Our technology integrates directly into a retailer's e-commerce website
Describing itself as the best body shape and garment fit company in the world, Metail aims to digitise every garment for everybody to try on. CEO and Founder Tom Adeyoola speaks to Fibre2Fashion about the USP, technology, on-boarding process and major clients.
What is the USP of your sizing technology? How is it different?
Metail aims to digitise every garment for everybody to try on. Metail's technology empowers shoppers to try on clothes virtually and provides recommendations based on specific body size measurements. To do that, first, you have to digitise garments. We use advanced, patented computer vision technologies to digitise garments at scale. A second technology enables shoppers to create 3D personal avatars built around specific body measurements-called MeModels. The accuracy of the MeModel is found to be up to 96 per cent and can be seen in 360 degrees. When you combine the two, shoppers can try on clothes, see what they would look like on your body, and the technology recommends what size garment would fit.
How easy is it to meld with the other softwares or ERP systems being used?
Our technology integrates directly into a retailer's e-commerce website. It fits in seamlessly, both on desktop and smartphone, where an increasing amount of shopping is taking place. Customers see a 'try it on' button, and when they click on it, it appears on their bespoke MeModel.
Does it work for: men / women / children?
Over 7.7 million women across the world have created their MeModels.
What are the minimum and maximum sizes that it caters to across the above three segments?
We're trying not to think about size. Everyone's bodies are unique, and clothes should be made to fit peoples' bodies rather than forcing peoples' bodies to fit into pre-selected sizes. As such, our mission is for a woman of any size and shape to be able to create a MeModel.
For which body type is it most suited: Indian, American, European, or any other?
Anyone from anywhere in the world can create a MeModel to try on clothes online. We embrace the fact that everyones' body shapes are different. As we enter each new market we append local scan data to improve and localise our regression models. Rather than thinking about ethnic types, it is more a case of how homogeneous a market is or isn't-the lower the cultural mix the tighter the normal distribution curve for the population will be. Retailers can also use our extensive body size and shape data provide insights on whether the clothes they manufacture are suited to the body sizes of their target customers.
Where does it work best: in-store, kiosks, web, app?
Our technology is online-only, and works on web and mobile. We aim to give consumers the experience of a physical store online.
What technology do you use to provide sizing & fitting solutions?
We're using breakthroughs in computer vision, machine learning and AI technologies and also collaborate on R&D with Cambridge and Portsmouth Universities. This allows us to digitise garments incredibly quickly and cheaply and build highly accurate MeModels that can be created in under ten seconds with just height, weight and bra-size measurements. Our technology sets us apart-it has been ten years in the making and we're confident it will change the landscape of online shopping. Solving the sizing dilemma isn't an easy problem to solve. We currently have 14 PhDs working on it.
What is the on-boarding process like?
We go through trial periods with our clients. We provide photography services that fit within the photography supply of the retailers; so, garment digitisation happens at the most convenient place for the retailer, and our visualisation technology integrates seamlessly into our partner's e-commerce online channels. We work with retailers to provide the data that can improve efficiency in the supply chain.
Who are your major clients?
We've seen major growth in the Asian market. The east is far more receptive to technological innovation in retail-there, they are thinking longterm growth compared to Europe and the West's focus on day-to-day survival. As such, Asia and India are a big focus for us for this year.
What is the cost of installing your technology?
We create bespoke packages for our retail clients. Metail is free to use for the consumer.
How many registered users do you have? What is the nature of feedback that you take to help finetune your app/ solution better?
We have over 7.7 million users across the world. We've had fantastic feedback from our customers so far, saying that Metail's technology brings the joy into shopping online. But we're not stopping there. We're constantly improving our product to make it better, more lifelike and better able to recommend products. I see the future as being a Netflix-style way of shopping, where customers can see what will suit them, and are recommended items by their shape and preferences. Our aim is to be the Google of size and shape-the way that shoppers can quickly and easily find clothes they will like and that will make them look and feel great.
Published on: 21/04/2018
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
