Shop by Shape, a fashion tech company founded by entrepreneur Janine Craig, uses AI technology to provide personalised styling for women based on their individual body shapes.
Partnering with the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) through the Arrow innovation support programme, Shop by Shape aimed to bring their vision to life by developing a prototype app to improve the online shopping experience and reduce return rates.
The story of Janine Craig
Janine Craig, the entrepreneur behind Shop by Shape, recognised a significant gap in the online fashion market. Many women, especially those over 30, struggle to find well-fitting, flattering clothes, leading to frustration and high return rates for retailers.
Determined to address this issue, Janine envisioned an AI-powered app that could recommend styles based on individual body features. Shop by Shape’s mission is to boost body confidence and enhance the online shopping experience for women, while also supporting small-to-medium size online fashion retailers.
Overcoming technical hurdles
Before collaborating with NICD, Janine had conceptualised her idea but lacked the technical expertise needed to develop the AI technology required for her app. The goal was to create a prototype that would allow women to upload photographs, identify their body features, and recommend suitable styles.
According to a study conducted in 2023, online shoppers in the United Kingdom (UK) frequently return items due to size issues. Nearly 60%of UK consumers returned products because of this. A further 2023 study by PWC found that 45% of respondents ranked ‘providing more accurate sizing information’ as their top priority, a percentage point higher than those prioritising greater accuracy in product description.
High return rates, which averaged 30-40%, also posed a significant challenge for online retailers, costing them approximately £20 per return. This amounted to a £7bn headache for the UK fashion industry in 2022 alone.
Janine needed to develop a solution that would reduce these costs and improve customer satisfaction.
Discovering NICD through Arrow
Janine learned about the Arrow support programme through a developer. The team at Arrow realised she would benefit from the data and AI expertise at NICD to accelerate her project. She realised the huge potential of leveraging university expertise available nearby. The comprehensive support through Arrow, and the multidisciplinary approach offered by NICD were key factors in Janine’s decision to work with both.
Innovation support through Arrow
Arrow helps regional businesses access expertise and facilities at four of the North East’s leading universities through fully-funded task-focussed innovation projects. This strategic collaboration between universities and businesses is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund through Durham County Council and North of Tyne Combined Authority (now administered by the North East Combined Authority).
NICD's strategic response
NICD began by evaluating the progress made by Shop by Shape and suggested new approaches to improve the app’s effectiveness. The project team, led by Dr. Peter Michalàk and including NICD Data Scientists Dr. Jordan Connolly and Dr. Mac Misiura, proposed utilising advanced deep-learning models. Mac Misiura’s breakthrough suggestion led to significant improvements, with initial trials achieving a 55% success rate – far exceeding early expectations. This success enabled Janine to build a prototype app, now undergoing testing with her highly engaged social media followers.
Promising early results
The collaboration with the Arrow programme and NICD resulted in a functional prototype that is currently being tested by Shop by Shape’s social media community.
The early results show a success rate in style recommendations, highlighting the app’s potential to significantly reduce return rates and enhance customer satisfaction. Janine's goal is to target SMEs in the online fashion sector, helping them reduce costly returns and improve their competitiveness.
The app also aims to boost women’s body confidence and make online shopping a more enjoyable experience
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Discover how Arrow can help regional businesses with fully-funded innovation support project to access NICD’s expertise and that at other regional North East universities. arrowinnovation.org.uk
