Fashion is making great strides toward inclusivity. As models of all sizes, ages and ethnicities walk down runways across the world, it’s more clear than ever that inclusivity and diversity aren't merely buzzwords -- they're the norm.
However, the same has not translated into e-commerce, which is surprising, given that retail is the natural extension of fashion. It is especially significant given that we live in this time of social media where consumers are more vocal and vigilant than ever before. Here are three ways in which retailers can enable inclusive experiences for their online customers.
Most female editorial models are 5 feet, 9 inches tall and quite slim, whereas the average American woman is about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and veers between size 16 and 18. When consumers are shopping online and see these tall and thin models, one of two things happens. They may shop aspirationally, which often leads to returns because of fit problems and costs e-commerce retailers a lot in return shipping and restocking. Or, the consumer refrains from making the purchase. Many times, had she seen the garment on a model of her size, she may have actually been convinced to buy it by the way it looked.
Size visualization is when the same garment can be displayed to shoppers across a number of different sizes, and if your e-commerce platform isn't practicing it, you should consider the impact it could have on your bottom line. Everlane, for example, shows garments in four sizes: 0, 2, 6 and 10. Universal Standard sells and photographs garments on models in sizes ranging from 0 to 40.
The Good American is another example of a brand that does size variation well and has a more diverse range of models too -- here, shoppers can see models of sizes 0, 8 and 16. It is worth mentioning that Khloe Kardashian, who is one of the co-founders of the brand, announced only this month that the brand was making more efforts to make its e-commerce experience more inclusive by casting real women across all sizes instead of models for its denim. Inclusivity has been the brand’s anchor from its inception, and it has firmly stuck behind it -- resulting in sales that crossed $1 million on its first day and making it the biggest denim launch in history.
