Startup of the Week - Sozie

by Startacus Admin

The online platform Sozie, that enables fashion retailers to show how fashion looks on “real people” - people like their customers.

Ever bought something to wear online and then had to return it because it just doesn’t look the same on you when compared to the seemingly “perfect-sized” model on the website?

Us too.

Whilst this may be inconvenient for us as customers, it is also not ideal for retailers since it leads to a much higher return rate than they would like! Recognising this as a very real issue, our latest startup of the week have come up with a solution.

Sozie is an online platform that enables fashion retailers to show how fashion looks on “real people” - people like their customers.

Here’s how it works.

You can sign up through the app to become a “Sozie” or “model” and upload your measurements. Then whenever a retailer needs someone with those measurements to try on an item of clothing, the app will send an alert to a ‘model’ near to a store selling that item. The Sozie goes to the store, tries on the garment, uploads photos of them wearing it and also answers a few questions about it.

The Sozie platform then edits the photos and sends them to the retailer’s website. Shoppers can then view these photos and the uploaded info and thereby decide whether or not they should place an order.

And since it would be easier to make that decision when you see the item on someone who is more like you, you will be more inclined to be making the right decision i.e. the right purchase!

If you become a Sozie, you will be paid each time that you try on an item of clothing at a customer or retailer’s request and this will be paid to you via Paypal.

Curious about the startup’s name?

Well..Sozie is the French word for doppelgänger and its origins are pretty relevant. In the early 20th Century, clothing stores generally hired shop assistants of all shapes and sizes so that when a customer came in, the shop assistant who was most similar in size to them, would try the garments on to show the customer how it would look!

It’s great to see how a very old-fashioned principle of customer service is being brought right up to date by technology and is ultimately a win win for both customer and retailer alike.

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Published on: 19th December 2019