AI and LiDAR help shoppers find the right fit

How is the tech reducing returns and boosting customer satisfaction?

Spotted: Retail returns are an increasingly challenging part of the business for many brands, both from a financial and sustainability point of view. Artificial intelligence could play an important role in cutting down on returns and improving customer experience by allowing customers to try clothes on virtually and see items via augmented reality. One company that’s embracing AI’s potential is Fit:match.

Using patented technology developed in partnership with Cornell University, Fit:match’s software solution democratises access to 3D scans, making it possible for retailers and healthcare providers to personalise the experience they provide customers and patients through shape matching. In doing so, the company claims it can reduce retail returns by up to 80 per cent.

Fit:match uses LiDAR, a remote-sensing technology that uses laser beams to measure distance and movement, for its scans rather than cameras or videos. LiDAR removes the need to store imagery, making Fit:match a more secure method of receiving personalised recommendations based on body scans. Each time someone is scanned, the algorithm finds their closest digital twin.

Fit:match works digitally for online shopping as well as an integrated in-store experience. Once built into a brand’s dressing rooms, customers can choose to use the self-scan option for various hard-to-fit garments such as bras and denim. A scan takes only minutes to complete, and Fit:match works closely with retailers to build, install, and introduce the new technology.

In healthcare, Fit:match Recovery helps care teams order the best size of close-fitting compression garments for patients’ shapes and specific healing needs after surgery. The new Fit:match app helps users learn more about what sizes across brands will fit their shape best, and supports people going through significant body changes such as surgery, pregnancy, or competitive fitness.

Other technologies helping the fashion industry become more sustainable include a range of AI-powered solutions for finding the right fit when shopping online and a platform assisting brands in making the second-hand market profitable.

Written By: Keely Khoury