Interview with Tim Donnelly Smith

I would say our solutions already have gone places. We have some outstanding clients such as Hugo Boss, QVC and Thomas Pink. But it's true that many apparel retailers have yet to deploy any online fit or size solution, and there are probably several reasons. Virtual fitting rooms are often marketed with the message that they reduce fit-related returns and increase conversions. But in reality, the scale of low-conversion or high-returns problems vary significantly from retailer to retailer, and even from country to country. For some retailers, these may be the stand-out two issues to resolve. Other retailers have different problems to solve urgently. There will always be competition for budget and resources, and retailers must address the most important issues first. However, every retailer and brand prioritises its customer experience. Customer expectations have altered over the last two years, and 'customer experience' is now one of the hottest topics in e-commerce. While conversion-and-returns performance is still important, our clients tell us that their shoppers now expect to have the option of using a virtual fitting room as a part of their purchase journey, just as they expect to have the option of using a physical fitting room in a physical store. Retailers ignore customer expectations at their own peril. So, we think this will be a significant driver for further adoption of virtual fitting rooms. For retailers and brands, a virtual fitting room that engages shoppers and encourages interaction with products is a vital means to attract customers, retain them, learn about them and their preferences, and to gather data that can drive personalisation - another big element of the customer experience. So, from a data and insight perspective as well as from the purchase journey perspective, we believe that retailers and brands will identify virtual fitting rooms like ours - providing both the engagement and yielding the data - as an integral part of their customer experience strategies.

What I think will happen is that demand for online fit solutions will be customer-led. Shoppers will start to show a preference for retailers and brands that provide better information and a better experience, and will be less inclined to buy from retailers or brands that offer a size chart and little else. This customer expectation could evolve quickly, because it won't take long for shoppers to notice that online fit problems can easily be addressed, if brands and retailers choose to do so. You only have to look at what our clients are telling us now about their shoppers, as I mentioned earlier. I also expect virtual fitting rooms to evolve alongside other innovations. These might include things like new online store formats, greater use of video, and perhaps even changes to the customer journey. I expect virtual fitting rooms to be at the heart of changes, because 'will it fit?' is the major issue that shoppers are concerned about in the online environment. Fit will be a key attribute of personalisation. And I'm sure there will be other leaps forward too.

It varies significantly from client to client - it's highly dependent on the customer base and client. But it is not unusual to see shoppers that use the fitting room convert at twice the rate of shoppers that don't use it.

Yes, the solutions work across all body types. In fact, one of the types of shopper likely to benefit from a Fits.me solution is the person who usually finds himself or herself compromising on size selection, somewhere because of being of less-regular shape or size. Without the virtual fitting room, such a person inevitably faces a less-than-great shopping experience, and probably returns garments more frequently than average.

We're headquartered in the UK. So historically, we've focused there while looking at Europe too. We already operate virtual fitting rooms in the US for European retailers including Hugo Boss and Thomas Pink. In December 2014, we acquired the New York-based size recommendation company Clothes Horse, which gives us the foundation for more aggressive North American expansion.

Our solutions are already optimised for mobile devices, and future development will always be from a 'mobile first' perspective, mirroring the strategies of retailers and brands.

I think this is the point at which I say 'wait and see' - but we'll be sure to let you know first, so you can keep readers right up-to-date. While doing the right thing for shoppers, virtual fitting rooms can also make huge bottomline differences to retailers and brands. So, I'm sure they'll want to know.

Our solutions are software-as-a-service, and we have a SaaS-like pricing model, an initial implementation fee upfront and then regular monthly fees. The fees for Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room and Fit Advisor solutions start at a few thousand euros per month.