AI-driven fit tech powers Dickies on Tmall Global
VF Corporation-owned US workwear brand Dickies, also popular among streetwear fans, has joined hands with California-based 3DLook (known for its human body data capturing and visualisation technology) to pilot custom apparel fittings via its Tmall Global virtual storefront.
Owned by Alibaba, Tmall Global is China’s largest cross-border business-to-consumer marketplace.
The platform is a popular choice for foreign brands who desire a presence in China, as it is possible to sell there without a legal business presence based in the country. Products can be shipped from overseas or from bonded warehouses in the country’s free trade zones, reducing the need to import bulk inventory.
Targeted at the country’s digitally savvy Generation Z shoppers, 80 measurement points across two smartphone photographs are analysed by 3DLook’s system in order to provide sizing estimates.
It is hoped that the technology will mitigate against the need for returns, which have reportedly proven logistically tricky for less well-established brands selling to Chinese shoppers through cross-border e-commerce.
Vice president and managing director of Dickies (VF Asia Pacific), Adela Tan, commented: “The pandemic only accelerated our need to use digital technologies to become more agile and responsive to consumers’ demands and fit recommendation was one of the top opportunities we identified."
Ms Tan also suggested that the body-scanning fit technology may be rolled out across multiple VF brands in other regions following the pilot programme.
Image: Dickies via Instagram (@dickies_europe)
