The Paypers

According to Ecommerce News Europe, with Shavatar, consumers are enabled to create their own avatars based on a few parameters such as height, weight, cup size, and bust/waist/hip measurements. The tool then suggests the right size and fit of any given fashion item.

Shavatar is a spin-off of the University of Antwerp and research institute Imec, based on a model that predicts and visualises the human body shape in 3D, and has raised EUR 200,000 in funding. The tool allows consumers to generate the avatar at home, without any need for a scanner, with an average margin of error of just 7 millimetres compared to the person’s actual body shape.

The solution was developed to solve the problem of online fashion returns, which continues to persist, with an 8% increase in returns in Europe in 2019. Additionally, among the online shoppers that do place an order, there’s still 40% who say they tend to order the same item in different sizes, making sure they get the right size.

In the future, the tool is expected to be able to superimpose garments on the generated body shape, enabling customers to visualise entire outfits this way. However, in the short term, Shavatar will be integrated in the online shops of various clothing brands. Therefore, customers can access shavatar.me and create their avatar, while getting tailored advice for over 50 fashion brands.

University of Antwerp, Imec launch 3D avatar tool Shavatar to decrease fashion returns