During the Covid-19 pandemic, many trends that were already taking place in retail sped up and benefitted shoppers by making their experience more convenient and safer. Trends like appointment scheduling, curbside pick up, and contactless payments, to name a few.
Yet, one negative uptick for online consumers, retailers, and the environment - fit-based returns due to inconsistent sizing and free return policies. Both fit-based and free returns created a perfect storm of an unsustainable return culture for online shopping.
How did the return culture emerge and become a significant factor in environmental waste?
Free returns coupled with inconsistent sizing, said Susan Cullinane, a professor at the University of Gothenburg's School of Business, Economics, and Law.
According to Cullinane, "almost no-one dares to charge for returned goods." In her report, Substantial Environmental Impact From Returned Goods, the return culture started because of free return policies and inconsistency in sizing, both harming the environment."
For example, an avid sneaker buyer with size 9 feet understands that receiving a comfortable fit could mean ordering several sizes while relying on free returns. These extra orders are sent back using the free return policies contributing to extra transport and boxing materials.
"Shoe fit measurements are a challenging task," says Ales Jurca, VP of Footwear Research at Volumental. Shoppers often try on at least five pairs of shoes before finding a comfortable fit."
That's correct, five pairs of shoes because of the sizing inconsistencies between brands.
Online shopping, inconsistent sizing, and free returns have turned homes into private fitting rooms and contribute to environmental waste. The average e-commerce return rate is 2-3 times higher than in-store. However, bracketing and free returns are not sustainable solutions for the environment, customer confidence, or a brand's reputation. Brands who understand this have already started to implement fit technology into their shopper's journey.
The good news is one survey revealed that 88% of consumers are interested in purchasing from companies that have sustainability initiatives.
But how much does the retail industry contribute to environmental waste?
Shoe recommendations for millions of shoppers by leveraging a combination of 3D foot scans, retail purchase data, and AI.
Yes, it's absolutely a game changer to implement a mobile fitting solution.
Brands that can deliver an accurate online shoe fit can help reduce returns and ultimately contribute to sustainability initiatives and shopper confidence.
Standardizing shoe sizes is nearly impossible with the myriad of complex manufacturing processes. Instead, brands are implementing and raving about how AI technology helps shoppers with fit recommendations.
"Retailers can apply digital technology to help customers make better choices while shopping," says Cullinane.
Accurate size recommendations using a digital foot scan can help retailers:
If you want to increase the value of your existing customers offer them trust in fit and your sustainability initiatives.
To help bring an in-store FitTech™ experience to online shoppers, Volumental developed a 3D mobile foot scanning app using computer vision and artificial intelligence to solve fit recommendations. When brands implement digital technology, shoppers can have more confidence finding their exact fit in each brand and style and help reduce online returns while helping to reduce environmental waste.
We have launched a beta version of our scanning software that allows customers to operate the In-Store Scanner themselves and access the results immediately, improving the in-store experience and increasing average transaction size by 32.5%.
The self-service version will be rolled out in selected stores, outlet malls, and brand warehouses in 2023.
Here's how it works:
First, customers locate the Volumental scanner and step onto it instead of waiting for assistance. The scanner takes less than 5 seconds to retrieve and analyze the customer's foot profile, which is then displayed on the iPad's user interface.
Customers then enter their email address to access the scanning data and personalized shoe recommendations based on actual purchase data from millions of customers and your store inventory.
The customer's data and email address are stored in your database for targeted campaigns and recommendations. After the scan, the customer can pick up the perfect fit straight from the shelf or if you want your customers to be able to use their in-store scan on your website - our “scan in-store, shop online” solution is available.