Now there is actually a good reason to take a selfie – it might help someone else figure out if the same clothes will fit them. Fashion startup, Fitbay is preaching the selfie as a way to better online shopping and fewer returns. By signing up for the site and selecting your body type, Fitbay will pair you with similarly shaped people. Then you all start sharing photos of your clothes and soon you’ll know what will look good on you and what won’t. It’s like Facebook and StitchFix had a baby in your closet.
Online clothes shopping is pretty nice, because you can do it at midnight, on your couch and in your pajamas. But it also has two major problems – customers don’t always select clothes that will fit well and retailers have to deal with lots of returns and the impact of shipping. To solve these problems, retailers need a better way to ensure customers are buying clothes they know will fit. Lots of companies right now are working on fixes, like abody scan that tells you what sizes will fit or overlays of clothes on your own webcam image.
So far though, nothing has taken hold and Fitbay hopes to take over this market with a solution that is practical and social. When users sign up for Fitbay, they enter in their body type and shape without even knowing your measurements. Then they can start interacting with other people of similar sizes in their own network where everyone shares images of their outfits and preferred brands and products. Finally, Fitbay delivers a customized feed of items based on personal interests and recommendations from other users. It’s like a social network and personal shopper all rolled into one. Finally there’s a purpose to all those selfies.
