said Schulze.
"If the fit isn't right, customers will walk."
(Additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm; Editing by Catherine
Evans)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |