How can clothing brands make sure they sell the right sizes online?

In the “Double-clic sur la mode” podcast, Sébastien Ramel, founder of Fitizzy (a recommendation solution), looks at selling clothes online and at the potential sources of error.

Interviewed by Guerric de Ternay, founder of the t-shirt brand GoudronBlanc*, he explains in detail what lies behind those sources of error. The goal: helping retailers support their consumers better on their e-commerce sites and reduce order returns.

Those returns come at a cost for the brand (they are free for the customer), they have a negative environmental impact, and they leave customers dissatisfied.

What are the sources of sizing error?

The question of size is a thorny one, because there are no rules and no standard. Everyone does as they see fit — and thank goodness for that.

We count three potential sources of sizing error online:

First source of error: from one individual to the next, choosing a size is highly subjective. Everyone wears clothes as they please, depending on their body shape and their tastes (tight-fitting or loose). A slim-fit shirt may have been designed to be worn close to the body, but the end consumer can perfectly well wear it “oversize”, because everyone judges for themselves how they want to wear a product.

Take me, for instance: I am tall. Looking at me, you might assume I would pick an L, but I go for an M instead, because I like wearing t-shirts very close to the body.

Second source of error: in an e-commerce journey, studies show that shoppers spend an average of 8 seconds on a product page. Decisions are made extremely quickly. If the brand offers no size guidance, the shopper will pick their “usual” size. Yet the dimensions of a pair of trousers at one brand are not necessarily the same at another.

Third source of error: still within an e-commerce journey, if a brand provides a size chart, the shopper may end up taking their measurements incorrectly. Measuring yourself on your own is no simple matter.

Why does every clothing brand size its garments differently?

They do not size their garments in the same way, because:

• They do not use the same body type: once it has pinned down its target customer, each brand builds its own body type, a kind of virtual mannequin. It is from that mannequin that the brand’s entire size range is derived.

• They do not apply the same quality standards in their manufacturing workshops.

• They may not work with the same suppliers.

• Some fabrics can shrink in the wash.

Which types of garment are the hardest to find your size in?

For men and women alike, the most returned product is trousers.

Next comes the suit jacket for men. Without a size recommendation solution, it is hard to choose the ideal jacket without trying it on. On top of that, brands do not always offer returns services.

For women, bras generate a great many online order returns, because women do not always know their bust measurement accurately and it can change for any number of reasons (weight loss, hormones and so on).

Brands need to keep one thing in mind: the more expensive the product, the greater the risk of the order being returned. Hence the importance of guiding shoppers as they make their decision.

Size recommendation avoids these sources of error and reduces your order returns

To deliver optimised size recommendations, the Fitizzy solution asks for nothing more than a few simple details.

On their e-commerce sites, and more precisely on their product pages, this recommendation plugin sits behind a “Find your size” call-to-action button. When they click that button, the user is asked to enter a few pieces of information about their body shape.

> Step one: the shopper enters their age, their weight and their height. That allows the Fitizzy solution to calculate their body mass index.

> Step two: we fine-tune our calculations by asking the shopper for pointers about their body shape (are their bust, waist and hips small, standard or generous, and so on).

With those 6 pieces of information, the Fitizzy solution is able to work out your shopper’s measurements and translate them into the most suitable of your commercial sizes.

Every month, the tool generates between 2.5 and 3 million size recommendations across a range of clothing brands (Tara Jarmon, Promod, Celio, Brice).

Would you like to digitalise your purchase journeys?

Contact our team to find out more and to get a personalised demonstration.

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* Fitizzy, an online clothing size recommendation solution, was created more than 10 years ago. GoudronBlanc was one of the first brands to beta-test the service.