Best Fashion Innovations of 2019

This is a Fashion innovation from The 70 Best Trend-Driven Innovations of 2019.

This month, Nike announced a new feature in its Nike Fit app: AR scanning that measures the size and shape of a user’s feet and determines their perfect size for each style of Nike shoes. Via a smartphone camera the app scans 13 data points on each foot, storing the information in a member’s NikePlus profile. If the user visits a Nike store, sales associates can scan a QR code in the app to see which shoes will fit the customer best. Available from July 2019 in the US and in Q3 2019 in Europe, the feature also has a guest mode that lets users scan the feet of family and friends.

Okay, the concept of virtual clothes fitting is nothing new. Our now ancient 2012 e-tail trend briefing featured some innovations in the same vein; one involved standing in front of your webcam and holding a CD to determine scale 😂. Now AR has transformed the ability of brands to offer a virtual fitting room. Whether you sell clothes or not, here are two implications for you:

Error interval. More than 60% of people are wearing the wrong shoe size, according to Nike. And practices like vanity sizing mean that clothes sizes vary wildly from store to store. But data-driven innovations like this Nike Fit feature and hyper-tailoring tech from players such as Ministry of Supply are making the inaccuracies consumers have long lived with unacceptable. The underlying lesson? Change tends to push consumer tolerance for error in one direction: down. How are new technologies changing those expectations when it comes to your industry?

That’s magic. Yes, NikeFit’s AR tool is useful. But it’s also just plain fun to use. For rising numbers of consumers, shopping on phones isn’t just about functionality and transaction: it’s about entertainment, too. Those consumers will increasingly seek out MAGIC POINTS OF SALE – innovations that combine m-commerce with a touch of magic. So when it comes to your m-commerce experience – or any aspect of your CX! – are you striking the right balance between functionality and magic?