AI is the answer to your fashion crisis

Apr 22nd 2024E-commerce

Retail leaders: is your sense of personal style keeping up with the nano-second TikTok micro-trends that are in one week and out the next? If your answer is no, you’re not alone. 1 in 4 consumers (25%) feel their style and clothing preferences have become dated.

You may choose timeless over trendy, but your merchandisers are stressed trying to keep pace with consumers as they change their minds on what is fashionable at faster and faster rates while also trying to layer in personalization. The good news is that you can embrace AI advancements to meet increasingly high consumer expectations.

To gain insight into how consumers feel about their fashion prowess and whether they believe AI can help, we surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based adult consumers. Here are some top takeaways to help you win their hearts with AI.

Style SOS – 44% of consumers think they could benefit from AI-trained shopping assistants to refresh their wardrobes.

You read that right. Nearly half of consumers believe AI can breathe new life into their fashion sense. And while self-reflection is important, 1 in 5 (20%) also think their romantic partner could benefit from AI-trained shopping assistants to refresh their wardrobes.

AI knows me better – 25% of consumers would trust AI trained on their retail purchases and preferences to pick an outfit for them more than their friends.

You’d trust your best friend with a secret, but would you trust them with your outfit? It looks like 1 in 4 would pick AI over a friend. This percentage goes up to 30% for Gen Z and 35% for Millennials. Retailers should feel confident investing in AI offerings, knowing the foundation of trust has been established among the younger generations of shoppers.

AI, the style guru – 30% of consumers believe AI-trained shopping assistants can identify fashion trends better than they can.

Step aside Queer Eye’s Tan France, AI might be the new style influencer. Interestingly, 23% of consumers also believe AI-trained shopping assistants can help keep their wardrobe from becoming dated.

Furthermore, consumers believe AI trained on their retail preferences and past shopping activity would create useful recommendations for many scenarios, including:

• 25% – Compiling wedding guest outfit
• 34% – Compiling vacation outfits
• 35% – Compiling professional attire
• 26% – Compiling capsule wardrobes

Beyond fashion trends – Well over half of consumers (59%) think the wider adoption of AI by online retailers will create better shopping experiences.

In recent years, the general public’s overall sentiment on AI has been iffy at best, but the survey results show that most consumers believe wider adoption of AI by online retailers will create better shopping experiences. That number increases to 73% for Millennials, a group that trended the most pro-AI throughout the entire survey.

Loyalty driver – 64% of consumers would be interested in using an AI personal shopper that their favorite retailer trained on their previous searches.

Personalizing the online experience is an integral part of any ecommerce strategy for 70% of retailers. The main types of personalization that businesses offer to consumers are personalized shopping profiles (56%) followed by product recommendations (46%). With the right strategy and offerings in place, AI-fueled personalization could be a critical driver of sales. 64% of consumers would be interested in using an AI personal shopper trained using past searches from their favorite retailer – and that number increases to 77% for Millennials.

The survey findings showed a resoundingly positive sentiment from consumers on their experiences and willingness to use AI if offered by retailers. These results should come as good news if you’re one of the many retailers who are investing time and resources into customer-facing AI solutions to improve experience and convert sales.

Searching for a solution?

With AI search tools powered by LLMs, like Algolia’s end-to-end AI search, retailers can provide ChatGPT-like intelligence in a search bar that truly understands what consumers are looking for – so they can search as they think. These tools are also better equipped to understand social media-inspired fashion slang and deliver on the trendy fashion many consumers are looking for.