Fitting Room Social Makes Online Shopping Fit for Customers

Will This Fit Me? This is one question we all ask ourselves when shopping online for that perfect outfit. Miami-based Fitting Room Social wants to help customers answer this question by solving the problem that many online shoppers deal with when it comes to shopping without trying it on: getting something that fits.

Second place winners of The Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Community Track this week, Fitting Room Social provides a full-service e-commerce platform designed to help users–mostly women– have an experience that replicates having a physical fitting room plus friends to give advice. The platform offers size recommendations based on users’ shared style and sizes. So instead of relying on size charts, members get personalized recommendations based on other’s experience.

“We found some women like size charts and the numerical approach, some like the comments section, some women won’t trust anyone but their best friend. And so when you have a solution that is designed to be optimal, you need to make sure you are addressing all the ways women make purchasing decisions. That’s much more about the psychology of the female shopper than it is about getting to the right equation … We are empowering consumers to make better choices,” said founder Brad Liff recently to The Miami Herald.

Who has time to go the mall, anyway? Not many people do. According to a study published in The Wall Street Journal, more people choose to shop online rather than visiting brick-and-mortar stores. However, many end up having to return their purchase because it doesn’t fit (70% of online purchases are returned due to issues with the fit).

Although there are competitors in the market, Fitting Room Social’s main differentiator is other member’s recommendations, which gives users the confidence brought by another person. The company has raised a total of $500,000 in seed funding and recently launched its app for iOS, which attracted more than 2,500 users.