Aetrex has already taken its first step into the new year.
The Teaneck, N.J-headquartered footwear maker announced Tuesday its new FitStarter technology, in partnership with Heeluxe, which owns a proprietary footwear testing system called Hank Jr Shoe Fitting SmartLast system, more commonly known as SmartLast.
Aetrex offers an existing technology called Albert, which retailers use to scan consumers’ feet in store to determine the measurements of their arch heights, in-steps, foot length and more. It also offers a software called FitGenius, which allows retailers to match consumers’ foot scans to shoe styles that might suit them best based on data from other consumers with similar profiles.
But FitGenius requires 5,000 data points to work most effectively, and according to Larry Schwartz, Aetrex’s CEO, retailers had trouble hitting that threshold.
“The challenge we’ve had is actually getting the retailer to get to that 5,000 data points. When we say that we mean that we need to have 3D scans tied to in-store purchases. And [for] a lot of retailers, this was taking a long time. There’s [also] a lot of demand for having an in-store footwear program,” Schwartz told Sourcing Journal.
In response to the need for a more immediate solution, the Foot.com owner, which also makes comfort footwear, created FitStarter, which requires less data.
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Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, retailers can send shoes to Aetrex’s New Jersey and Dubai facilities to be analyzed by SmartLast.
Geoffrey Gray, founder and president of Heeluxe, said the technology enables retailers to understand the measurements, pressure points and comfort of a shoe and delivers the data on fit back to retailers.
“We look at everything from high heels to hiking boots,” Gray said. “One thing that we’ve seen that’s been so valuable for footwear brands is having this data on shoe fit, rather than just relying on subjective feedback.”
Once retailers receive the results of the scan—about a week after sending in the shoe, per Schwartz—they can use Aetrex’s Albert scanning platforms in store to scan customers’ feet. Through FitStarter, they’ll then receive recommendations on fit and comfort for each individual consumer based on the data collected by SmartLast.
Schwartz said the addition of FitStarter to the Aetrex SaaS suite sets retailers up for success from the jump.
“All [retailers] need to do is simply pick the shoes that they want to feature in their software for the season. We then will give them a list of the ones that we don’t have… a previous FitStarter analysis [of], and they’ll send us the shoes. We’ll turn it around in a few days,” he said. “The most significant aspect of this [is] how quick and easy a retailer can get a nice footwear program in their software.”
The companies expect FitStarter will be mutually beneficial for brands, consumers and retailers alike. Schwartz noted that Aetrex expects FitStarter technology will decrease the number of returns participating retailers see and increase satisfaction among customers.
Gray said lowering the return rates has a positive effect that ripples far beyond a happy customer.
“Sustainability is such a huge challenge with the return issue, and I don’t think a lot of customers realize that you might have a shoe with a really low carbon footprint, but in almost every shoe that’s made, the largest part of the carbon footprint is transportation. So if we can reduce that, that’s having a huge impact,” Gray told Sourcing Journal.
FitStarter is just what it sounds like—a start. Once a retailer collects 5,000 data points from the Albert scanner, they can also begin to use FitGenius, which allows retailers to provide style and fit recommendations online, Schwartz said. FitStarter only allows those recommendations to be made at brick and mortar locations.
Retailers like LeHigh Outfitters, a divison of Rocky Brands, already use FitGenius. Schwartz said that since Lehigh began using FitGenius, its online return rate has decreased by 50 percent.
Gray said the collaboration between the two companies—what he called his “dream partnership”—began about a year and a half ago.
“There was nobody, in my opinion, that was bringing together foot shape and shoe shape in an effective way for the consumer. That’s really the core reasoning for starting this Aetrex partnership—[they] are the master of foot shape; we are the master shoe shape. Let’s combine that data and do something amazing,” Gray said.
Gray and Schwartz both expressed their excitement for the official launch of the FitStarter program next year. Gray noted that the initial partnership could be just the beginning.
“This is just level one. My experience with these sorts of things is the more data we collect, the more we learn,” he said. “It’s really going to become a cycle of data where we’re going to see what’s happening at retail, bringing that back to the footwear brand so they can influence their new product, and then the customer experience is just going to keep getting incrementally better every year.”