Buying shoes online poses one main question: Will they fit? It’s quite defeating when your elated shoes arrive and they’re too snug or too loose. Now, Nike is addressing this problem with an app-based and AI-enabled Nike Fit system.
The app allows customers to take a look through Nike’s shoe selection via a smartphone, and when the sizing information appears, users have the option to use the Nike Fit feature.
This requires the user to stand against a wall in their socks, and take a picture of their feet looking down. The app then uses the camera to identify and scan both feet, where it collects 13 data points on each foot within a matter of seconds.
Using AI algorithms, the system determines the best shoe size depending on the shoe model. Additionally, the app can obtain information from each user, so they don’t have to rescan their foot every time.
Nike hopes their Nike Fit system will eliminate the number of returns and encourage people to buy shoes online. An in-store version of the system is also being released, where customers will stand on a special grid-marked mat and have their feet scanned.