Japanese sizing tech solution Makip launches in UK

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 11, 2023

Japanese sizing technology specialist Makip has moved into the UK e-commerce market and said it’s “aiming to slash the returns rates for UK retailers by helping customers get the right-sized items every time they shop online”.

Eight-year-old Makip claims its Unisize tech can lead to a 20% average reduction in returns. And it also said its own analysis has shown that “providing online shoppers with more accurate sizing options increases the decision to purchase by 2.5 times”.

Unisize helps online shoppers to ‘try on’ clothing online. It asks them some basic questions such as age, weight and height to understand the measurements of their body, allowing the sizing technology to map the individual’s body size to the clothing item, and then display how the clothes will fit the unique body size of the shopper.

Returns rates plummeted during the pandemic as the relaxed clothing that people were ordering offered fewer sizing issues. But a return to more formal clothing post-Covid has seen a deluge of returns for online retailers.

British Fashion Council research has highlighted that 93% of customers cite incorrect sizing, or fit, as the top reason for returning items.

Makip currently works with over 250 e-commerce sites and popular Japanese fashion brands.

Shingo Tsukamoto, president of the company, said: “What UK retailers and customers need, is virtual sizing technology that recognises unique body size requirements. Even though sizing technology has become increasingly sophisticated and widespread throughout the e-commerce world, the age-old problem still exists – you cannot have a standard size, when there’s no such thing as a standard body.

“What we do is work out the body measurements for each and every customer, no matter what their body type or shape. We then accurately display the item of clothing in comparison to the individual body size of the customer. This highly accurate and visual representation of how clothing items fit the online shopper reduces the likelihood of returns while keeping them coming back for more.”