Why Are Size Charts So Bad?
In short, they are confusing. Sizing is complex, so charts have to decide between not giving the shopper enough information and complete information overload.
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It’s the same for all types of retailers: from Zara to Gucci, from Brunt Work Wear to Steve Madden. You’re viewing size charts which are not useful and are thus glanced over in the consumer journey.
How do we make them useful?
1. Add ideal customer measurements ranges
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The first step is to add measurement ranges. These should ideally be the customer’s measurements- not garment or footwear measurements. Either way, it should be marked clearly what the measurements are for.
These need to be ranges, such that the customer is not confused as to which size they fall into.
2. Make the size charts unique to the products
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If the size chart is the same on every single product of that type, your shoppers will think it’s a generic size chart and is not useful for the specific product they are interested in.
Use your product team’s insight, your customer feedback, your in-store team’s feedback and your returns to adjust the size charts for your most popular products.
Your customers will have added confidence that they are viewing a size guide which is relevant and will be more likely to get their correct size the first time.
3. Account for width (or other hidden dimensions in apparel)
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Some shoes run narrow, and people with wider feet have to size up to accommodate their width.
You will be able to get this information at a product level from your returns, reviews, and from in-store staff feedback.
4. Automate shopper measurement gathering
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Some customers will know their measurements. Others will be able to accurately measure themselves or have a friend measure them. For everyone else, you need a way to give them their measurements easily.
This is where a digital scanning tool like StrutFit comes in. Shoppers can easily scan and get their measurements, as well as their size in each of your items.
We want to do this… but it seems like a lot of work!
This is all great, but this is a lot of data. Where do you manage all this sizing data? You could try squeeze it into a PIM, but it’s not going to be easy.
Fortunately, StrutFit have created a size chart management system which makes all of this work a breeze.
Here’s a quick view into it:
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You can manage your charts, your products, and see all your sizing based sales and returns data- all in one place!
