Dive Brief:

• A "smart tape measure" app from My Size is now available for iOS, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
• The MySizeID fashion app allows users to measure themselves in privacy by moving their smartphone across their bodies, and then create a MySizeID fit profile. By matching the profile to branded apparel sizes synced to the app, consumers will learn their exact size for various brands. The aim is to allow customers to shop more confidently online or in-store, while reducing the headache of returns, according to the press release.
• With the launch of MySizeID for iOS, the app is available to more than 700 million iPhone users, the company said. The Android version uses Google Vision-based image recognition for the 86% of the market that have Android phones.

Dive Insight:

Mobile devices are increasingly driving sales across retail, so measuring apps for apparel have become an integral marketing tool, adding sales and saving on returns. Returns cost retailers $62 billion a year and the MySizeID app can cut return rates by about 30%, the company said in its press release.

At the beginning of this year, UPS said consumers were expected to return 1.4 million packages to retailers on National Returns Day, Jan. 3, an increase of about 8% from the previous year. Amazon was reported to be revoking Prime memberships for too many returned orders or items returned for reasons Amazon deemed unacceptable. Largely because of the increase in try-before-you-buy programs for consumers, research from a study by Brightpearl predicted a "returns tsunami."

Perfect fit is the goal of 3D body scanners like that offered by startup Naked Labs. Meanwhile, Amazon bought Body Labs last year for its 3D scanning technology. Another approach gaining traction is retailers offering augmented reality apps that help shoppers visualize what home items, notably furniture, will look like in their houses. Target, Amazon, Lowes, Macy's, Wayfair, Ikea, Anthropologie and Williams-Sonoma are among the retailers offering this technological solution.

This is especially valuable in the online retail market where 62% of global smartphone users have made a purchase on a mobile device in the last year, and where 40% of users will quickly turn to another merchant if they have a poor shopping experience with mobile, My Size reported. Among brand names competing with My Size in this space are Measure, TapeMeasure, EasyMeasure, SmartMeasure and AirMeasure. The My Size apps, which include the logistics app BoxSizeID, can be customized by other companies.

"Recent research has shown that 85% of shoppers said they would purchase more apparel items if they could ensure a proper fit, but a true lack of sizing system has left shoppers frustrated and retailers missing out on profits," My Size CEO Ronen Luzon said in a statement.