xesto - The Easy Way to Gift Shoes

The challenge of finding the right shoe fit when shopping online is now being addressed by a surge of new startups – with Xesto launching today just in time for Black Friday sales. Like Neatsy, a company we recently covered, Xesto utilizes the TrueDepth camera found on iPhones to create precise, individual 3D models of feet, offering personalized shoe size recommendations.

This Canadian-based startup began as a research project with the University of Toronto, the alma mater of CEO and co-founder Sophie Howe, and where co-founder and chief scientist Afiny Akdemir is currently completing a Math PhD. Originally established in 2015, the company initially explored various applications of human-computer interaction before shifting its focus.

The move towards mobile sizing occurred shortly after the 2017 release of the iPhone X, which introduced a 3D depth camera to Apple’s smartphone lineup. As Apple expanded this sensor to additional iPhone models, it became accessible to a growing number of iOS users, creating a clear opportunity for startups in the virtual fitting space.

“I experienced a sudden realization this summer when my boyfriend wanted to purchase a pair of discounted shoes online as a gift. He couldn’t recall my foot length and didn’t have access to my shoe collection to determine my size,” explains Howe. “This highlighted the difficulty of buying shoes as gifts due to sizing concerns, and the inconvenience of returns and exchanges. I’ve personally had to compromise the surprise by asking my partner for his size, and I discovered this was a common issue among friends. It became clear that there was an unmet need for a solution to unlock the potential of gifting shoes!”

Howe contacted a writer at TechCrunch directly, asserting that Xesto’s foot-scanning technology surpasses that of Neatsy in accuracy. She provided a comparison of a foot scan generated by Xesto alongside a measurement from Neatsy to support this claim. (According to Howe, “We achieve accuracy under 1.5 mm, while Neatsy’s measurements are approximately 1.5 cm off the actual size.”)

A key distinction is that Xesto does not sell shoes directly. Furthermore, the company isn’t limited to sneakers; it aims to provide accurate fitting solutions for all types of footwear. The goal is to assist customers in finding the correct fit for any shoe they choose.

Currently, the app centers around the foot-scanning process and the creation of detailed 3D foot models. Shoppers can view their feet as a 3D point cloud, a photorealistic image, and access precise foot measurements.

A useful feature allows users to share their foot scans, enabling individuals without a depth-sensing iPhone to borrow one from a friend to capture and save their foot measurements.

The ability to share foot scans is primarily intended to facilitate gift-giving, allowing people to purchase correctly sized shoes for others, according to Howe. Shoppers can also create and store multiple foot profiles within their account “for simplified group shopping.”

“Xesto addresses two distinct challenges: purchasing shoes online for oneself, and buying shoes for another person,” Howe explains to TechCrunch. “First, when buying shoes online, you may be unfamiliar with your size in a particular brand or model. If you haven’t purchased from a brand before, it can be risky due to limited sizing context, often requiring you to translate your size yourself.

“Second, people frequently buy shoes for others. We facilitate gift-giving and family purchases, whether within the same household or remotely, by enabling profile sharing.”

Xesto determines size predictions by comparing a user’s foot measurements (accurate to less than 1.5mm) against the official sizing guidelines provided by shoe brands – currently supporting over 150 brands.

Howe states that the company intends to integrate customer feedback into these predictions, including analyzing online reviews where customers mention whether a shoe size runs larger or smaller than expected. This will allow them to continuously refine the model’s accuracy.

“Our process eliminates the uncertainty of finding your size by utilizing your 3D foot dimensions and correlating them with brand sizes (or specific shoe models, when available),” she says. “We leverage brand size guides and customer feedback to provide size recommendations. We currently support over 150 brands and are consistently adding more brands and models. We also advise customers with wide feet to consult reviews to determine if they should consider sizing up, until we have more comprehensive data available.”

Regarding the competitive landscape, Howe acknowledges the growing number of solutions aimed at improving virtual shoe fit, such as comparative brand sizing recommendations or foot scanning using paper. However, she believes Xesto has a competitive advantage due to the high level of detail in its 3D scans – and its social sharing functionality. She describes it as an app that allows users to easily send foot scans to friends and family for shopping assistance.

“Our unique approach involves exclusively using 3D depth data and computer vision to create a 3D scan of the foot with unmatched accuracy – under 1.5mm – in just a few minutes,” she argues. “We don’t require any additional information about your feet or the use of reference objects. We base size recommendations solely on your foot dimensions, and then allow you to seamlessly share them with loved ones. The size-sharing feature is a unique offering we haven’t seen elsewhere in the sizing space, and we’re very excited about it (not least because it might mean more shoes as gifts!).”

Xesto’s iOS app is available for free download to shoppers. Creating and sharing a 3D foot scan is also free and will remain so, according to Howe. The company’s monetization strategy focuses on establishing partnerships with retailers, planned for launch in 2021.

“We are not currently generating revenue, but next year we will announce partnerships that involve direct integration within brand ecosystems,” she says, adding: “We wanted to make the app available to customers in time for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season. In 2021, we will be launching exciting initiatives in collaboration with brands. However, the app will always be free for shoppers!”

Since its founding approximately five years ago, Howe reports that Xesto has secured a pre-seed funding round from angel investors, received national advanced research grants, and generated some revenue. The team holds one granted patent and another pending for their technologies, she adds.