How AI can accommodate the body positivity movement in retail
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Body positivity fashion is no longer a buzzword – from Nike’s plus-size mannequin to Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty lingerie line, it’s is a multi-layered movement which is shaping the future of fashion and retail. Be its sizes, shapes, skin tones, genders, disabilities, or flaws of all types, customers are putting an increasing pressure on fashion brands and retailers to get inclusion right and deliver a body-positive fashion experience.
It’s not only the consumers – even celebrities and influencers like Jameela Jamil, Ashely Graham, Lili Reinhart have become torchbearers of the body positive fashion movement, making it their responsibility to call out fashion brands that miss out on real sizes.
There has been a huge gap between the average body size and height of models who showcase the clothes and consumers who wear them for many years. This is the primary and biggest contributor to negative customer experiences.
“We’ve got algorithms that basically generate the human body in like different body types, different skin types, different sizes…. You basically are creating this kind of flexibility for people to basically imagine themselves in whatever form that is, you know, wearing those clothes…. just the ability for people to buy things that make sense, that fits them and that they can relate to,” asserted Ashwini Asokan, CEO and co-founder of Vue.ai on body positivity.
Negative body image manifests in many ways and the impact of the mirror on body image is a well-known fact. The mental stress of trying on ill-fitting clothes/less flattering clothes, be it at home or in the changing room, can ruin a shopping experience. Fun fact: a woman’s size changes over 31 times on an average in her lifetime, which means addressing the need for real sizes are all the more crucial.
It can be fixed by AI as it has the ability to individualize every customer’s journey in real-time with personalized web experience and offline retail experience. By accurately matching a customer with their style profiles, retailers can reduce bounce rates by 25% and increase retention with higher repeat visits by 35%.
AI tools like smart mirrors, chatbots, apps, and voice-enabled digital assistants have an impressive ability to act as self-esteem boosting tools.
It is equivalent to creating a safe space for customers where they can talk freely and get their questions addressed without running into the risk of destroying their relationship with brands at any physical retail touch-points. The technology can mimic human empathy, identify perception gaps of the user and convert it into positive emotions through intuitive conversations, personalized styling suggestions, and customized deals & offers.
AI also revolutionized the fashion world by making tech-wear and adaptive clothing a reality. Its contribution to creating positive retail experiences for people with disabilities is unmatched.
The untapped $400 billion adaptive clothing industry is waiting to be disrupted by retailers who know how to blend fashion with innovation with the help of AI and other intuitive technologies.
The growing emphasis on inclusivity and the advent of AI has drastically improved representation, including the body positivity movement in retail experiences. It illustrates the power of technology when it comes to effectively solving the issues facing fashion and retail.
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