- Huw Hughes
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US sportswear giant Nike has unveiled a new AR feature within the Nike
app that aims to help users find the perfect shoe fit.
According to Nike, 60 percent of people are likely wearing the wrong shoe size.
That’s where Nike Fit comes in. The new scanning feature uses a combination
of computer vision, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence
and recommendation algorithms that the company says gives it an advantage
over traditional measurement methods which “don’t provide nearly enough
data to get a shoe to fit comfortably.”
So how does the feature work? Within the Nike app, shoppers will be able
to select a new option on the size section of any given shoe that will
pull up Nike Fit. Using their smartphone’s camera, the “hyper-accurate”
feature will then collect 13 data points mapping the morphology for both
feet. The unique foot dimension can then be stored in the NikePlus member
profile and used for future shopping online and in-store.
“If you have used Nike Fit to scan your feet and you go to
purchase a Nike Cortez on the Nike app, you won’t see a run of
sizes anymore. Instead, you’ll just see your size for that particular
shoe,” Nike said on its website. “Then, if you go to buy a Nike Air
Zoom Pegasus you might see another size. That’s because different
shoes are made with different performance intent – a running shoe
works best for the athlete when a little more snug while a sportswea
r shoe is designed to have more room for everyday wear.”
The feature will also be available in Nike’s stores,
where customers will be able to stand on specially developed
Nike Fit mat while shop assistants measure their feet using the app.
The new Nike Fit feature will reportedly start being rolled out in July
Pictures: Nike newsroom
