One of the most important issue that online fashion retailers face is that of returns. Amazon is no different, but the difference between Amazon and other online fashion retailers is that Amazon is fighting the issue head-on. According to a research report by IHL, retailers lose out on billions of dollars, due to returned clothes and shoes. Amazon, which is become one of the largest clothing retailers in the US, is designing a system to cope with this very costly problem.
The system will ensure that the customers get the right size of the item they ordered in the first place, so they don’t need to return or exchange. The way the system works is that it gives customers suggestions based on a ‘reference item’. The reference item is a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes that fits the customer perfectly. Amazon plans to use a device to measure the internal measurements of a garment to determine the right fit and make suggestions for future purchases accordingly. The patent has been filed by Amazon for the sizing system, which is actually a continuation of the sizing system by Shoefitr, Inc., a sizing technology company acquired by Amazon.
