Several companies like Facebook, Netflix, Amazon and various mobile fitness apps leverage Big Data to offer customers a personalized user experience.  In short data science “gets” us—more specifically, our inclinations, dislikes, and hopes.  To this growing list of understandings, True&Co, an online intimates retailer adds bra size.  True&Co is using it’s algorithms and recommendation system to give women exactly what they want from a bra.  Since Oprah’s popular bra interventions in 2005, it has been well documented that most women wear the wrong bra size, resulting in discomfort and a less than ideal silhouette.  However, identifying the perfect bra has still meant time-consuming testing in-store, under the counsel of an expert bra fitter.  The True&Co client, which representatives consider “the busy, fashionable, always-online woman,” can now utilize technology that reviews hundreds of styles sold on their website to a select few, which should provide the perfect fit, from the convenience of their home.

After taking a short fit quiz at True&Co’s website, women browse a bra shop individually tailored to their input. The shop features styles and sizes from over 20 national and boutique brands like Calvin Klein and Natori that will best suit the customer. Bra-seekers then choose 5 bras to try at home, pay only for the bras they keep, and return the rest, at no additional charge. Tracking each customer’s unique purchasing history True&Co’s recommendations become even more accurate over time.

Aarthi Ramamurthy, head of product and co-founder of True&Co explains the data science behind the system: “Behind the scenes, we baked the same unwritten rules that expert bra fitters use into code. A complex system, consisting of our algorithms, translation engine and Amazon-like recommendation system, creates over 2000 variations of body type that can be matched to our inventory.”  The technology has proved effective so far with customers reporting that 3 out of the 5 styles in their bra box fit well.

Investors are betting big on the bra revolution. In its first round of funding from First Round Capital, True&Co received $2 million from SoftTech VC, Aileen Lee, Softbank Capital and former LinkedIn executive Ellen Levy.  Speaking to the company’s innovation, Lee stated: “True&Co is part of an exciting new wave of e-commerce companies bringing great products and a delightful customer experience to the modern consumer…They have re-imagined the intimates shopping experience for the way women want to shop.” Josh Kopelman, managing partner at First Round Capital added: “The team is applying technology in an unexpected way to solve a hard retail problem, leveraging algorithms and data that even the leading brands don’t have access to…True&Co has identified a huge pain point in the $12B intimate apparel industry.”

True&Co demoed its online bra shopping service at the D10 conference  in Rancho Pales Verdes, California, on May 30, 2012. For the perfect bra fit and more information on True&Co, visit www.trueandco.com, call 1-888-968-TRUE or email hello@trueandco.com.