Volumental’s Alper Aydemir on how personalized analytics will transform retail experiences
Posted by Alex Samuely on Jan 13, 2021
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As industry competition becomes fiercer, retailers will be forced to rely more heavily upon personalized analytics, including foot and body data, to offer tailored shopping experiences. Consequently, this shift will create greater demand for third-party analytics firms with the capability to scan customers’ bodies in real time and provide recommendations on best-fitting products. If retailers can successfully leverage this type of technology, the impact on conversion rates will be significant.
Alper Aydemir, the co-founder and CEO of Volumental, recently sat down with NewStore’s Senior Director of Marketing, Marcus LaRobardiere, for an Endless Aisle podcast episode on how personalized analytics will shape the future of the retail experience. In addition to offering footwear recommendations based on in-house fit science, Volumental leverages machine learning to provide 3D solutions to customers wanting customized, best-fitting products.
Many companies take advantage of Volumental’s scanning system to gather invaluable data for their R&D teams. According to Alper, even brands with hundred-year-old product lines may not fully understand how their customers look, which doesn’t translate into a customized shopping experience. A customized shopping experience occurs when consumers receive personal marketing campaigns based on real data of their bodies—or in Volumental’s case, their feet. By scanning a customer’s foot in real time, Volumental’s platform is able to recommend the best-fitting shoe and secure a higher chance of conversion.
Read on for several takeaways from Marcus and Alper’s conversation, some of which have been edited for clarity.
On how Volumental’s platform works
“We scan people’s [bodies] in 3D. Our vision is making a world that fits you by utilizing this 3D data and product intelligence to make products really fit people, and understand how, in a digital way, they’re going to work for you. We decided to focus first on footwear as the vertical. You’re coming to the store and the store associates, using our scanner 3D, scan you within four to five seconds. From that, you get an accurate 3D scan and sleek visuals of your own body.
“Most people actually learn a new thing about themselves through that process. Those moments of bliss [make] retail interesting, and it’s a reason to go to the store. Often what happens is that [customers] tell their friends. They also get an email with their scan that they can use and share with others—that brings in more people to the store. At that point in time, it’s a conversation starter between the store associates and the person. We also, utilizing the 3D scan, do product and size recommendations.”
On the personalized customer journey
“[Store associates] scan everyone that comes in. It takes four to five seconds. After that, you get to see your scan on an iPad. Each store associate has one. Then [the associates] walk you through your foot characteristics. Once that is done, you jump to the product recommendations, where we list shoes that fit you the best in an order [of] the best fit to the less-fitting shoes. That list is compiled by comparing your scan to all the other people who got scanned on both shoes. The way our system works is that we connect scans to purchases, and that way, we can see that, let’s say, 5,000 people [with] this foot shape [have] bought that shoe.”
On building new in-house technology
“We decided to build our own scanner because we were not happy with what was out in the market. We’re not a hardware company. We were a software company, but we’re also a company that if [we] see something needs fixing, we just roll up our sleeves and go to town on it.
“So we decided that we would build our own hardware. We wouldn’t necessarily look to make a lot of money through hardware, but we see these machines as data-generating sources. That’s why our scanner is quite simple. It’s all off the shelf and the magic relies on the software side.”
On the future of the retail experience
“If you imagine yourself going into a store and you’re spending 20-30 minutes looking at things, trying [on] things, [and] talking to people, paying and getting the bag is the last two minutes and the most unpleasant and uneventful part. Those are the parts that we have solved in e-commerce in the 40 years since the Internet has launched.
“I think in the next 40 years, we’re going to figure out the other parts of this journey—not just paying and getting it delivered—but experiencing products, trying them on, understanding how it fits, [and] having a conversation with someone on the spot, but through digital means. We’ve figured out how to buy things online, but we haven’t figured out how to shop.”
On transactions of the future
“I think that every transaction in our industry will involve foot or body data in the future. It will be a utility thing, just like Googling something is right now.”
