Pointe shoe fittings are something of an exact science, requiring a deep understanding of a dancer’s feet and the best shoe options for their needs. So, it may come as a surprise that more retailers are now offering virtual fittings. Yet many believe it’s not just practical—it’s a valuable and fulfilling part of their businesses.
Boulder Body Wear in Lafayette, CO, was ahead of the curve, offering virtual pointe shoe fittings long before the COVID shutdowns made them a necessity. Owner Amy Kenney began the service to support an out-of-state dance company that had limited local options for pointe shoes. “If you truly want to take care of these dancers and be part of their community, you have to hop on your phone,” she says.
Since then, virtual fittings have grown to account for 15 to 18 percent of all of Boulder Body Wear’s fittings, according to Kenney. To make them as successful as possible, she fits over two sessions: The first is to ask the dancer a standard series of questions about their exact needs and to have them stand in different positions. After that, she will ship several shoe options to the customer. While she offers the virtual fitting at no charge, she does charge customers for the shipping. Once the customer has the shoes in hand, she sets up another appointment to see which shoes fit best. It can be a trial-and-error process, but Kenney keeps at it until she and the customer are satisfied.
Virtual Fittings Fill a Void
Just like Boulder Body Wear, other retailers and manufacturers are embracing virtual fittings—mainly to provide the best services to customers that wouldn’t have access otherwise.
Gaynor Minden, which has had a boutique in New York City for its entire 31-year existence, also started doing virtual fittings long before the pandemic. Its fitters would ask dancers to send tracings of their feet and then correspond by email to ask pertinent questions about fit. That eventually transitioned into fittings over Zoom, which saw an uptick during COVID. According to the brand, virtual fittings now account for 30 percent of all their fittings.
Libby Riddick, one of Gaynor Minden’s fitters, is a professional dancer. She relies on that experience when doing virtual fittings. Having worn Gaynor Minden shoes since 2005, Riddick is well versed in all of the options—especially for dancers who are already wearing pointe shoes. “[My experience] gives me a little more background into how I’m going to help them adjust that size to get them into something that feels a little bit better for them,” she says. Gaynor Minden’s virtual fittings also serve a customer base that doesn’t have options to buy the brand’s shoes locally. The service is free, but the fittings most always result in a purchase.
Giving Back to the Dance Community
Repertoire Dance Shop in Scarsdale, NY, is another store that has been doing virtual fittings for years. According to owner Renee Laverdiere, they originally started 15 years ago when she was away and got calls from fitters in the store who were having trouble with an in-person fitting. She would hop on FaceTime with them to take a look at the dancer’s feet, the fit of the shoes, and to recommend the best model. Today, she does virtual fittings on Zoom for customers around the country—she has become the fitter for a dance school in Michigan, where she once lived—and even abroad. Recently, she had a virtual fitting in the West Indies.
One of the reasons Laverdiere offers virtual fittings is because as a dancer, she had several instances where she had shoes that didn’t fit correctly. This resulted in two foot surgeries. “I don’t want anyone to have the experience I had,” she says. She does charge for fittings, but they’re not a major revenue stream, accounting for about 5 to 10 percent of fittings, according to Laverdiere’s estimate. Ultimately, her motivation is giving back to the dance community.
Aside from these altruistic goals, all three businesses say that virtual fittings are another opportunity to develop customer loyalty. Riddick says that customers she’s fitted virtually end up coming back years later when they need new shoes because their feet have changed.
For retailers who may be considering adding virtual fittings to their services, there are some logistical things to keep in mind, Riddick says. Number one—does the customer have a reliable internet connection? Furthermore, virtual fittings require both time and financial investment. Kenney notes that appointments may not always be scheduled at convenient times. Laverdiere adds that she doesn’t do these fittings “for the big bucks,” but because there is a segment of the dancer population that would suffer without it.
Though some might think that doing a virtual fitting is less personal than having someone in the store, Kenney disagrees. “It’s very intimate,” Kenney says. “You’re in somebody’s home, you’ve sent them all these options, and you have to figure out how to communicate with this person. That means you have to connect with them, you have to get to know them, you have to listen to what they say.”
While many retailers have embraced virtual fittings, ultimately, each business must decide if it’s the right fit for them.
Erica Iacono is a writer living in New York City who often writes about marketing and small businesses.