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Retailers are always trying to get a foot in the door with consumers, but surely none so literally as shoe stores, and a new size-measuring device for kids aims to win them—and their credit-card wielding parents—over.
Aetrex, which already makes a popular 3D foot scanning device used by shoe stores, Albert 2 Pro, is introducing a new twist: Tootsie, a friendly monster on the device’s screen who instructs and entertains kids for the short process of holding still while the scale-like platform they’re standing on measures their feet.
The new software has rolled out on Aetrex devices at more than 1,000 US shoe stores, including at Tradehome Shoe Stores and some DSW locations.
Foot traffic: Unlike the Brannock Device, the foot-measuring device invented in 1925 and still widely used in shoe stores, 3D measuring devices also measure a foot’s arch and instep height, and based on millions of other scans recommend specific shoe models and sizes that will fit best.
Plus, as this reporter learned when getting measured on a device from another company, Volumental, the devices end up being a surefire way of capturing customers’ emails, with Volumental telling Retail Brew that 71% opting for having an interactive model of their feet emailed to them, compared to industry email-capture averages of 20%–25%.
Kicks starter: For its part, Tootsie emails parents every six months to remind them to bring their progeny in to have their feet rescanned, which of course increases the chance that they’ll revisit the store and buy a new pair.
Chances are, after all, that Junior will be ready for new kicks: Kids aged 1–5 experience foot growth of a half-size every two to four months, according to the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society.