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‘ROI can’t and shouldn’t be measured purely by financials’

By N Jayalakshmi | October 12, 2021

Whitney Cathcart, Co-founder and CSO of 3DLOOK, a mobile-first camera-based technology company that uses computer vision and machine learning to bring body data intelligence to fashion, tells Retail4Growth how the use of right technology can help control the growing returns rates and waste in fashion ecommerce and arrive at a better business model.

Whitney Cathcart  Co-founder & CSO<br>3DLOOKCould your first tell us more about 3DLOOK and what drove its founding?

My Co-Founder and CEO Vadim launched 3DLOOK back in 2016, with the vision of building a mobile-first camera-based technology that would use computer vision and machine learning to build avatars and measure the human body. I joined Vadim and co-founders, Alex and Ivan, in 2017 after leaving a twenty-five year career in fashion. I knew what a huge problem fit and sizing was in the industry, and was fascinated by 3DLOOK's technology and the concept of using it to bring body data intelligence to fashion and to help drive down return rates and waste.

As e-commerce growth continues to explode, retailers are still facing unprofitable sales as a result of returns which negatively affect the bottom line. We have positioned 3DLOOK as the only solution on the market to make an impact on returns by using our core technology to address the two biggest questions consumers face when shopping online, which is: "what does this look like on me?" and "how will this fit me?"

Our solution answers both questions with a combination of personalized size and fit recommendations, combined with the engagement of a virtual try-on experience. For consumers, we bring a unique digital experience to their shopping journey, and for retailers, we drive down returns, increase conversions and drive revenue with increased AOV's.

Could you tell us more about your clientele ? 

Our clients are innovative fashion retailers and e-commerce companies both large and small, who are looking for solutions to lower returns and engage consumers who are shopping online. We also have an SaaS solution that delivers measurements to companies who sell custom clothing and have an on-demand manufacturing model. Our digital fit solutions help brands deepen their relationships with their customers.

Last spring, we partnered with Dickies APAC to provide Gen Z shoppers with an engaging and effective fit and size recommendation experience on Tmall. As part of a larger initiative this partnership helped Dickies increase conversions by removing the confusion around what size to buy and helped decrease return rates caused by poor fit.

In addition, the pilot enabled them to gauge their customers' reactions to unique innovative e-commerce experiences and gather insight before implementing changes in their supply chain to expand the solution to other brands within VF Corporation's portfolio. The brand saw outstanding results.

Based on your observations of your retail clients, how has the pandemic impacted the way retailers conduct their business at a global level?

The pandemic exponentially accelerated the adoption and growth of e-commerce and mobile commerce. Although this shift to online shopping was already happening, COVID certainly propelled consumers who could no longer go to stores to shop online.

Sizing confusion is the top barrier when purchasing online, and this confusion creates the behavior of bracketing, meaning consumers buy more than one size, only to return what does not fit. Because of this, return rates have continued to skyrocket with many brands seeing returns as high as 35%-40%, which is an unsustainable business model.

88% of consumers do not mind returning clothes because they think they go back to the shelf and get resold. However, the reality is that returned clothing impacts markdown cadence, inflates inventories and when not sold, returned items can become part of landfills which negatively impacts the environment.

 The shift that we are seeing to more sustainable practices being driven by younger Millennials and Gen Z’s has prompted the faster adoption of fit technology over the past year, which has positively impacted our growth. We have seen 6x the growth since 2020, as leading brands partnered with us to address fit and size problems and offer their shoppers more engaging digital-first experiences. 3DLOOK provides the perfect solution to help brands address the issue of decreasing returns while creating a highly personalized experience for their customers.

Retailers are often anxious about the capital needed to get these technologies, especially during unstable times. What advice would you give to them? How can they increase their ROI from using such technological solutions?

Innovation takes effort and time, resources and patience. But reward doesn’t come without risk, and consumers are driving the need for retailers to adopt technology to better serve their needs.

ROI can’t and shouldn’t be measured purely by financials. When adopting new technology, ROI needs to also include analysis on how user experience is improved, changes in user behavior, and most importantly, specific metrics such as conversions, return rates and AOV. At the end of the day, it’s the consumer who drives positive ROI. Repeat customers who have better experiences as a result of personalization driven by technology means that they have stayed with you longer and shop more. 

How do you see India as a market for front-end retail technologies?

India was ranked as the fifth-largest global economy, and their retail tech space has seen incredible growth. The recent wave of COVID-19 in India was devastating, but as the country rebounds, the use of technology is an opportunity for retailers to digitize, improve processes, connect with customers, implement new safety protocols, and continue to use data to gain better insights and meet consumer demands.

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