Managing a fashion e-commerce shop is no easy task, and having to deal with returns due to sizing issues is a pain that many of us have to deal with on a daily basis. As documented in recent research led by Shopify, size-related issues drive around 72% of all returns in fashion.
One way to deal with this problem is by adding size charts in your product pages, to specify the measurements you use for that particular product. It goes without saying that providing accurate size recommendations helps you increase customer satisfaction, increase sales and reduce returns.
Why is it hard for a customer to pick the right size?
- There’s no such thing as standard sizing: each brand has its own sizing system, and often there are discrepancies even across different items of the same brand.
- Fit preference: each shopper will expect a different fit from the same t-shirt size S, and this adds a new layer of complexity during the purchase flow.
- No point of reference: in most cases, brands will display pictures of the garment worn by a 5”6’ model, but not all your shoppers have the same height and proportions.
Why do I need a size chart?
- The first and most obvious reason: it helps your customers in making the right choice when picking a size. This translates in less returns due to sizing issues, in less time spent in answering size-related queries, and in an increase in conversion rates. This is especially true for first-time shoppers that are not yet familiar with your brand and sizing system. Too often shoppers’ indecisiveness results in shopping cart abandonment, and by providing accurate sizing assistance in your product pages you can quickly and easily see your conversion rates skyrocketing.
- It defines your customer body type. Each product is designed with a specific body type in mind, therefore each brand “talks” to a different type of customer. Picking a specific set of proportions, and translating them in a size chart, helps you to make sure you are targeting the right shopper, therefore establishing a closer connection to them.
- It helps deliver consistency across your collection. This means a returning customer will have no hesitations during the purchase process.
Best practices to optimize your size charts
- Add a size recommender to your product pages: a size chart is a good starting point, but giving your shoppers the option of getting the right size just by inputting a few elements into a size recommender takes it to a whole other level.
- Be transparent about the size of the model: specify the measurements of the model pictured in the product image as in the example below.
- Highlight customer reviews to validate the fit of each item: as usual, reviewers are your best friends. When it comes to size and fit, customer feedback can greatly help, make sure to add size and fit-related reviews in your product pages.
- Add a comprehensive size guide with measurement conversion tables: if you are selling online, it’s quite likely that your shoppers will come from different countries. Help them in finding the right size with a unit conversion size chart.
- Aim for diversity: each shopper has a different body type, so add images of the same item worn by models with different height, weight, body mass distribution, etc.
- Images are one of the most important tools in fashion for influencing customer purchasing decisions. Showing how the garment will fit on different body types helps shoppers to get a clearer picture of the fit and to avoid product returns.
- Add as many measurements as necessary: try to go beyond the usual chest, waist, hips measurements and add as many details as possible to your size charts. Especially when it comes to jeans measurements and pants measurements, try to specify at least inseam and front rise on top of the usual measurements.
- Help your shoppers understand how they should take their measurements: adding a body measurement guide that clarifies where and how exactly to take a specific measurement will help them make the right sizing choice.
- Let your customer add pictures of the item in their reviews: not all shoppers have the same body measurements and proportions of your models. Encourage your customers to share photos of them wearing your product, and you will have as many body type images as you need!
- Include fit information: each item is supposed to fit differently, from tight to flowy to oversized. Make sure you add this kind of information in the product description.
Why a size chart might not be enough
- Your size chart represents the body type of the ideal customer of your brand, but does not necessarily mean that all of your shoppers have the same proportions.
- Not all shoppers know their body dimensions or have a measuring tape at hand. This means that matching your sizes to their measurements most likely is guesswork.
- Vertical proportions are fundamental for a good fit, and at the same time are largely ignored in most size charts.
- Body mass distribution can vary with age, and this is another element that rarely gets accounted for in size charts.
For these reasons, adding a size chart to your product pages might not be enough. Thanks to the latest developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence, modern sizing solutions offer a much more accurate and advanced way to solve sizing.
Simply start by asking your customers to input a few data points such as weight, age and height. A sizing solution like Sizefox can match these with your internal size chart measurements and the datasets of millions of global shoppers, providing accurate size recommendations and supporting shoppers without disrupting the purchase flow.
Simplify purchase flows with the Sizefox size chart and size recommender
If you are looking for a free widget to add size charts and a size recommender to your fashion e-commerce shop, Sizefox just may be your best bet.
With a 15-minutes set up and an intuitive interface, Sizefox allows you to build sleek size charts on Shopify to add to your product pages, reducing shoppers’ doubts related to sizing and therefore increasing your conversion rates. On top of that, Sizefox offers a state-of-the-art size recommender, built with the morphological data sets of millions of shoppers worldwide.
