Each size recommendation is unique

Founded in 2012, AstraFit's fit technology and data platform is available globally through their offices in Cyprus, Europe, Kiev and the US. CEO and Co-Founder Nikita Dobrynin explains what sets AstraFit apart from other solution providers.

What is the USP of your sizing technology? How is it different from other in the market?

AstraFit Online Fitting Room is the only self-setup fitting room in this industry for now. Users don't need to wait for someone to assist and explain them everything. They can do everything themselves in a second using the widget, starting from measuring clothes, customising widget and ending at deploying a widget code. About 30 minutes of your time and you have a working fitting room right on your website.

AstraFit is a single service that has free lifetime value (free package) that includes 500 virtual try-ons per month. Our service has clear and honest packages that grow as the clients grow and everybody can start with the free package anytime. Often non self-service fitting rooms put together custom pricing and clients have no understanding of what amount is paid each month.

AstraFit is the only service that takes garment and primary body measurements (like chest, waist, hips measurements and height) as guiding criteria for accuracy in recommendations. It's an obvious thing-to give accurate size advice. A fitting service must compare the measurements of garments against the customer's unique body measurements. But in fact, it's a rare case for services to really measure at least one of those crucial criteria. AstraFit is the only service that takes into account super important garment properties for customers like material stretchiness and style details that most other services overlook.

How easy is it to meld with it the other software or ERP systems being used?

AstraFit is a globally compatible solution. We are compatible with major CMSs like Magento and Shopify. AstraFit has a clear working mechanism that can be implemented into programmes or systems of any complexity.

Does it work for men, women, and kidswear categories?

AstraFit supports male, female and kidswear categories. AstraFit size and fit recommendation is based on garment and unique body measurements. We are not working with size charts. Therefore, we can give size predictions from extra-small to extra-large sizes. Each recommendation is unique.

How many registered users do you have? What is the nature of feedback that you take to help fine-tune your app/ solution better?

Over the last seven years, we have helped 8 million people find clothing best suited to their unique body parameters and helped hundreds of fashion brands, retailers and marketplaces worldwide achieve better business results. We have open feedback fields in our fitting room; so, any user can send us his/her thoughts. To be honest, we are getting hundreds of positive comments daily. These comments from the end-users help us become better and implement new features.

We have got a lot of feedback and now are working to create a special AstraFit filter that will help users to get a list of apparel that suit their unique body figures. Feedback helps us become better and we see that our service is a necessity rather than just an additional service.

Where does it work best: in-store, kiosks, web, app?

As the most personalised shopping experience on the web, we are solution providers to online fashion brands, retailers, clothes manufacturers and marketplaces. AstraFit is helping e-commerce players have high rate of satisfied buyers. After one successful experience, buyers will come back to make the second purchase then the third and so on. This way we grow the conversion.

All in all, buyers get used to online fitting room and can't even imagine online shopping without this service. This way Astrafit sets the pace to the existing market of digital fitting technologies.

Can you give us an idea as to what kind of research and testing goes into developing a solution/algorithm?

We, at AstraFit, have more than seven years' experience interacting and communicating with end-users and now have clear understanding of the very essence of their need. Over 86 per cent of humans have body measurements that don't neatly translate to one of three magic letters. Most of the time, the customer's experience with your sizing chart goes something like this-they find themselves to be an "S" based on their chest but also an "XS" based on their waist measurement and wait, actually, no they should be an "M" because of the hips.

Customers are not sizing charts. Why have them rely on one to gauge how a garment will fit?

"Here's what the customer isn't going to learn from your sizing chart-the dress is going to feel tight in the chest and too loose in the shoulders and for a lady with the delicate stature of 5'3'' this "mini-dress" ends up covering her knees. AstraFit size recommendation is not based on size charts. We consider unique garment measurements (because surprisingly, like people, not all "M" sizes are created equal). The "M" varies across brands, sometimes fitting the "S" parameters of another brand and sometimes it is nearing the size of another brand's size "L" and unique primary body measurements like chest, waist, hips measurements and height (not secondary body measurements like age and weight like all our competitors do). AstraFit is based on strong AI technology that generates size prediction.

Does your sizing software work for all types of body and people of all races? Is it globally compatible?