Artificial intelligence (AI) is infiltrating every aspect of life as we know it, and the fashion ecommerce space is no different!
Whether it’s agentic commerce, AI-powered search or advanced UX features, AI is impacting the fashion space in a big way. If you’re a fashion brand and you’re not already leveraging AI to fuel growth for your business, we’re about to delve into how AI is impacting fashion and show you how you can harness it to drive growth.
As consumers become more technologically proficient as the years go on, ecommerce brands must adapt and evolve to keep satisfaction high and beat the competition. The days of pleasing users with basic colour swatches and static product imagery are long behind us. Today, consumers expect hyper-personalisation, interactive experiences, dynamic product showcases and seamless navigation. While many of these features already exist, it’s safe to say they’re being propelled by the rise and advancements in AI technologies. Brand are now able to harness the power of AI at the touch of a button, and it’s drastically changing online fashion as we know it. Here are just a few ways AI is impacting fashion ecommerce and how your brand can utilise these tools and features to drive growth.
AI Digital Twins
AI digital twins are making waves in the fashion ecommerce space, and for good reason! There are actually two types of ‘digital twins’ which aids the confusion in the space; One describes an AI generated replica of a consumer that can be digitally used to virtually try on clothes in a realistic way, while the other refers to an AI twin of an existing model or supermodel that has given permission for their likeness to be used by brands within marketing campaigns and product shots.
Let’s delve into the former first. Imagine a world in which you shop online and the only model you see is yourself… Feels very dystopian and a bit creepy right? But looking at it through another lense, it could actually be a pivotal moment in the fashion space, where we can instantly see exactly how a garment will look on our own bodies, without ever having to try it on. The AI twins are set to be extremely lifelike in terms of body shape, complexion and features but as with all technology, there are bound to be limitations, at least at first.
The main advantage of the AI twins is that they could solve the age old conundrum that has held fashion brands back and that’s the inability to try clothes on whilst online shopping. There are a range of apps and platforms popping up such as DressX, Doji and Stitch Fix’s Vision that enable users to simply upload a selfie and full-body photography before generating a digital twin of themselves, featuring accurate measurements and clothing sizes. The question is, as these AI twins enter the mainstream fashion space, will they encourage more sales and how will consumers feel about them?
Image: DressX
Alternatively, digital AI twins can be utilised by fashion brands to push the boundaries of what models can achieve for their marketing campaigns. H&M are one of the first high street brands entertaining the technology, stating:
“We are curious to explore how to showcase our fashion in new creative ways – and embrace the benefits of new technology – while staying true to our commitment to personal style,” – Jörgen Andersson, Chief Creative Officer
Earlier this year, the Swedish fashion giant launched a campaign featuring AI-generated models that represented real-life models, after gaining their approval and consent to do so of course. The campaign images are clearly labelled ‘digital twin’ so there can be no confusion and the real-life models they represent seem pretty happy with the campaign thanks to its collaborative and transparent nature. AI digital twins certainly provide an opportunity for fashion brands to reduce time-to-market (thanks to the elimination of photoshoots and location shoots) and increase reactivity to fast-fashion and social media trends, but is it sustainable? That’ll be the interesting thing to watch as consumers become more conscious of the impact of AI not only on the environment but also on society as a whole.
Image: H&M
Agentic Commerce
Agentic Commerce is also making a splash in the fashion ecommerce space as a revolutionary way for users to shop online. AI Agents have recently launched in the US via platforms such as ChatGPT and Etsy so it won’t be long before they hit our shores. Unlike traditional ecommerce sites, agentic commerce allows autonomous AI agents to handle the browsing, comparison and even checkout processes on behalf of a shopper, without them having to do a thing.
While this development could hugely benefit many fashion brands, there is some concern in the industry that brand identity will be diluted as users will no longer have to go on a brand’s dedicated website, making it harder to convey brand storytelling, core values and emotion. On the other hand, agentic commerce makes online shopping even quicker and removes decision fatigue as AI agents are doing the work on behalf of consumers. It’s safe to say that agentic commerce is the next big thing in the world of ecommerce, but it’ll be very interesting to see how it evolves and whether it gains trust over the next few months and years.
AI-Powered Marketing & Forecasting
AI-powered marketing, analytics and forecasting is also becoming more ubiquitous within the fashion ecommerce space. Marketing tactics are going far beyond the traditional seasonal campaigns thanks to AI-powered campaigns and optimisations. Nowadays, AI tools are able to help brands optimise fashion campaigns across every channel. By analysing user search behaviour, browsing history and purchasing trends, AI tools are able to identify the optimal time to launch a new campaign while also ensuring hyper-personalisation and dynamic optimisation for each and every user. Enabling brands to get a head start and beat the competition.
Overall, it’s really interesting to see how AI is impacting the fashion space and we’re pretty sure it’ll soon be (if it hasn’t already) infiltrating other industries like the beauty ecommerce space.
