Zara Launches Sizing Tool for Online Shopping

But fans may not be happy about it.
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Fashion retailer Zara has rolled out a new feature that aims to help consumers determine what size clothes to order while online shopping. The feature “What’s My Size?” asks shoppers to enter their height, weight, and fit preferences (tight, loose, or perfect). Then it informs you what customers who fall into similar size categories purchased, by percentage. The feature seems to appear on every item’s page, and after entering your information once, the website saves it and automatically applies it to other items’ pages.

“What’s My Size?” aims to take the guesswork out of online shopping, in which the central drawback is not being able to try things on to determine if they fit. The feature may also help first-time Zara shoppers who are not familiar with the way the brand’s sizes run. However, “What’s My Size?” is far from flawless, as clothing fit is a complex thing and can really only be determined by actually trying the garment on. Zara’s feature considers height and weight when calculating sizes, and it does not take into account different body shapes. No two bodies are the same, and not all bodies comply with standard sizing conventions (small, medium, large; 2, 4, 6). So while Zara is, of course, not responsible for inventing these sizing conventions, it’s important to point out that finding the right size is rarely as simple as Zara’s feature suggests.

Other online shopping websites offer varying ways of determining size. For example, Forever 21 often lists the model’s dimensions and what size they are wearing, and Reformation provides sizing charts that customers can look at to estimate what size to order. ASOS UK tried a size recommendation feature similar to Zara's, where the retailer told shoppers what size to select based on previous orders. The reviews weren't all positive, as several shoppers were not happy about a robot making assumptions about their bodies. The part of Zara’s feature that stands out is that the company has seemingly been collecting size and fit preference data from users, and then handing that information back to the customers to improve their shopping experience.

Check out screenshots of Zara's “What’s My Size?” feature below, and then head to Zara’s website to try it out for yourself.

Courtesy of Zara
Courtesy of Zara
Courtesy of Zara

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