Loop and Bold Metrics Team Up To Drive Down Apparel Returns With Data

Both companies share a common goal of reducing returns and supercharging the retail experience.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bold Metrics, the industry-leader in AI-powered apparel size recommendations, announced today that it has partnered with Loop, the exchange-first returns platform for Shopify brands, to help further reduce apparel returns.

Both companies have teamed up to create a seamless data stream that generates insights and accurate sizing recommendations for customers. The dynamic partnership is an instant value-add for Shopify-based apparel brands, creating a scalable way to boost utility around existing data while providing contextualized fitting options for each garment style. Brands see a boost in conversion, meaningful fit-related return reduction and an elevated online retail experience that deepens the customer relationship.

Returns based on consumer preferences drive approximately 72% of all returns in the apparel product categories, with poor fit accounting for more than 50% of those returns. (Shopify) The streamlined data flow resulting from this partnership improves data feedback efficiency, making it easier, and faster, for brands to encourage customer product exchanges while significantly shrinking return rates. On average, apparel brands using Bold Metrics see a return rate reduction of 32% and conversion boost of 20%.

"Fit is a key reason for apparel returns and its impact on both a company's bottom line and the environment is significant and unsustainable. In the U.S. alone, returns result in an estimated 15 million metric tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere and 5 billion pounds of landfill waste annually. This partnership will provide brands with a data-driven way of quantifiably driving down returns to benefit both people and the planet, and we are delighted to team up with an industry stalwart like Loop to address this,"

- Jeff Mergy, Chief Product Officer, Bold Metrics

Shopify-based apparel brands will be able to leverage Bold Metrics' industry-leading AI Body Modeling technologies to unlock the power of customer body data to reduce returns, boost conversion and improve the retail experience. Purchase data is ingested via Bold Metrics purchase API and automatically layered with a returns data feed from Loop. Under the partnership, the integration enables brands and retailers to seamlessly close the data loop without the need for additional steps on the backend for brands or retailers.

"Unlocking the power of return data is one of our focuses at Loop. We know how impactful the right data is to a brand's bottom line. It helps them make better informed decisions, which in turn creates better shopping experiences for their customers. That's why our new partnership with Bold Metrics is so exciting. We're energized to work together to offer business-driving data for our merchants,"

- David Dustin, VP of Partnerships, Loop

The partnership also enables brands to capture consumer feedback data that can be used to generate actionable insights to optimize the organization. Brands like UpWest and Criquet Shirts are already leveraging both Bold Metrics and Loop to actively reduce return rates and have seen compelling results. "Loop is all about optimizing the returns process to help brands cut down on returns at scale. This data-backed approach is consistent with what we do at Bold Metrics," says Jeff Mergy. "Ultimately we want to empower apparel brands to reduce returns at scale and Loop is a great partner to help us achieve this goal."

Established in January 2017, Bold Metrics AI solutions help seamlessly connect customers to better-fitting clothing according to personal fit preference with machine learning and AI. Bold Metrics' industry-leading AI Body Modeling technologies empower apparel brands to unlock the power of body data to boost conversion, slash return rates, enable data-led technical design and improve sustainability efforts at scale. Follow @boldmetrics or learn more at boldmetrics.com

Loop helps Shopify brands improve their returns experience. Our automated platform drives customer lifetime value and saves more sales by creating a shopping experience inside the returns experience. We've automated more than 22 million returns and retained more than $700 million in revenue for Shopify's most-loved brands including Allbirds, Princess Polly, and Marine Layer. Learn more at loopreturns.com

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SOURCE Bold Metrics