Fast fashion retailer New Look has installed what is described as the "world's first full 3D body scanner" at its new store at the Westfield Stratford shopping centre in London.

The scanner will help shoppers find the best fitting jeans. It quickly and accurately calculates 100 measurements which are then analysed to find garments that best suit the customer's unique shape and size.

New Look is the UK's largest high-street jeans retailer, selling a pair of jeans every seven seconds.

The scanner has been developed by London-based Bodymetrics in collaboration with sensing and recognition technologies specialist PrimeSense. It uses eight PrimeSense 3D sensors to map the body's measurements and shape.

"The body is the last piece of information to go digital," says Bodymetrics CEO Suran Goonatilake. "Most of your life is already digital - your friends, your music, your bank account - all accessible on-line, but your body is not."

The new technology enables shoppers to store and access all their body information online and link this to retailers. "Now, body scanning becomes a powerful platform for many retailers to provide the personalized fit and service their customers have always wanted," Goonatilake adds.

Bodymetrics says earlier generations of body scanners have been expensive and too complex for most clothing retailers but says its version will not only be cheaper but can be installed at a retail location within a few hours. 

For the apparel retailing industry, the technology has the potential to provide new levels of personalised customer service in stores and increase on-line sales. It could also help reduce the 20- 40% of on-line clothing purchases that are returned to the retailer because of poor fit.

"Right now a lot of technologies are coming together: social media, body-scanners, and online accounts that store your body measurements," says Goonatilake. "You will soon be able to shop for garments that fit your size, shape and style, and also share these experiences with your friends on Facebook."

For the last two years Bodymetrics has been providing a body-mapping service in the jeans department at luxury department store Selfridges.

The privately held company is backed by Hong Kong based TAL Group, one of the world's largest and most advanced clothing manufacturing groups.