Lands’ End Embraces Body Scanning
N E W Y O R K, Nov. 11 -- Imagine being blinded by pure white light thatlingers over your body for 12 long seconds.
No, it’s not an alien encounter but rather a kiosk outfittedwith new body-scanning technology, created by Cary, N.C.-basedImage Twin Inc., that will make anyone’s fitting room and measuringtape look archaic.
Catalog giant Lands’ End, which was the first to introduce avirtual model on its Web site two years ago, has teamed up withImage Twin to help promote the technology, which is designed tohelp consumers choose clothes on the Web that accurately fit theirbody type.
Image Twin’s plan is to develop 50 body-scanning kiosks in mallsand at other retailers within the next year, according to chairmanC. Cammack Morton. Data taken from the scans will be stored onpassword-protected sites on the Web and can be used by consumers tohelp make purchases at affiliated companies.
Making It Fit
The technology also has broader implications, Morton added: Itcould standardize sizing in the apparel industry, a problematicissue where a size 8 at one store isn’t necessarily a size 8 atanother.
“Consumers are very interested in fit. This is just the nextstep,” said Bill Bass, senior vice president of e-commerce andinternational at the Dodgeville, Wis.-based Lands’ End.
To promote the new technology, Lands’ End has embarked on atwo-month, 14-city promotional tour to get people accustomed to theidea. On Monday, the 48-foot promotional trailer was parked at theWorld Trade Center, inviting people off the street to strip offtheir clothes, put on tight-fitting athletic wear and get scanned.
“This definitely has piqued my interest,” said Grace Garinger,36, from Montvale, N.J. “I used to buy clothes online but then Istopped. They never fit, and I always had to return them. Now, Imay just return.”
Body scanning isn’t a new concept. Levi Strauss has operated abody-scanning kiosk to customize jeans in its San Francisco store,and Nike offered foot scanning in its Niketown store in NewYork, scrapping it after one year. The concept, however, never tookoff because of the limited technology available, according toMorton.
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