Research: Size-inclusive product photos lead to fewer returns and more confident consumer purchasing behaviour

The age-old idea that thin models sell more clothes is being debunked by recent research published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, entitled ‘One size does not fit all: Optimising size-inclusive model photography mitigates fit risk in online fashion retailing’. The researchers not only show that featuring different-sized models in e-commerce leads to fewer returns, but also that consumers feel more confident in their purchasing behaviour when ‘authentic models’ are shown.

The researchers showed the same basic T-shirt on a thin model next to a slightly larger model. Participants were allowed to choose which item, the smaller or larger size, would fit them best. The study found that most participants found it positive to see different body types wearing the same product next to each other. This gave them the freedom to identify with the model that most resembled them.

Consumers want to see different body sizes in the same garment to determine whether it will fit them, yet fashion entrepreneurs are struggling to keep up with this desire from shoppers. Interviews with people in the fashion industry revealed that online retailers still show a single, usually thin, ideal image to customers. As a result, consumers find it difficult to judge how an item will fit them.

Size-inclusive fashion photography and technology

The fashion industry has little knowledge of the effectiveness of size inclusivity on its online platforms, the study found. Showing a variety of models wearing different products gives consumers the freedom to make a choice that better suits their own body.

Technology plays a major role in this. However, the research identifies a pain point for many fashion retailers: it is more expensive to photograph different models in all items than to simply use one model for all items in one size. Investing in, for example, 3D models or AI-generated models could pay off.

For example, Dutch startup Lalaland, which specialises in creating realistic models using artificial intelligence (AI), helps fashion entrepreneurs to display products in every conceivable size, shape and skin colour.

Another example is French brand Sandro, which is using AI to help its customers choose their ideal size with Fringuant, a tool based on body scanning technology that allows online shoppers to determine their size based on information such as height, weight and a submitted photo of their face.

In conclusion, the recent research on size-inclusive fashion photography in e-commerce undermines the idea that thin models are the best choice. Customers do not want size inclusivity just because of the buzzword ‘diversity’, but because they want to see themselves in the clothes and not an unattainable ideal. This can be achieved by showing more than one body type of a model. Size inclusivity is not only beneficial for the shopping experience of consumers, but also for fashion entrepreneurs themselves.