In all my years driving innovation from testing to implementation and working with leaders across industries on product development and manufacturing improvement, I am sure of one thing. Crises and disruption lead to change. Both in innovation and in our willingness to do things differently.
CEO Savitude
Savitude and Pandemic
During the first year of the pandemic, I wondered, what good would come from this? How will we change and where will new thinking occur?
In year two, quite a lot of change was born out of necessity as the world responded to disruption and ever-shifting supply constraints and as retailers explored new ways of fulfilling customer needs. The world was still reactive, learning what worked in this new and unpredictable environment.
Now it is time for us to be smarter and more targeted in our approach as the disruptions settle into “new ways of doing business.”
Interesting, right? Then keep reading!
Issues Regarding Fit
Last May, McKinsey and Co. published an article entitled “Returning to order: Improving returns management for apparel companies.” One of their findings was that “… 70 percent of returns were caused by poor fit or style, suggesting that shopping tools are a key lever for preventing returns and improving the consumer experience. However, because retailers frequently prioritize and assess these based on improvements in conversion rates, tools that could benefit return rates are sometimes neglected”.
They point to “data limitations restrict(ing) companies’ ability to understand and address these challenges at the source.”
This May, as part of their quarterly earnings reports, both Target and Walmart reported excess inventory and the need to downsize through additional markdown, citing unanticipated changes in customer behavior. Both companies referenced missed forecasts, and presumably, missing what consumers were seeking when they came to buy.
Of course, some of that can be attributed to pandemic disruption. Yet, where can we improve with more timely customer information and a greater ability to make changes in the process?
How might we have a better understanding of consumer wants and fit needs? What information can help fashion brands and retailers to be more on target with their assortments due to their customer base? Once they collect data, who needs to involve in its dissemination and solving the problems?
Understanding Consumers’ Needs on Fit
We know that when people try on clothing, it is to see how it looks and feels on them. Sometimes the clothes don’t fit based on size, and other times it’s how the design fits and flatters their shape. Our research shows that 44% of returns are based on shape and design details and 36% are based on size. As the industry has learned, size-alone solutions are insufficient for addressing returns.
Size + Shape + Design Details = Best Fit.
We also know that how apparel compliments a particular shape can only be influenced at the earliest stages of product development and assortment selection. And yet, according to McKinsey’s research, only 33% of merchandisers involve in some aspect of managing returns and 0% of product development teams.
Gartner® reported in their Market Guide for Retail Assortment Optimization Applications in Merchandising, published June 7, 2022 (Jonathan Kutner, Robert Hetu), that “Best-fit solutions apply consumer insights to optimize future assortments in the preproduction phase. By analyzing body shapes from the customer database, the worst-performing products have a higher probability of being omitted from the mix, helping to produce more precise collections of merchandise that are better aligned to customers’ profiles.”
SAVITUDE: Where Art and Science Come Together
In this day and age, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology can help bridge the gap. It can reduce the likelihood of returns and waste while increasing customer engagement and profitability. Savitude is the fashion tech startup I am honored to lead. It plays in this space and has proven successful in meeting these objectives.
Constellation Research SuperNova Awards & Savitude
Savitude was recently named a finalist in the annual Constellation Research SuperNova Awards competition for Disruptive Technology for Marketing Transformation.
This category “… recognizes organizations, teams and individuals evolving marketing operations and strategies to transform campaign-driven points of engagement into comprehensive growth-focused marketing machines. This includes championing marketing and omnichannel engagement technologies to deploy proactive, contextual experiences while aggregating rich customer insights to inform corporate engagement strategies.” (Constellation Research). Great recognition!
In my opening paragraph, I wondered what good would come from the last few years of navigating challenging waters. Also, in the second paragraph, I stated: “It is time for us to be smarter and more targeted in our approach as the disruptions settle into ‘new ways of doing business.’
How we collectively choose to step in and step up as an industry, an ecosystem, to solve these problems matters. To build on Arby’s tagline, “We have the meat!” We have the technology! Join us in making a difference. Click the link to explore the power of our technology Creative Search and imagine the data we are gathering. If you like what you see, get in touch, vote for Savitude, and let’s get to work.
More about Savitude
The company is for sustainably-minded fashion brands and retailers who seek to reduce shopper returns. In addition to improving the economics of the business, Savitude provides insights and analytics to help brands and retailers deliver the “best fit” to a broader consumer population without adding SKUs.
Savitude Design Studio
Our platform is a collection of SaaS modules for Best Fit and assortment optimization. It consists of Creative Search, Assortment Optimization and Design Assist and addresses the fit and design challenges in fashion accounting for most apparel returns.
Our patented core technology* is the foundation for all three modules. These easy-to-install, API modules augment current product development processes and tools. And can also be used independently or together to bring visibility to underserved consumers, grow sales and reduce waste and returns.
Understanding and predicting consumer behavior and needs are key to reducing clothing returns from the current 30-40% of sales. Our product roadmap prioritizes collecting such information, formerly inaccessible without our technology. We can define success by the customer experience and that of the brand or retailer.
SAVITUDE’S MODULES
Savitude Creative Search integrates personalized discovery into a retail partner’s e-commerce platform. It also enables shopper data capture by body shape, providing insights and analytics to inform the design and assortment optimization. For instance, in a pilot test of the core technology, sales increased by 11%, net returns.
In conclusion, Savitude Assortment Optimization is the engine for creating a collection that can serve a broader collection of customers and reduce waste while capturing additional sales. t. It provides guidance to buyers and designers in the context of their Brand DNA and their customer population.
In other words, Savitude Design Assist allows designers to edit and iterate quickly, building on their creativity and inspiration. In a test, we saw a 25% reduction in development time while addressing gaps in an assortment.
Gartner, Market Guide for Retail Assortment Optimization Applications in Merchandising, Jonathan Kutner, Robert Hetu, June 7, 2022.
GARTNER is the registered trademark and service mark of Gartner Inc., and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or internationally and has been used herein with permission. All rights reserved. [G1]
[G1]Mandatory Attribution and TM disclaimer added.
Like this article? Then you must read this one: Sustainability Standards & Certifications for Fashion.
* Written by Karen Williams, CEO of Savitude.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Fashinnovation’s columnists are their own, not those of Fashinnovation.
