LONDON, May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Online sizing technology provider, Makip, today announces a significant upgrade to its Unisize sizing recommendation engine. Using Unisize, online shoppers will now be presented with a 3D avatar of their unique body shape to see how their next fashion item purchase will fit them.
Now offered as a standard feature of Unisize, consumers can check their 3D avatar from four angles – front, back, left and right – and see how a clothing item will fit their body shape before buying.
The cost of returns continues to be an unwelcome line item on the balance sheet of many online retailers. Research from independent economics research consultancy, Retail Economics, showed that in 2024, 17 out of every 100 products sold online were returned. The fashion industry saw return rates reach as high as 30% due to issues such as incorrect sizing1.
The challenge which needs to be addressed is that many online shoppers seem perfectly happy to order multiple sizes, colours, or styles of an item with the intention of returning most of the order after trying them on at home2.
Shingo Tsukamoto, CEO and President of Makip, said, “The average return rate for the UK fashion industry is 26%. One in every four items purchased online is returned, usually at the expense of the retailer, we feel that this cannot continue. In recent years, some retailers have taken a stand and started charging customers for returning items, however, we approach this from the view of customer experience. If we can provide customers with more accurate sizing options at the time of purchase, this leads to a reduction in returns. This has been proven across our Japan-based fashion clients with the average return rate dropping by 20%.”
Watch our video to see how Unisize 3D and Virtual Try-On technology are transforming the future of online fashion shopping.
A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available in this link.
How Unisize 3D Works
- Accurate Sizing Data: A 3D avatar is generated based on the dimensions of the clothing and the user’s body shape information. The avatar allows users to check the looseness and fit of the clothing item before making a purchase.
- 360-degree view of the avatar: The 3D model can be rotated to provide a 360-degree view of the avatar. Users can check key aspects such as how the item fits across the chest or arms when viewed from the side or how it hangs from the hips down to the ankles.
- Visualizing Trouser Length with Footwear: With 2D online sizing, user images were displayed barefoot, but with the new 3D function, users can now view the silhouette while wearing shoes. The 3D model’s footwear can be changed from sneakers, shoes or heels, allowing users to check how the hemline of pants falls when wearing different footwear, making it easier to see different styling scenarios. (Note: This function is currently available for select avatars only.)
Commenting on the future of online sizing technology and how it is becoming more widespread, Tsukamoto said, “In recent years, platforms like TikTok and YouTube have normalized individually tailored content, influencing all generations. Similarly, personalization in apparel e-commerce is expected to become an essential element of the online fashion industry.
We will continue to expand our services with a focus on Personalization. We already have the FaceChange feature within Unisize, which allows users to upload an image of their face onto the model used for the fashion item, and our personalization database allows returning users to compare previously purchased items with new items to see how the fit matches or differs.”
Makip is the number one online sizing recommendation provider in its home country of Japan. This latest upgrade to its Unisize product is part of its global expansion strategy to strengthen its presence in overseas markets.
About Unisize
Unisize is a size recommendation engine that helps users find the perfect size when purchasing clothing and bags online.
By utilizing a vast database of size information from domestic and international brands, unisize estimates the ideal fit for users based on their body measurements, using a patented algorithm.
With the newly added 3D functionality, users can now:
- Check garment drape
- View silhouettes from four angles (front, back, left, right)
- Assess fit and looseness
- Visualize the pant length when wearing shoes
About Makip: https://makip.co.jp/en
Based in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 2015, Makip Co. Ltd (pronounced “May-kip”) is a sizing technology specialist, supporting online retail/e-commerce and fashion brands with its product Unisize. Unisize helps consumers try on clothing online and purchase the most suitable and accurately sized clothing item, for the first time.
Makip derives from the mantra “Make it possible” and has a mission to make the impossible possible through the power of IT, using creativity and grit.
Currently, Makip has over 300 brands using their technology, including leading Japanese fashion brands, and occupies the top share in Japan.
Shoppers can try on clothing online within minutes by answering a few simple questions such as age, weight and height.
The Unisize unique sizing technology maps the individual’s body size to the clothing item to illustrate how the clothes fit, and it realizes “trying-on” clothing online.
Unisize can take as little as one month to integrate with the client’s website – delivering a reduction in clothing return rates of 20% and increasing purchase rates by 2.5 times*.
Makip provides additional services to solve the problem of incorrect sizing to the Japanese market, and it has plans to localize these solutions and target global markets.
* https://unisize.net/
Media contacts:
Makip London Ltd.
pr@makip.co.jp
1 https://www.retaileconomics.co.uk/retail-insights/thought-leadership-reports/the-cost-of-serial-returners-in-2024-zigzag-retail-economics
2 https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/consumers/haul-culture-is-fuelling-returns-what-can-brands-do
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be602c23-890f-4849-9c7e-b6e18142636f
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