Will the digitalisation of fashion change the world of shopping?

The digitalisation of the fashion industry is not just about enhancing customers' shopping experiences – it has a real impact on business operations, including multiplying sales conversion several times over and reducing the number of returns.

Above all, however, it means a significant reduction in the carbon footprint left behind by the entire retail industry. A way to digitalise fashion and digitally fit clothing has been found by the startup WEARFITS, which, as part of S5 – the 5G Technology Accelerator at ŁSSE – and with the support of Ericsson specialists, is changing the face of fashion thanks to augmented reality (AR) technology and the capabilities of 5G networks.

Around a third of products bought in online stores are returned by consumers, and this figure often exceeds 50%. More than 64% of customers who return products cite poor fit as the reason, while at the same time 19% buy several versions of the same product just to find the right size[1]. Returns generate real business losses reaching as much as 10% of revenues, are reflected in product prices and the overall costs of running e-commerce, and also have a much stronger negative impact on the environment.

– According to a Lingaro analysis, returning a product generates 5 times more CO2 than buying it in the first place. So optimising online shopping processes is a serious challenge not only for business, but mainly for environmental protection and our global health. By shopping in an online store with well-optimised logistics and returns policy, we are much less harmful to the environment than by shopping in a shopping centre. This was one of the main ideas behind the creation of WEARFITS – explains Kasia Gola, Industry Advisor at WEARFITS.

Digital fitting rooms for e-commerce

The problem of ill-fitting purchases became even more pronounced during the pandemic. As a result of restrictions, customers were forced to shop exclusively online, while at the same time stores had to introduce and improve online sales solutions on a mass scale. The online shopping experience is very different from the one experienced "live" in a store – both for the customer and for the retailer. Before the pandemic, 90% of revenues for some fashion companies were generated from offline sales[2]. These companies had to radically change their sales strategies in a very short time, not only to meet customer expectations but simply to continue operating.

Thanks to augmented reality we will dress virtually

Augmented reality in practice

Augmented reality (AR) is regarded as the interface of the future. Users have been using AR for several years, often without realising it, for example by using various overlays on photos and videos on social media. "According to an Ericsson Consumer Lab study, 5G users spend an hour more on augmented reality apps compared with 4G users. At the same time, 70% are dissatisfied with the availability of innovative services and expect new applications using 5G networks. This offers great potential for the development of the services WEARFITS offers," explains Małgorzata Wdówka, Technical Training Center Manager at Ericsson, who acts as a mentor in the S5 – 5G Technology Accelerator programme.

WEARFITS uses AR technology to create a so-called virtual fitting room, offering 3D clothing visualisation in augmented reality and so-called size matching, i.e. selecting the optimal size for an individual body shape. By providing their basic measurements, the consumer receives a virtual model of their figure matched with 98% accuracy. Thanks to this, when shopping online, we can check which size of a particular garment will fit us well or where it will rub. We get clear, visual information about how the garment will look on us, as well as where it may potentially be too big or too small. Thanks to AR technology, we can place a virtual mannequin of real dimensions in our own room and view it wearing the chosen garment from every side.

- We already have several implementations to our name. One of them is the Polish dress manufacturer Marie Zélie, where we have already successfully completed a pilot programme and will soon launch another batch of virtual clothing. Together with the 4F brand we also digitalised the 4F x RL9 collection, designed together with Robert Lewandowski. Customers of the store, in the brand's app, could see the entire collection on a model of Robert Lewandowski, and also take a photo with the virtual Robert thanks to AR technology. Thanks to Ericsson's 5G test network in the Łódź Special Economic Zone, we can already test our solutions in an optimal environment and optimise them to work on the new-generation network – says Kasia Gola.

Startups are accelerating 5G in Poland

5G speeds up startup development

How the digitalisation of fashion reduces e-commerce returns

The S5 Accelerator at the Łódź Special Economic Zone acts as a real industrial ecosystem involving 40 startups and five industrial partners – Polkomtel, Miele, PGE, Indigo and Wielton. The programme consists of two stages – incubation and acceleration. From the first stage, around 20 projects moved into the acceleration phase, i.e. creating real solutions using 5G, each of which received up to PLN 550,000 in funding. Including the incubation phase, the programme's budget is PLN 14 million, awarded to the Łódź Special Economic Zone by the Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship.

– The ingenuity of Polish startups is virtually limitless, which we have consistently observed at ŁSSE for several years. Young enterprises that join our acceleration programmes effectively find solutions to industrial, logistics and even global problems, such as the adverse climate change now under way. However, they need support in several areas in order to successfully carry out commercial implementations of their ideas. Thanks to ŁSSE's cooperation with experts and business partners, we can provide them with substantive, business and technological support, including by making advanced 5G network infrastructure available – emphasises Agnieszka Sygitowicz, Vice-President of ŁSSE S.A.

Ericsson designed and supplied the equipment needed to launch the internal 5G network on the campus of the Łódź Special Economic Zone. The company's experts also provide individual knowledge transfer, not only to specialists from the Łódź Zone but also to business partners and, above all, startups cooperating with ŁSSE.

Poland makes a major contribution to building European and global fifth-generation networks thanks to the work of engineers at Ericsson's research and development centre in Kraków and Łódź and the production of 5G equipment in Tczew. 5G can be built on the basis of components and solutions "Made in Poland". Ericsson in Poland, together with the Łódź Special Economic Zone and Łódź University of Technology, cooperates with the academic community, startups, enterprises and telecommunications operators to enable the first industries in Poland to implement new products and services based on 5G technology.

[1] salecycle.com/blog/featured/ecommerce-returns-2018-stats-…

[2] lppsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LPP-Jednostkowy-rocz…

Summary

The digitalisation of fashion offered by the startup WEARFITS makes it possible to tackle the problem of returns, which generate as much as 5 times more CO2 than the purchase itself. Thanks to AR technology and 5G networks, customers can virtually try on clothes and select their size with 98% accuracy, while brands such as Marie Zélie and 4F are already testing these solutions. The S5 programme at the Łódź Special Economic Zone supports startups with implementations in a real environment, with a budget of PLN 14 million and Ericsson infrastructure.