ThirdLove brings digital bra-fitting to physical retail with its first store
“Nobody wants to go bra shopping,” Heidi Zak, co-founder and co-CEO of online lingerie seller ThirdLove told Business Insider in September 2018. “I started the company so a woman wouldn’t have to go to the store.”
Despite that original mission, ThirdLove has become the latest digital native to test a physical location. The retailer will run a pop-up in Manhattan’s Soho section from July 24 through the end of 2019.
Since launching in 2014, over 14 million women have been fitted online through ThirdLove’s Fit Finder technology, which is said to take 60 seconds to complete, asking women a series of questions about their current bra and unique breast shape. Proprietary algorithms developed in-house by ThirdLove’s female-led data science and design teams then help find the perfect fit across the brand’s broad range of 78 sizes, including half-sizes.
In a statement, Ms. Zak said ThirdLove is opening the pop-up because “a lot of our customers have expressed a desire to connect with our brand in person.” Management is also testing what women are looking for from an in-person ThirdLove shopping experience.
The store will seek to “replicate this digital experience by making shopping for a bra more convenient and more educational, so women have the knowledge and support they need to know how a bra should properly fit.”
At the pop-up, “Fit Stylists” will tap Fit Finder technology to avoid the anxiety and awkwardness of having an associate use a tape measure for bra fittings.
Over 60 percent of the 1,000-square-foot space will be dedicated to fitting rooms, including some with drawers in the back that allow associates to slide garments through to the customers without having to walk in or pass items through a flimsy curtain. Larger fitting rooms will be available for a higher level of one-on-one assistance.
ThirdLove’s pop up arrives as a number of brands, including Adore Me, American Eagle’s Aerie and True&Co, are increasingly challenging the largest lingerie player, Victoria’s Secret, with more inclusive offerings and marketing.
Also adding technology to bra-fitting is Chico’s FAS’s SOMA brand, which recently introduced the SOMAINNOFIT Bluetooth-connected bra and an accompanying fit-predicting app to “measure your shape in seconds.”
- ThirdLove Announces First “Fit Experience” Store Concept in New York City – ThirdLove/Business Wire
- ThirdLove, the buzzy online bra startup that publicly slammed Victoria’s Secret for its lack of inclusivity, is opening its first pop-up store in New York – Business Insider
- Online Lingerie Seller Copies Victoria’s Secret by Opening Store – Retail Touchpoints
- Online Lingerie Seller Copies Victoria’s Secret by Opening Store – Bloomberg
- ThirdLove to open 1st retail store – Retail Dive
- Soma Announces New Partnership that Brings its Innovations in Form, Fabric and Fit to Even More Customers and Loyal Fans – SOMA
- Sexy isn’t selling anymore for Victoria’s Secret – RetailWire
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What is most challenging for customers about the bra-fitting experience? Is fit technology such as ThirdLove’s or SOMA’s the answer or are reworked fitting rooms? Does ThirdLove need a store to optimally deliver its fit solution?
Georganne BenderPrincipal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Georganne BenderPrincipal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Georganne BenderPrincipal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Georganne BenderPrincipal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
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7 Comments on "ThirdLove brings digital bra-fitting to physical retail with its first store"
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Chief Customer Officer, Incisiv
I can’t really answer that first question! But I do have all females in my house and hear the complaints. A better process to enable a better fit is definitely winning customers as I’ve heard great things about the ThirdLove brand. To extend it into a physical environment of course makes sense as it adds a channel and enables another point of experience.
Product Marketing Manager, CB4
Chairman & CEO, H2O+Beauty
The most challenging element in any store is the customer experience. This includes getting knowledgeable help in bra fitting while having a positive in-store experience that is different from other bra fitting experiences. I also see the pop-up as a strategy to further bring brand awareness to ThirdLove beyond their digital experience.
President, The Treistman Group LLC
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Listen, getting fitted for a bra ain’t no picnic. Bras aren’t cheap, that’s why good bra fitters are worth their weight in gold. They don’t measure because they can determine your size just by looking at you, and their recommendations are almost always right on.
Most women don’t wear the correct bra size, and a lot of us compromise the fit because buying a bra takes time. There’s a big difference between buying a bra at Victoria’s Secret, online or even a department store. A true lingerie retailer, with skilled bra fitters and beautiful stores, will win every time. The comment “customers have expressed a desire to connect with our brand in person” makes me think that the Fit Finder technology isn’t fully cutting it.
Associate Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology
ThirdLove is an excellent brand with good bra-fitting technology. Women dislike trying on jeans, bathing suits and bras. The biggest issue is lack of consistency in sizing across brands. A woman who is 32b with one brand is 32d at brands that use vanity sizing. Brand consistency in sizing is key to providing retailers with a loyal following. ThirdLove does this well.
Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Trial is important for anything that is related to “fitting” and “custom-made.” While generic apparel shopping has gone online, pure eComm apparel retailers will have to reverse the trend and go offline to fulfill on their custom fit promise. It’s a one-time thing. Once you’re fitted, then the replenish/re-order process can be completed online. Bonobos is a great example of this new shopping model — find the fit/style you like in a store, then buy the print you like online.