Ratings and reviews remain among the most popular features on eCommerce sites, offering shoppers valuable insights into product quality, color, fabric, and overall product satisfaction.
Consumers depend on them to validate their purchase decisions, and retailers benefit from the sense of community they create. But as these reviews have evolved, many now include feedback on size and fit, sometimes even summarized into a roll-up overview.
While this may seem beneficial, it introduces challenges in guiding shoppers to find the correct size. Relying on ratings and reviews for fit can serve as a pacifier rather than a true solution to one of the most significant barriers in online shopping:
What size should I buy?
When shopping for clothing and shoes online, many consumers rely on ratings and reviews to determine the right size. At first glance, this approach makes sense. After all, real shoppers share their experiences, which should provide valuable insight.
However, this method is deeply flawed.
Ratings and reviews are highly subjective, based on small sample sizes, and fail to consider a designer's intent for fit. Instead of relying on anecdotal feedback, shoppers should turn to smarter, data-driven solutions like True Fit's AI-powered technology to find their perfect size.
One of the biggest issues with using reviews to determine fit is that every shopper has unique body proportions, preferences, and expectations. What feels "too tight" to one person may feel "just right" to another.
Similarly, a reviewer might claim that a pair of shoes runs small, but they could have a high arch or wider feet, making their experience irrelevant to another customer with different foot dimensions. While analyzing a subset of True Fit retailers, we found that although
70% of shoppers purchased their usual size, only and 56% of aggregated review rollups indicated the item was "True to Size."
This discrepancy highlights how reviews often skew negative and are influenced by subjective fit perceptions, making reviews an unreliable source for sizing accuracy.
Another major flaw is that reviews are often based on a limited number of customer experiences. If a shirt has 10 reviews, and five people claim it "runs large," is that statistically significant? Hardly.
According to a 2023 survey by Qualtrics,
72% of online shoppers say they read reviews before purchasing apparel, yet only 14% feel they get consistently accurate size recommendations from them.
True Fit’s analysis revealed that older shoppers leave reviews at much higher rates than the shopping population. A handful of opinions is an unreliable way to determine sizing.
Designers craft clothing with specific silhouettes in mind. An oversized sweater is meant to have a loose, relaxed fit, while a fitted dress is designed to hug the body.
When customers leave reviews stating that an item "runs large" or "runs small," they often overlook the fact that the garment is constructed with a particular look and fit in mind.
This misunderstanding can mislead other shoppers into selecting the wrong size or avoiding a piece that would have suited them if they had understood its intended fit.
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