Data for the changing room
Valuable tools for fashion retailers and football analysts
40,000 football games across various leagues take place every weekend. Up to 10,000 videos are recorded at these games each time. The purchase probability at local retailers is only about ten to 15 percent, still five times higher than online. What do these numbers tell us? They are the basis for the business concepts of two Adlershof companies that are making football players better and retailers more successful.
The 18” touchscreen in the changing room displays the pair of pants the customer just tried on. The customer scans the barcode and rates the size. Is it too tight or too baggy? The screen shows all sizes available locally in the shop – and recommends a new size. The customer makes a choice, a shop assistant receives that information on a tablet computer, and delivers the right-sized goods directly to the changing room. While waiting, the screen shows recommendations for similar or combinable items, like a matching t-shirt. Peer Hohn knows that shopping is an affective experience. Feeling the fabric, trying things on. This is a luxury online retailers cannot offer. On the other hand, online retailers records what users look at, and what other users looked at that bought the same item. Algorithms compute this information in the background, faster than any salesperson could. Peer Hohn is the managing director of a Berlin-based start-up Phizzard that seeks to increase buying probabilities by combining the analytical tools of online retailers with the sensory experience of going shopping offline. This benefits customers as well as retailers.
The latter gain valuable data which they use to optimise their running operations, evaluate the effectiveness of shop and window display, and improve the planning of opening hours and human resources.
Alexander Bitzke and Eugen Funk both actively played football in their youth. They have had their share of arguments with coaches and teammates over mistakes and positions. In the Bundesliga, such disputes are resolved by video analysis software that is as extensive as it is expensive. “The idea of Fubalytics was to create a platform that allows trainers, athletes, and fans to create and share their own video analyses and related content,” says Alexander Bitzke. The online platform lets users upload and analyse videos, look at statistics on games, players, and team, and share comments on the action. It also offers tools that are used for analysis in Champions League matches including ‘drawing’ in a video and ‘repositioning’ players. A few clicks provide video analyses without additional editing. Coaches, players, officials, and consultants from amateur and professional football took part in the development process. More than 3,000 teams including professionals like Hertha BSC, Union Berlin, and the VfL Wolfsburg, and a string of amateur clubs, are already using the online, desktop, and app version of Fubalytics.
By Rico Bigelmann for Adlershof Special