Anyone who’s ever ordered clothes online knows that getting an item that fits is by all means hit and miss. Brands such as Stantt and Threadmason have in recent times introduced up to 50 different size options to cater for the varying shapes of the human body, and now Fitbay is an online fashion discovery service that promises to only show users items that fit their body.

Currently in private beta, the platform is essentially a meeting place for like-minded and like-bodied consumers looking for clothes that work with their particular body shape. Users don’t have to measure anything — they simply answer a 30-second survey about their body shape, such as whether it’s hour glass, pear-shaped or otherwise, and how tight they like their clothes to be. They’re then shown only the items out of the database of 2 million products that match their body. Each item has a direct link to a webshop where they can instantly buy, and can connect with the community of users that have the same body type. As its userbase grows, the site aims to rely on recommendations from similar users to determine which garments get shown, offering a human touch that computer algorithms can’t. The video below explains more about the service:

Fitbay claims that around 40 percent of all fashion purchases made online are returned due to fitting issues, and its method of filtering the wrong products out before a payment can be made could save time and money for both businesses and consumers. Are there other ways to tackle this problem?