Luxury performance footwear brand, Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), taps True Fit’s AI to reduce returns by -15%

Luxury performance athletic footwear brand, Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), partnered with True Fit, the leading AI-driven fit platform, to achieve a +2% boost in revenue while reducing fit-related returns by -15% from those customers leveraging True Fit recommendations.

Based in Los Angeles, APL was founded in 2009 by former collegiate athletes and twin brothers Adam and Ryan Goldston. Today APL is globally recognised as the pioneer and innovator of the ‘luxury performance’ category in athletic footwear. Rooted in technology and innovation, APL revolutionised the footwear industry by offering the finest footwear that sits at the intersection of luxury and performance. Offering comfort and style, its world-class patented technologies and unique, innovative designs, APL has become a celebrity and influencer favourite of sneakerheads and is now stocked in over 300 luxury retailers, including Nordstrom, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Matches Fashion, Net-A-Porter and Mr. Porter.

APL first began its partnership with True Fit as it scaled its Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) business, with the goal of offering its shoppers fit guidance to build confidence into their buying journeys. APL now leverages True Fit’s Fashion Genome™, the broadest and richest global connected AI fit platform, to provide best-in-class fit recommendations powered by the demographics, fit preferences and buying behaviours of millions of global shoppers, and then enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI).

This data delivers high-fidelity size and fit guidance to 100% of traffic, from zero click product size guidance for all traffic to highly personalised fit recommendations to shoppers who register and create a True Fit profile. APL also put data privacy protection at the core of its decision process. In selecting a trusted partner, not leveraging personally identifiable information (PII) to make fit recommendations was important. The True Fit platform met these requirements as part of its key value proposition to every consumer.

The partnership with True Fit increased conversions resulting in a 2% uptick in site-wide revenue. APL has also significantly reduced returns, with a 15% reduction in returns from shoppers leveraging True Fit.

NJ Falk, Managing Partner at APL, commented: “We know from the data that finding the right fit drives consumer loyalty and increases customer conversion. We choose True Fit because consumers have a trust level with the brand. It gives them confidence during the buying process as sizing can often seem complicated in the virtual world. True Fit takes the guesswork out of the process making it easy for the consumer to determine their true size while reducing the likelihood of a consumer ordering and returning multiple sizes. We’ve also been impressed with how True Fit is always at the forefront of the digital fitting room by continuously innovating and inviting APL to partner early and often as part of the True Fit inner circle and family. It helps us keep pace with consumer expectations.”

William R. Adler, co-founder and CEO at True Fit commented: “Our latest research shows that behind jeans, footwear is one of the most difficult items to shop for online due to fit uncertainty. Because APL is broadly sought after by many different types of customers – from sports performance athletes at one end to luxury shoppers at the other - fit guidance is very helpful. By using the Fashion Genome and APL customer data, we’re able to leverage powerful AI to connect APL shoppers to the incredible APL styles, in many cases creating APL customers for life. The APL team is top notch and it’s our true privilege to be their trusted partner and part of their extraordinary story.”