Online shopping in cozy pajamas and a warm cup of coffee in hand tops the list of our all-time favorite pastimes here at Hype (and we look good doing it). Not only is it easy, but it saves shoppers from the agony of hitting the congested Atlanta roadway, followed by the equally congested parking lot and mall to buy clothing the old-fashioned way. The only caveat, there isn’t really a great way to know if that new pair of jeans you just added to your digital cart is going to fit. Well, to all our gentlemen readers out there, Fittery is here to solve all your fitting woes (sorry ladies no luck for us yet).
Founders Catherine Iger and Greg Vilines are the pair behind Fittery, an online marketplace connecting consumers to the clothing that fits them best – while also providing insights to retailers on how their merchandise fits their customers. With their powers combined, Iger and Vilines have nearly three decades of experience ranging from digital strategy for big brand companies like Turner, Coca-Cola and the Home Depot to eCommerce rebranding expertise for AutoTrader.com. We connected with the busy founders to find out how Fittery is every man’s match made in heaven.
Funding or bootstrapped:
We completed a small seed round but are seeking a follow-on larger raise in Q1. We are looking for investors interested in Big Data, eCommerce, Marketplaces, and Fashion/Apparel.
Your Pitch:
Fittery is the shopping marketplace that uses proprietary technology to match shoppers to great-fitting clothing across a wide variety of brands. Using our tools, shoppers can quickly enter information about their size and shape, and Fittery matches them to items that fit them perfectly. Our diverse set of menswear retailers include leaders like J.Crew, Express, Bonobos, Club Monaco, Lands’ End, and more.
Our goal for consumers is to take away the hassle of going store-to-store to find items that fit and empower them to purchase confidently online, all while drastically reducing the likelihood they’ll need to return whatever they purchase. Our unique experience allows shoppers to compare fit across products, just like they do with price, style and shipping, to make the best purchase decision for them.
For retailers, we’ve created a new revenue channel for finding new customers, while also creating industry-leading data products to provide insights no other marketplace can offer.
What problem are you solving?
Consumers can’t determine fit before purchasing clothing online, which creates frustration and high costs of returns. Since people are fundamentally uncomfortable with buying clothing online due to fit issues, it artificially constrains the size of the online apparel category overall.
For Consumers:
- Fit is the #1 reason why online purchases are returned.
- 75% of consumers would choose a shopping site with a fit solution over one without.
- The Fittery solution would make 72% of shoppers somewhat to much more likely to purchase online.
Please describe the market/industry impact:
Fit is the biggest challenge facing the $64B online clothing shopping industry today. Almost 40% of all clothing is returned today, principally due to fit issues, creating nearly $18B in lost sales and costs to retailers. On top of that, Fit is the #1 driver of brand loyalty, so retailers are doubly interested in bonding with customers via fit.
Revenue Model:
Our revenue is built off of three major streams:
- Commissions from sales driven to retailers
- Highly-targeted, personalized advertising
- Data insights allowing retailers to better understand their target market and demographic, allowing them to create better-fitting products, increase sales, and reduce margin.
How’d you get the idea for it?
Fit was a problem both of us faced in their day-to-day lives. We were fed up with returning items we bought online and not understanding before we bought something how well it would fit and what items would work for us. Having built many eCommerce and marketplace experiences, we immediately gravitated to an experience that easily let shoppers compare all their options in one place and understand what options would fit them best.
Who are your competitors and how do you stand out?
There are two main types of competitors we face: 3rd party shopping marketplaces and fit technology.
Today, 3rd party marketplaces allow shoppers overwhelming choice, but aren’t personalized in any way to help shoppers understand what items will work best for them.
Fit technology’s out there today, but by and large, they offer solutions that plug into a retailer’s item page that only offers a size recommendation to shoppers that one individual product. They don’t tell shoppers how well an item will fit them and what other items they should really consider purchasing, thus not enabling shoppers to make great purchase decisions.
How does ATL weave into your story?
I met Catherine while working at AutoTrader.com, where we built our expertise on marketplaces and scaling, and growing great teams. We have almost 30 years combined experience working in the Atlanta area and are excited about helping bring FashionTech to the South.
Fittery just finished hiring a handful of team members but are always looking for developers, growth-driven marketers, and interns.
Can’t get enough of Fittery? Be sure to listen to Vilines and Iger on The Incubator for even more details on their collaboration. And don’t forget to follow them:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitteryco
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fitteryco
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fitteryco/
