Everyone likes Elvis, right? Well, not necessarily.
If you’re the CEO of a major online retailer, the King’s former No 1, “Return to Sender,” is likely to the be the soundtrack to your nightmares.
Because, as delivery technology specialists ShippyPro say, “30% of all products ordered online are returned to the sender, compared to 8.89% of the items purchased in a physical store.”
So, what exactly can the industry do about that?
Embryonic Kansas City start-up, Bodify, think they have a solution.
According to Cruncbase, “Bodify is a web-based platform that leverages computer vision and artificial intelligence to help online shoppers find the best brands for their bodies. This both improves the shopping experience and reduces returns for online retailers.”
Or, as Bodify put it, “by helping your shoppers make smarter decisions about what to buy at the point of purchase, the items that you sell, stay sold.”
The company’s technology aims to dramatically increase the accuracy of size and fit. In essence, creating virtual fitting rooms. The system uses machine learning to let customers virtually try on clothes and better visualise how they look and fit.
And a better fit should mean less returns.
Crunchbase again, “shoppers that make better decisions about what to buy are more likely to keep the purchases they make.”
Bodify is still a fairly new company but has already accessed finance from two accelerator funds. As founder Carlanda McKinney told the Kansas City Business Journal, “Instead of talking about it, this is what we’re going to do, this is the plan…This is the product in development.”
So, next time you impulsively splash out on fashion online, perhaps you’ll keep it? Even if, Elvis-style, it’s a sequinned gold lame jumpsuit.