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50 Product Attributes Every Fashion Store Should Have For Structured SEO and GEO – Catecut

Catecut Team — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Fashion brands spend enormous effort improving product descriptions, photography, and marketing campaigns. But one of the biggest SEO opportunities in fashion e-commerce is often overlooked: structured product attributes.

Search engines, filters, recommendation engines, and on-store search all rely on structured product data. When important product and design attributes are missing or inconsistent, valuable product information gets lost, and never reaches the shopper, or search engines.

Many of these attributes are visually identifiable from the product imagery that the brands already produce, which makes the product images one of the brand’s most valuable assets, more than they may even realize. We’ll get back to that further along in this post.

In the mean time, here are 50 product attributes every fashion e-commerce store should have to best structure pages to improve discoverability, filtering, SEO and GEO.

Core Product Identification

These attributes define the fundamental identity of a product, and some are derived from visual features, while others are typically managed in the store backend.

Visually identifiable attributes

•Product type (dress, shirt, jacket, pants)

•Product subtype (mini dress, maxi dress, cropped jacket)

•Silhouette

•Garment length

•Sleeve length

•Neckline

•Shoulder style

Typically managed by the store

•Brand

•Season

•Gender

Attributes such as collection, SKU, and style name are usually handled in the store or PIM system rather than derived from imagery.

Fit and Structure

Fit is one of the most common ways customers search for fashion products.

Structuring these attributes helps both SEO and product filtering.

•Fit (slim, relaxed, oversized)

•Waist rise

•Leg shape

•Hem Typs

•Sleeve shape

•Collar type

•Closure type

•Waistband style

•Layering structure

•Garment construction details

These attributes describe how the garment is built and how it sits on the body.

Materials and Fabric Characteristics

Material searches are extremely common in fashion e-commerce.

Customers frequently search for products based on fabric type or feel.

•Fabric type

•Material composition

•Knit or woven

•Fabric texture

•Fabric weight

•Stretch level

•Lining

•Padding or insulation

•Sheerness

•Surface finish

Many of these characteristics can be inferred visually or combined with supplier data.

Visual Characteristics

Visual attributes play a huge role in both search and product filtering.

•Color

•Color family

•Pattern

•Print type

•Embellishments

•Distressing

•Wash type (denim)

•Transparency

•Shine or matte finish

•Surface texture (smooth)

These attributes are often clearly visible in product imagery but are frequently missing from structured product data.

Functional and Design Features

These attributes describe practical or design-specific features that customers often search for.

•Pockets

•Adjustable elements

•Belt loops

•Slits

•Layering components

•Reversible design

•Detachable elements

•Thermal or weatherproof properties

•Breathability

•Care instructions

These features help customers better understand how a garment functions.

Why Structured Attributes Matter for SEO

Most fashion stores store product knowledge across multiple places:

•Product imagery

•Design briefs

•Merchandising spreadsheets

•Manufacturer or Supplier documentation

•Product tags and shipping documents

•Product descriptions and titles

•PIM system

But search engines can’t easily interpret unstructured information.

When attributes are structured properly, product pages can rank for far more specific search queries. For example, instead of ranking only for black dress, a structured product page might rank for:

•Black satin mini dress

•Sleeveless satin evening dress

•Fitted black cocktail dress

•Black sleeveless party dress, or even

•Black satin sleeveless princess neckline mini dress with side zip closure and front slit pockets

Structured attributes enable thousands of long-tail combinations automatically.

The Real Challenge: Extracting Product Attributes

The problem isn’t knowing which attributes matter. The problem is capturing them consistently. Manually structuring dozens of attributes per product is time-consuming, especially for fashion brands launching hundreds or thousands of products each season. And much of the information needed to describe a product is already visible in the product imagery.

Where Automation Changes the Workflow

Instead of manually tagging products, new approaches to automation focus on analyzing product imagery. From product images, technology can detect attributes such as:

•Product type

•Garment length

•Sleeve length

•Neckline

•Silhouette

•Pattern

•Fabric characteristics

These attributes can then be structured automatically and returned directly to the store backend.This allows brands to structure far more product data without increasing manual work.

How Catecut Approaches Product Data

Catecut focuses on turning product imagery into structured product attributes that can be used directly in e-commerce platforms. Instead of introducing another complex system, Catecut acts as a lightweight layer that:

•Understands fashion imagery

•Extracts visible product attributes

•Structures attributes into data and information

•Returns the data and information directly to the platform or PIM in the correct format

The result is faster product launches, richer product pages, and more consistent product data across the catalog.

The Future of Fashion Product Data

As fashion catalogs grow larger, structured product attributes are becoming increasingly important for:

•Search engine and generative engin optimisation (SEO / GEO)

•Filtering

•Internal search

•Personalisation

•Product recommendations

Brands that structure product data effectively create a strong foundation for discoverability and automation. And increasingly, the most scalable way to structure that data begins with something every fashion brand already has: product imagery.

The Real Bottleneck Behind Fashion Product Pages – Catecut

Catecut Team — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

When people talk about automation for product detail pages (PDPs) in e-commerce, the conversation usually focuses on generating content or SEO tags.

But anyone working in fashion e-commerce knows the real challenge isn’t writing product descriptions. It’s the process behind the product page.

The Hidden Workflow Behind Every Product Page

A fashion product page might look simple to a customer. But internally, it’s the result of a surprisingly complex workflow.

It often starts with product imagery. From there, information flows through multiple teams:

Merchandisers define product attributes

•Copywriters write descriptions

•SEO specialists add tags and metadata

•Product teams manage structured product data

•E-commerce managers prepare products for launch

Each team contributes a piece of information that eventually needs to land in the correct fields inside the store backend. And this is where the problems start.

Product Information Gets Lost

Because product information is created across different teams and tools, everyone from the manufacturer to the marketing team, and everyone in between, the process often becomes fragmented:

•Product attributes are stored in spreadsheets

•Tags are missing and terminology is inconsistent

•Descriptions are written without structured product data and details

•Valuable product knowledge never reaches the product page

The result is slower product launches and PDPs that fail to communicate all of the information customers need to make purchase decisions.

In fashion e-commerce, details matter. Everything from materials, fit, structure, and construction factors into purchase decisions, but also how those products show up in search, whether online or on the store’s filters. In short, missing information directly impacts product discovery and conversion.

Why Traditional Automation Doesn’t Always Work

The product content bottleneck leads many brands to introduce new systems and solutions, designed to manage product data, into their e-commerce stack.

But this often leads to unforeseen challenges for the online store.

The most common among these challenges are complex integrations and new workflows the e-commerce and content teams must learn. Likewise, additional operational overhead may emerge. The combination of these hurdles, means longer durations before their value is actualized.

For many brands, the cost and disruption of these integrations outweigh the potential benefits.

A Different Approach to Automation

Instead of replacing systems, what if automation could work as a lightweight layer on top of existing workflows? Starts with the product imagery brands already have, the solution layer can automatically:

•Detect product design attributes

•Structure them into product data

•Generate product and attribute tags, and

•Populate store product detail page fields directly on the backend.

The e-commerce and content teams transition into publishing teams.

No heavy implementation. No operational disruption. Just faster, more consistent product data and content.

The Future of Retail Software

Smart automation reflects a broader shift happening in fashion retail digital transformation. Brands can now integrate quickly, and their e-commerce creates value immediately with minimal operational changes and no long-term vendor lock-in.

Automation shouldn’t force companies to rebuild their workflows nor start from scratch when they move between platforms. It should simply make them work better.

That’s the direction we believe fashion e-commerce software is heading. And, it’s the problem Catecut is solving today.

Want to learn more about AI in Fashion Retail?

TGC Capital Partners invests in AI Vision and Product Content Automation Solutions Company Catecut – Catecut

paula gould — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Reykjavik, Iceland (5 November 2025) Icelandic artificial intelligence company, Catecut (Sowilo ehf.), has signed an investment and cooperation agreement with multinational investment firm TGC Capital Partners. Catecut is quickly becoming a leader in developing AI Vision for automated product content for fashion e-commerce. Their solution addresses massive and costly product information accuracy and logistics issues, while expediting the ability of clothing brands and fashion marketplaces to get their products for sale online faster. Catecut is currently being used by several large international fashion brands.

TGC Capital Partners is the investment arm of the global software conglomerate Gateway Group of Companies. The company reviews over 300 investment opportunities annually. It specialises in investing in high-growth innovation companies that can have potential for tangible global impact, and can quickly capture their respective markets.

“Catecut has uniquely and strategically built its solution for the global e-commerce fashion market. We at TGC and Gateway believe in their vision for the future of fashion retail, and have the network and experience to support their ambitious goals,” says Ingi Björn Sigurðsson, Investment Manager at TGC Capital Partners. “We invest in entrepreneurs who have the perseverance and expertise needed to solve big global challenges while maximising value in their business sectors. That certainly applies to Heidrun Osk Sigfusdottir, the team she is building, and their technology.”

“It is invaluable to receive this support from TGC and Gateway to scale both our technology and provide the foundational capital necessary to bring our solution to fashion brands and marketplaces in markets worldwide,” said Heidrun Osk Sigfusdottir, Founder & CEO of Catecut. “We at Catecut have built our AI Vision engine into a valuable product content automation solution for the fashion industry, specifically to address the significant hurdles they face in staying competitive, while best catering to shopper needs during the shopping experience. The investment and collaboration with Gateway ensures that we have world-class experts immediately and can expedite our market entry strategy efficiently.”

Catecut automates the product content and information creation and distribution process using product imagery of clothing and accessories to identify design elements and attributes– in multiple languages. It then instantly creates and populates online store product pages with accurate, engaging product descriptions, care instructions, and important underlying metadata and search tags, saving brands and marketplaces valuable time and money. The result is faster product availability online and informed shopping experiences that drive better purchase decisions. Brands and marketplaces leveraging Catecut’s solution span North America, Europe, The Nordics, and Singapore. For more information, visit catecut.com or tgccapitalpartners.com.

ÍS

TGC Capital Partners fjárfestir í Catecut

Reykjavík, Ísland (5 nov. 2025) Íslenska gervigreindarfyrirtækið Catecut hefur undirritað samstarfssamning við fjölþjóðlega fjárfestingafyrirtækið TGC Capital Partners um samvinnu og fjárfestingu. Catecut er leiðandi í að þróa sjálfvirkar vörulýsingar fyrir föt sem eru seld í gegnum vefverslanir. Lausnin er byltingarkennd og er komin í notkun hjá nokkrum risa vörumerkjum.

TGC Capital Partners er fjárfestinga armur alþjóðlegu hugbúnaðar samsteypunar Gateway Group of Companies. Fyrirtækið sérhæfir sig í að fjárfesta í fyrirtækjum sem geta vaxið hratt inn á markað. Fyrirtækið hefur tekið ákvörðun að fjárfesta í Catecut, árlega skoðar fyrirtækið yfir 300 fjárfestingakosti gaumgæfilega.

“Lausn Catecut er framúrskarandi og við höfum trú á því með fjárfestingum og samstarfi við okkur þá getur lausnin vaxið á ógnar hraða. Okkar markmið er að fjárfesta í frumkvöðlum sem einbeita sér að búa til verðmæti fyrir viðskiptavini sína. Það á svo sannarlega við um Heiðrúnu og hennar teymi. Þrautseigja hennar hefur verið ótrúleg og er öðrum frumkvöðlum til eftirbreytni” Segir Ingi Björn Sigurðsson fjárfestingarstjóri TGC Capital Partners.

“Það er ómetanlegt að fá stuðning frá TGC og Gateway til þess að skala bæði tækni og útbreiðslu lausnarinnar á erlendan markað. Við hjá Catecut höfum verið lengi að og erum núna komin með lausn sem markaðurinn hefur verið að bíða eftir og viðtökurnar hafa farið fram úr okkar björtustu vonum. Fjárfestingin og samstarfið við Gateway tryggir að við höfum aðgang að sérfræðingum á heimsmælikvarða,” segir Heiðrún Ósk Sigfúsdóttir.

“Lausninni verður dreift óháð landamærum, við hjá TGC og Gateway höfum risavaxið tengslanet sem við ætlum að nýta til þess að koma lausninni sem víðast. Dæmi um markaðssvæði sem við ætlum að skoða með Catecut er Asía. Vandamál vefverslanna þar eru þau sömu og alls staðar, hvort sem það er á Íslandi eða Asíu, nema skalinn er mikið stærri inn á stærri mörkuðum. Við hlökkum til að vinna með Catecut á vegferð þeirra til vaxtar” Segir Ingi Björn Sigurðsson

Catecut sjálfvirknivæðir lýsingar á fatnaði með því að nota myndir af fatnaði og fylgihlutum til að bera kennsl á hönnunarþætti og eiginleika – á mörgum tungumálum. Kerfið býr samstundis til nákvæmar og aðlaðandi vörulýsingar sem eru sýnilegar á vörusíðum netverslana, ásamt leiðbeiningum um meðhöndlun sem sparar vörumerkjum og markaðstorgum dýrmætan tíma og fjármuni. Niðurstaðan er hraðara vöruframboð á netinu og nákvæmari vörulýsingar sem leiðir til betri kaup ákvarðana. Vörumerki og markaðstorg í Norður-Ameríku, Evrópu, Norðurlöndunum og Singapúr nýta sér lausn Catecut

Fyrir frekari upplýsingar, heimsækið catecut.com og tgccapitalpartners.com

What is AI Computer Vision in Fashion Retail and E-commerce? – Catecut

paula gould — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

What is AI Vision (Computer Vision, Image Prediction)? Why Is Highly Trained AI Important In Fashion Retail?

Think of AI Vision like the eyes and brain to your backend e-commerce processes. It allows for software to “look at” images or videos and understand what’s in them—just like humans do, except the analysis output can be vast and instant.

General AI Vision (AI models) can analyse and interpret an image with, say, a jacket, and return simplified attributes of that jacket.

However, highly-trained AI goes deeper, understanding that jacket in detail, down to:

🧥 The type of jacket, and its collar and lapel

👗 The silhouette or structural details (e.g. closures, fit, seam type, sleeve, cuff)

👖 The material (e.g., waxed cotton vs. denim vs. leather)

🌻 The pattern (e.g., plaid, floral, solid)/

🎨 The color palette

🪩 Even styling cues (e.g., business vs. casual vs. formal)

But, why does AI Vision matter for fashion retail?

For executives, merchandisers, and e-commerce managers, this is a game changer because it provides their teams with:

🏷️ Faster tagging and categorization of thousands of products

🔎 More accurate filtering and search results for shoppers (“show me high-rise flared jeans”)

🫶 Better recommendations (based on style, not just keywords)

ℹ️ Richer product descriptions and SEO (AI can generate content from image analysis)

🛍️ Higher discoverability and conversion—products show up where they should

Catecut built its own, custom AI Vision models. It leverages known general models to do initial categorisations, then uses its powerhouse proprietary AI to interpret clothing and jewelry within product imagery, identifying design attributes and structural details, spinning those details back out to a brand or marketplace’s online store to fully populate the store’s product pages with accurate, engaging information to best inform shoppers.

Catecut offers the ability to leverage longer descriptions and shorter descriptions, depending on the preferences of your brand, whether you offer stunning clothing collections or fine jewelry. Behind your fully populated PDPs (product description pages), your online store is simultaneously enriched with the search data and tags needed to make shopping on your store more precise and to draw new shoppers in. We know brands and marketplaces are on hunt for AI Vision to make e-comm more efficient. Often times, large language models and image vision solutions promise more than they can deliver. Our AI models are specifically hand-trained on the multitude of design elements of clothing and accessories.

We offer the granular identification you’ve been searching for, alongside the instant and fully populated product pages you need to get your products onto your store faster, leading to sales and searchability in seconds.

That’s what sets us apart!

Cut to the Blog – Catecut

Admin — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 18:12:10 GMT

How is Catecut different?

E-commerce tech leads often ask us: what makes us different from large AI Vision solutions? While the answer to this

Catecut welcomes retail executive, Aslaug Magnusdottir, to its Board of Directors – Catecut

paula gould — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Reykjavik, Iceland (14 April 2025) Catecut, an AI-powered platform that automates product tagging and SEO optimization for fashion e-commerce, announced today that Áslaug Magnúsdóttir—founder of Katla, former co-founder and CEO of Moda Operandi, and Gilt Groupe executive—has joined its board.

“Áslaug is a highly respected innovator who has driven digital transformation in high-end fashion retail and e-commerce globally for 20 years, said Heiðrún Ósk Sigfúsdóttir, co-founder and CEO of Catecut. “She has already had an incredible impact on our company, lending her depth of fashion retail expertise to inform our strategies and help guide our market entry. We’re honored to have her serve on our board.”

“Catecut’s team has the experience and technology to truly shift fashion e-commerce by focusing on many of its most critical operational, customer experience, and business intelligence hurdles,” said Áslaug Magnúsdóttir.

Catecut released its automated product tagging solution earlier this year, introducing it to European fashion retailers at the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair in February, and to North American and European brands during Shoptalk in Las Vegas in March. Catecut was also previously selected as one of four startup companies to watch in retail, presenting on stage during the Total Retail Tech startup pitch event in North Carolina in the fall of 2024.

About Catecut

Catecut is an Icelandic technology company that develops solutions for e-commerce with the goal of shaping how fashion brands and retailers reach, service, and deliver efficiency and value to their online shoppers. Its AI-enabled deep tagging technology for apparel product imagery automatically creates more in-depth and precise product descriptions, provides valuable metadata, and strengthens SEO and GPT prompt performance. Catecut has been awarded a development grant, Vöxtur, from the Technology Development Fund at RANNÍS, and a marketing grant from the Women’s Employment Project Fund (Atvinnumál Kvenna Styrkur). For more information, please visit catecut.com.

(Íslenska)

Catecut býður Áslaugu Magnúsdóttur framkvæmdastjóra smásölu velkomna í stjórn

Reykjavík, Ísland (14 Apríl 2025) Catecut, sem hefur þróað öflugt gervigreindarlíkan sem greinir eiginleika fatnaðar út frá aðeins myndum og skilar sjálfvirkt vörulýsingum og SEO-merkingum á vörusíður fatasala, tilkynnti í dag að Áslaug Magnúsdóttir hafi tekið sæti í stjórn félagsins. Áslaug er stofnandi tískumerkisins Katla, meðstofnandi og fyrrverandi forstjóri Moda Operandi og fyrrverandi stjórnandi hjá Gilt Groupe.

„Áslaug er einn virtasti frumkvöðull tískuheimsins og hefur leitt stafræna breytingu í lúxustísku og netverslun á heimsvísu síðustu tvo áratugi,“ segir Heiðrún Ósk Sigfúsdóttir, meðstofnandi og framkvæmdastjóri Catecut. „Hún var jafnframt valin ein af 50 valdamestu konum í tískuheiminum af vefritinu Fashionista. Hún hefur nú þegar haft jákvæð áhrif á stefnumótun okkar með innsýn sinni í alþjóðlegan tískuiðnað. Það er okkur sannur heiður að fá hana í stjórn.“

„Teymið hjá Catecut hefur þá reynslu og tækni sem þarf til að umbreyta netverslun með fatnað með því því að leysa margar raunverulegar áskoranir í rekstri, og upplifun viðskiptavina,“ segir Áslaug Magnúsdóttir.

Catecut kynnti sjálfvirka vörumerkingarlausn sína fyrr á árinu og hefur þegar vakið athygli á alþjóðlegum vettvangi. Lausnin var kynnt fyrir evrópskum tísku vörumerkjum á Copenhagen International Fashion Fair í febrúar og fyrir norður-amerískum og evrópskum vörumerkjum á Shoptalk í Las Vegas í mars. Á síðasta ári var Catecut einnig valið eitt af fjórum efnilegustu sprotafyrirtækjum í smásölu og tók þátt í startup-vettvangi á Total Retail Tech ráðstefnunni í Norður-Karólínu.

Um Catecut

Catecut er íslenskt tæknifyrirtæki sem notar myndgreiningu til að bera kennsl á fatnað og merkja eiginleika fatnaðar sjálfvirkt, sem skilar sér í dýpri vörulýsingum og bættri leitavélabestun (SEO) fyrir netverslun með það að markmiði að draga úr ósamræmi í vöruupplýsingum, miklum tilkostnaði við handvirka skráningu og skapa betri og notendavænni netverslun.Lausnin samræmir efni, bætir leit og síun, og veitir kaupanda mun betri lýsingu á vörum.

Catecut hefur hlotið þróunarstyrk Vöxt frá Tækniþróunarsjóði RANNÍS og markaðsstyrk úr Atvinnumálum kvenna.

Nánari upplýsingar er að finna á catecut.com.

Key Insights and Trends From Retail Fashion at CIFF – Catecut

paula gould — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

We attended CIFF (Copenhagen International Fashion Fair) for the first time

At CIFF 25, we got the opportunity over a week to explore the over 1200 brands on the show floor, from emerging indie designers to big box retail names.

We had two objectives: to learn first-hand what retail fashion trends to expect in the coming year, and to get insights from the brands themselves on their e-commerce opportunities and challenges.

We were pleasantly surprised by how many brands had their creative teams and lead designers present at their booths, elevating the brand experience and providing the perfect platform for us to discuss the interplay between the cuts and fits of their forthcoming range, and how these adaptations will envelope and drape the unique body structures of their customers when they hit the stores.

We loved the overarching theme of sustainability across CIFF and CPHFW, and the clear, continued commitment to inclusivity.

Retail trends at CIFF

We had the opportunity to chat with so many wonderful retailers who shared their goals for 2025 and beyond with us.

Validating our mission to help shoppers find the clothes and build a wardrobe that makes them look and feel their best, all while reducing global apparel returns, brands and retailers endeavor to enrich the online shopping experience of their customers, solve the in-store/online conundrum, reach new audiences to entice new brand loyalists, and importantly, reduce their customer returns problem in a way that doesn’t sour their customer relationships.

Where we see our solution being most helpful for these brands, retailers and marketplaces with online stores, is augmenting their product descriptions effortlessly.

Retailers still face manual process of product tagging

Most brands and retailers are still manually entering this data, or using stripped down descriptions that come as standard add-ons with their Shopify implementation.

This is where our custom-built AI models will really shine. The retailers send their product imagery by API or other means, and our AI models analyse, deep tag, and categorize each garment, returning this info back to the retailer to augment their product descriptions (in a multitude of available languages!), improving on-store filtering and search, as well as SEO/GEO to help draw in new traffic.

Second, for the brands who rely solely on B2B sales, the valuable backend data Catecut provides their retailer partners can help them ID potential gaps in their offerings that, when remedied, can help prevent their retailers from filling those gaps with products from competing brands.

Likewise, this data gives retailers an opportunity to have fresh new conversations with the brands they carry.

Clothing trends at CIFF

Brands are doubling down on browns, burgundies and denims, and we are here for it. Impressively, these earth tones were blended with classic and unconventional design, with structured but not restrictive silhouettes.

Fuzzy fashion is going to be bigger than ever next autumn if the vast number of long and short coats we saw, touched and tried on are any indication.

Warm, cosy crew and turtlenecks are replacing the plunging necklines of years past. Fabrics of various organic and non-organic materials will dominate sweater designs, pinstripes and oversized dress shirts will continue to be everywhere, while straight-leg, mid-rise trousers and a-lines skirts continue to trend.

Denim on Denim on Denim

Relaxed fit jeans are prominent once again. But as Alix Earle has amplified on social media of late, some skinny jeans are sneaking their way back into prominence. Danish denim giant Bestseller introduced JJXX to great fanfare and a 100 denim jacket giveaway. This follows their announcement of the opening of their first Jack & Jones + JJXX multibrand store in London last November.

Embroidery and other richly embellished denim a la Antik Denim and True Religion, who dominated the early-mid 00’s are also making a comeback, the latter of which had a sizeable presence at CIFF this year.

Classic lines, bold artistic collaborations

Overall, the more classic lines were either committed to their simplicity or livened up with brightening rhinestone embellishments.

Exemplified on the couture runways at Paris fashion week, belts and other waist-accentuating accessories dominated Copenhagen’s Fashion Week.

In contrast, the more artistic brands differentiated by offering bold tailoring and strikingly bright patterns and color palettes, such as we saw at STAMM.exchange, Tapis Noir, and Essential Antwerp.

Marimekko surprised many by merging layers of muted and monochromatic pieces with its renowned playful patterns and palettes.

A stand out for us: Lords of Harlech’s all gender Barcelona Collection is perfection!

We loved seeing whimsical design mashups that combined traditional concepts with unbridaled artistry, like we saw at the Créton booth, and artist collaborations, like we saw with Crystal Rainbow + Andrea Wan. In fact, CIFF and CPHFW’s X factor was squarely the multitude of collaborations, even among well-established brands.

We also want to shout out our new friends at Sashka Project, in Germany, who brought incredibly chic Ukranian design brands like DAR ANN, EMBR. GEM, ATTIRE, and SEROTONINN to the CIFF show floor.

And, of course, we want to give flowers to Julian Daynov who curated the NEUDEUTSCH brand experience at CIFF. This is how you create atmosphere within a convention center! It reminded us of the very best elements of concept store retail.

We found something to suit our every mood and moment at CIFF!

Sales are up in fashion retail, but apparel returns are up too – Catecut

paula gould — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

With the NRF and Happy Returns reporting that the 2024 winter holiday return rate in the US will likely be about 17% higher than retailers’ typical return rate for the year, retailers preemptively onboarded additional logistics solutions and providers, hired additional returns management staff, and invested in making returns flow as smoothly as possible. This additional returns management spending means returns are cutting more deeply into overall per-sale revenue.

Moreover, online purchase return rates were reported to be 21% higher than the retailer’s overall return rates.

Respondents to a Statista survey in the UK indicated their clothing purchases were their top returned items.

What is driving apparel returns?

The underlying issue is, and has always been, poor cut and fit. If we do not, as a global fashion retail industry, address the disconnect between garment cut and fit, and each online shopper’s body structure, we will never reduce returns.

Why does retail struggle to get ahead of returns?

It’s a tale as old as (online) time. The ease and convenience of online shopping logistics, payment, and return credit processes means retailers face a pandora’s box of returns management. But catering to customer needs, particularly through easy returns policies, also drives sales and brand loyalty.

Current solutions aren’t solving the returns problem, and in fact, may be exacerbating the increasing consumer behavior of bracketing

In our view, the biggest gap in solving the returns problem, is addressing the mismatch between a garment’s cut and fit, and the shopper’s body structure.

Preventing returns before they happen with Catecut

Catecut’s mission is to help ensure online shoppers look and feel their best in the clothing they buy online. We accomplish this by addressing the issue of cut and fit, the primary driver of returns in fashion retail.

Size guide solutions, which offer some guardrails, have proven ineffective in preventing returns. The lack of standardisation, as well as the fluctuations in fit due to variations across brands, and how a garment’s cut drapes or sits on various body structures, means online consumers continue to face a lack of certainty when buying clothing. This lack of shopping confidence leads to failed shopping experiences, cart abandonment, and inevitably returns.

Founded by a professional wardrobe stylist and a sustainable clothing retailer, Catecut’s solution tackles the two largest challenges for retailers and shoppers alike: deep product tagging and customised recommendations informed by a combination of the shopper’s individual body structure and the garment’s unique cut & fit.

Product tagging

Catecut’s proprietary AI models and algorithms are the only solution that is informed by the principles and practices of professional wardrobe styling and a deep understanding of garment design. Our solution analyses product imagery and enriches the product descriptions to strengthen search and overall SEO.

Cut & fit matching

Catecut’s styling solution, which is embedded into a retailer or fashion retail marketplace’s online store matches garment recommendations to each unique shopper based on both the garment’s structure and the shopper’s unique body shape. This customises the shopping experience, saves time, and helps mitigate returns due to poor fit– the #1 cause of apparel returns globally.

US media NBC recently reported that returns in the US alone cost retailers $890 billion, and around 17% of all merchandise. Catecut wants to help you save billions while giving your online buyers exceptional shopping experiences.

Understanding Bracketing in Apparel Retail: The Impact of Consumer Confidence – Catecut

paula gould — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

For apparel retailers, one of the largest ongoing challenges is consumer confidence with respect to selecting clothing that will fit the shopper well, and make them look and feel their best. This lack of consumer shopping confidence combined with free shipping perks has led to the phenomenon known as bracketing. But what exactly is bracketing, and how can it be mitigated by improving consumer confidence?

What is Bracketing?

Bracketing occurs when shoppers order multiple sizes of the same garment, with the intention of returning the sizes that do not fit. This exponentially growing consumer behavior creates both a logistical headache for retailers and contributes to increasing garment waste in the fashion industry. But why are consumers adopting this approach?

Simply put: sizing inconsistencies leave shoppers feeling like bracketing is their only choice.

The Role of Consumer Confidence on bracketing

One of the primary drivers of bracketing is a lack of confidence in product sizing and the garment’s cut and fit. When shoppers are uncertain about which size and cut will fit them best, they often purchase multiple sizes to avoid the frustration of fit-related returns later. A few factors contributing to this uncertainty include:

Inconsistent Fit and Sizing Across Brands: Apparel sizing is famously inconsistent, with different brands employing different sizing standards. A size medium in one brand may fit like a small in another. This is further compounded by size and cut variations, geographically. As more international brands are available across stores, customers are tasked with figuring out international sizing variations in addition to the differences in cut. For example, a t-shirt from the US market may have a boxier fit than a t-shirt from a French brand.

Limited Fit and Sizing Information: Many brands do not provide enough information regarding their sizing categorizations, nor style cuts and fits. For instance, detailed size charts or fit guides may provide precise measurements, which shoppers don’t often know. That may cause the shopper to stop the shopping process or buy multiple sizes (bracketing). Worse, fit-guide solutions embedded in the online store may be too general. Or, in the case of marketplaces, have incomplete guides, no info on geographic standard (to compare). Worse, the shopper may need to click each individual guide for each item they browse.

Past Experiences: If shoppers have previously encountered fit and sizing issues, their confidence in both shopping and bracketing is impacted. Likewise, they may be reluctant to try new brands or styles. But if they do try something new, this leads them to feel they must order multiple options to assure a proper fit.

The Importance of Knowledge

Alongside consumer confidence, consumer knowledge of how the cut and fit of a garment fall on or envelope different body structures play a crucial role in mitigating bracketing behavior and stoking buyer confidence. Some ways retailers can enhance consumer knowledge to combat this issue are:

Using AI-powered styling tools: Providing accurate, interactive and detailed shopping features, like Catecut, while including “why” something may fit or not fit, alongside standard information on measurements can better empower shoppers to make better, more confident choices and get the best possible additions to their wardrobe.

Customer Reviews and Feedback: Encouraging customers to leave feedback that the retailer can share about how items fit and look can help other buyers feel more assured in their choices by reflecting real-world examples. Along with the embedded styling tools, highlighting reviews that mention cut and fit can guide other shoppers in selecting the best clothes for their style and body. Catecut supports consumer education directly during the shopping experience as its AI models and algorithms are trained on the principles of professional wardrobe styling.

Educating on Tonality, Fabrics and Stretch: Many consumers are unaware of how fabric colors, and types can affect fit and how the shopper will look in the items they buy. Providing engaging educational content about how materials behave (e.g., stretch, draping) can help shoppers make more informed decisions.

How Retailers Can Mitigate Bracketing with Catecut

To mitigate bracketing, shoppers need to know the “how” and “why” various clothing styles fit their bodies. Retailers can proactively assist in this process by mirroring the in-store experience a sales associate may provide, but digitally. Catecut can help:

Enhanced Customer Shopping Experiences: Offering personalized assistance while they shop through our AI-powered stylist, advanced filtering and deep tagging, making customers feel more supported and confident while they browse.

Automatically characterize inventory: One of global retail’s biggest challenges is more accurately and efficiently categorizing inventory to launch new customer-facing features. Catecut’s AI analyzes and classifies its retail customers’ entire portfolio of product imagery, alleviating tech and team resource hurdles for quick and easy implementation.

Feedback Loops: Retailers who use Catecut get deep, cross-team actionable insights to better assess their inventory and style gaps, and best understand their customers.

Inadequate knowledge about apparel cut, fit and size variations across styles and brands drives bracketing behavior. By addressing these factors, retailers can not only reduce the volume of bracketing and returns but also enhance the overall shopping experience. Happier customers are more confident shoppers and more loyal to brands they discover and love. Shoppers with a clear understanding of what looks best and reflects their style are far less likely to return their purchases.

Why cut and fit matter – Catecut

paula gould — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Why do the cut and fit of clothing matter?

Why is understanding body structure, or body shape, so important when selecting the cut and fit of clothing for apparel retail customers? The short answer: every piece of clothing fits different people in different ways. Understanding how each item of clothing fits each individual helps shoppers make informed purchase decisions for their unique body structure.

Afterall, we feel our best and are more confident shoppers when our clothes fit right, right?

The cut and fit of a garment have never been more important. As more customers shop online, and buy from a more diverse range of brands across the globe, understanding how each item’s cut “fits” each unique shopper, no matter the individual brand’s size labeling, has become far more challenging. The lack of understanding of cut and fit has had a big impact on shopper confidence online, leading to cart abandonment, size bracketing– the practice of buying multiple sizes of each item and returning what doesn’t fit– and an exponential increase in apparel returns from online shopping.

In fact, poor fit is the #1 cause for apparel returns globally.

What does fit mean in clothing?

Fit is beyond the standardized spectrum of sizes (or, really, not-at-all standardized sizes, since sizing can vary greatly between styles and brands). Fit describes the ease, line, grain, balance and set of a garment’s structure. Fit is how the clothing’s many attributes collectively factor into how it is meant to drape or envelop a particular body structure or shape of the person wearing it.

What’s the difference between cut and fit?

Okay, let’s get into it. How is fit different than cut? Well, the cut of clothing refers to the shape of the garment itself, and how it’s sewn, knitted or otherwise put together. It’s the overall grouping of attributes that go into creating its overall silhouette when worn by the shopper. This includes the collective shape of a garment’s neckline, tapering of a pant leg, darting of a dress at the chest, hip or back, and the circumference, characteristics and embellishments of the sleeves, all of which factor into the clothing’s cut. Buying jeans? Think about the differences between straight boot cut vs. wide leg vs. skinny tapered fit the body.

The cut or structure of clothing determines how it will fit on your body structure.

We are all built differently. As with standardized sizing, people don’t always fit into typical body shape groupings like hourglass, pear, inverted triangle, rectangle or oval shapes, or even ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. These body shape groupings don’t truly encapsulate the nuance of the diversity of our body shapes or tailoring needs, and serve to simplify clothing manufacturing, particularly for large retailers.

How to pick the right cut and fit for different body structures

A practical example of understanding cut and fit that can help a shopper while searching for clothing online would be:

Let’s say the shopper feels their best feature is their waist. But they have other areas they feel overshadow or take focus away from their waist. Their garment selection should focus on clothing attributes that accentuate their waist by balancing out the areas that detract from it.

In this example, maybe they also feel they have narrower shoulders and rounder hips. Because of this, they feel their hips draw focus. How can they use cut and fit to ensure their waist is the focal point?

Clothing with shoulder epaulets, shoulder pads, or a straight shoulder yoke, with sleeves, either long or short (i.e. not sleeveless), would work best to broaden a narrower shoulder. This will create a natural V shape that draws attention down to the waist. Likewise, an a-line cut skirt or dress, as well as wider leg pants with a high-cut, tapered waist will have a similar effect, creating a caret (or upside down V), drawing attention up to the waist.

In short, focus on what elements of body structure should be emphasized, and use garment cut and fit to find the clothing and accessory combinations that bring focus to that area (adding a belt will further accentuate the waist).

How does Catecut help shoppers find the right cut and fit for their body structure?

Online, a retail shop that has Catecut’s styling solution embedded in their online store would have characteristics of each item of apparel in their inventory categorized by attribute and overall garment structure. That means when a shopper is browsing their online store, with just a few clicks Catecut recommends to the shopper the clothing that is best for their unique body and style.

This saves shoppers endless scrolling, zeroing in on the clothes that will help them create their best wardrobe. It builds buyer confidence when shopping online and fosters brand loyalty. The better something fits, and makes a person look and feel their best, the less likely they are to return it.

Behind the scenes, we have created proprietary AI models and algorithms that power the Catecut styling solution, trained on the principles of the wardrobe styling profession. This gives our retailers the unique ability to digitally match apparel to their shopper’s figure, increasing customer satisfaction, while giving them actionable insights into their apparel inventory performance, customer needs, and reducing deadstock.

How to pick the right cut and fit for different body structures

A practical example of understanding cut and fit that can help a shopper while searching for clothing online would be: