How apparel retailers are increasing shopper confidence and conversions with AI

Sizing is crucial in the apparel industry’s value chain, influencing each stage, from product creation to the customer experience. A data-backed approach that leverages AI to personalize the shopping experience for the customer while surfacing the necessary data for brands to improve apparel fit and sizing significantly enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction to impact online and in-store profitability.

Leveraging AI effectively, especially for optimizing apparel fit and sizing, goes beyond intelligent size recommendations. It can empower brands to improve supply chains, create better products, personalize the shopper journey and build a dedicated community of brand advocates. A customer data-led fit and sizing strategy is valuable for apparel brands looking to remain competitive, increase revenue and create operational efficiencies across their organization.

AI solutions provide personalized fit recommendations for online shoppers

One of the most personal and unique touchpoints in the apparel shopping experience is fit. Fit preference can be the sole reason why a cart is abandoned. Integrating AI technology in the apparel retail sector marks a pivotal shift in the industry’s approach to boosting conversion rates and mitigating returns.

AI-sizing solutions can create a personalized shopper experience for an apparel brand’s e-commerce channel by offering personalized size recommendations with an intuitive, user-friendly interface. 

To truly personalize the shopping experience around fit and sizing, successful brands allow shoppers to choose their best size based on their preferences. This requires the right blend of understanding a shopper’s body data, pairing that data with brand fit specifications, and a user experience that shows how a selected item will fit a specific shopper across critical points of measure. 

By analyzing customer data — such as purchase history and return patterns — along with style and fit preferences, AI solutions provide highly personalized fit recommendations to ensure a better experience for each customer. AI also enables automated data generation and collection at an exceedingly fast rate with great accuracy. This further reduces the uncertainty associated with size selection and helps brands increase the likelihood of purchase.

This approach increases customer satisfaction and improves brand perception, building an engaging shopping experience on a brand’s product display page (PDP) that drives customer satisfaction and loyalty. Accurate sizing recommendations help customers feel more confident in their purchase decisions, reducing their fear of receiving apparel that doesn’t fit and driving higher conversion. 

Removing complexities around sizing reduces online shoppers’ bracketing habits

Online apparel retailers see a high bracketing rate of 63% due to sizing uncertainty, as shoppers need help finding the right fit online. Poor fit is also the primary driver behind apparel returns, accounting for 75% of online returns. 

With AI sizing solutions, shoppers won’t need to bracket and buy multiple sizes in the same style only to return those that don’t fit. Instead, they’ll be able to see how a garment will fit across their body and select the size that gives them their preferred fit.

An accurate sizing solution that can automatically address individual customer sizing on a per-garment basis gives online shoppers the confidence to select their best fit and removes the complexities around sizing. Contextualized results show shoppers how a garment will fit their body shape and empower them to choose the best size based on personal preferences. 

Streamlining the online shopping experience also fosters a sense of loyalty and satisfaction among customers. When customers understand how an item will fit them, they no longer need to use their bedroom as their fitting room — and e-commerce brands save on costly shipping and returns.

By integrating customer data, retailers create a unified omnichannel experience

For retailers, data-driven insights based on actual shopper body data enable strategic decision-making from marketing and e-commerce to product and design. With AI sizing solutions, brands can generate digital twins of shoppers to understand how customers want their clothing to fit, helping technical designers make fit and sizing optimizations and design new products accordingly. 

Pairing purchase and returns data in an easy-to-use dashboard empowers retailers with detailed analysis to improve conversion, reduce returns and enhance the overall customer experience — not only online but across all channels.

Recognizing the importance of fit and sizing, forward-thinking retailers harness data-driven insights and personalized experiences to revolutionize the customer journey. Creating a frictionless experience that translates from online to in-store gives shoppers the confidence to transact by putting them in control of their buying journey. 

AI sizing technology can create consumer data collections — including individual shopper size, fit preferences and purchasing behavior — that transits seamlessly to encourage sales across buyer touchpoints. The collected consumer data effectively informs marketing strategies, creating targeted marketing campaigns that promote products in the customer’s size range or sending personalized promotions. 

The adoption of AI technology represents a paradigm shift in the apparel retail landscape, empowering brands to optimize operational efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive sustainable growth. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing AI-driven solutions will be essential for staying competitive and meeting the ever-changing demands of today’s discerning consumers.

Sponsored by Bold Metrics