The global virtual fitting room market size was valued at $2.44B (approx €2.08B) in 2019 and is projected to reach $10B (approx €8.5B) by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 20.1% during the forecast period.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the footfalls at the physical stores have been reduced substantially and sales have dramatically declined. Most consumers favor online shopping, resulting in a strong demand for e-commerce platforms. This, in turn, is expected to increase the growth of the virtual fitting room market size.
In a recent development, a German e-commerce giant Zalando has acquired Zurich-based software company Fision for an undisclosed amount. This development should allow both shoppers and brands to determine clothing sizes more precisely and reduce the number of returns.
The Fision team will continue to be based in Zurich while fully integrating with Zalando. The investment underscores Zalando’s commitment to one of its key markets, Switzerland.
The ecommerce company also opened up an additional talent venue in Zurich – one of Europe’s technology hotspots. Its ambition is to build up a new tech hub in Zurich, growing the site to more than 150 jobs over time.
Meepls
Founded in 2015, Fision has developed technologies that generate accurate 3D virtual bodies and clothing models on its platform ‘meepl’.
According to the company, its app uses visual computing and artificial intelligence to allow customers to discover their body measurements and create personalised 3D body profiles, personal meepls. It requires a smartphone or a tablet to get started, utilising two images of the body, height and gender. As an alternative to the 3D body scan, meepl provides the option to create a 3D body profile using only 4 attributes (height, gender, age, and weight) that allows easy and fast size recommendation anywhere.
Fision AG was founded by a team of ETH Zurich graduates in engineering with the vision to enhance the customer journey of online shoppers and to reduce the cycle of waste in the industry.
Solving a problem in the fashion industry
Fision was founded with the vision to enhance the customer journey of online shoppers and to reduce the cycle of waste in the industry. “Customers will get size advice earlier in their relationship with Zalando. At the same time, we can create a feedback loop between brands and consumers designed to drive customer loyalty and in the long run reduce waste,” says Stacia Carr, Zalando’s Director of Engineering – Size and Fit.
According to Zalando, one of the biggest challenges the fashion industry faces is helping customers find the right fit the first time.
Sizing systems across categories, regions, and brands vary dramatically, creating confusion and unnecessary returns for customers. The ecommerce firm claims to help by using the purchase and returns history to provide size advice on 50 percent of all items ordered.
As per Zalando, Fision’s technology integration into its platform will take size advice to the next level: from one based on fit feedback and garment measurements to one that is more personalised using both garment and body measurements.
Solving the problem of size and fit represents a huge potential to transform fashion e-commerce for the benefit of both customers and brands. Customers will be able to generate precise body measurements which they can use to receive even more accurate size advice, and purchase items they know will fit.
“Brands, for the first time, can gain a deeper understanding of how well their assortment addresses the size and fit needs of a target audience which in the long run will enable them to produce better fitting garments.
About Zalando
Zalando is an online platform for fashion and lifestyle. Founded in Berlin in 2008 by David Schneider, Rocket Internet, and Robert Gentz, the company has more than 34 million active customers in 17 markets, offering clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty products. The platform’s goal is to become the starting point for fashion.
Image credits: Zalando
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