How Online Fashion eCommerce Can Leverage AI

AI (Artificial Intelligence) seems to be the next big thing in many industries today. 

In the last ten years, we’ve seen fashion brands steadily gravitate towards digitalization, automation, and technology innovation. From client-facing solutions to optimized processes behind the scenes, AI has gradually trickled down into every industry layer. Those who succeed in redesigning their entire processes with technology and data intelligence at its core are the ones that will jump and stay ahead of the curve.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the market’s need for better and faster online experiences. As brick and mortar stores closed their doors and physical commerce worldwide declined, retailers relied on their digital channels entirely. 

Learn how the clothing retail industry leaders leverage technology in the fashion industry. Also, learn what AI solutions to consider for your online fashion store. 

AR/VR in product merchandise 

The main reason why some fashion shoppers avoid buying online is that they need some in-store experience where they can touch and try items. The absence of a try-on option concerns fashion jewelry retailers, who receive the most income from offline sales. So, how do fill in the gap between fashion online shopping and buyers’ desire to try jewelry before buying? The solution is a virtual try-on feature powered by Augmented Reality, integrated into an online store or e-commerce mobile application. 

AR try-on uses algorithms and sensors to detect the position of a buyer’s camera on mobile devices, and then overlays 3D objects atop real-world surroundings, making the online shopping experience more personal, unique, and engaging. Thus, virtual AR try-on helps fashion shoppers to try any product without leaving their homes, which significantly impacts a buyer’s decision to make a purchase. 

Apparel designing

The AI models that have been employed to generate novel apparel design are generative adversarial networks (GANs). It is a type of Machine Learning (ML) in which two adversarial models are trained concurrently: a generator (“the designer”) that learns to create images that look real and a discriminator (“the design critic”) that learns to distinguish between real and fake photos. 

AI-powered vision for similar product suggestions 

Each time shoppers see that their desired item is out of stock or in the wrong size, they abandon your online fashion store, and you lose money. The solution is an advanced product suggestion algorithm, powered by computer vision. However, unlike other AI algorithms trained with customer data and behavior patterns, this artificial system obtains information from product images. It analyses its attributes such as color, size, style, etc., classifies them, and suggests other items based on visual similarities.

AI in fashion and sustainability 

The fashion industry continues to be one of the biggest global polluters. It is responsible for:

• 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions
• 20% of the world’s industrial wastewater
• 25% of all insecticides used in the industry

It is unrealistic to think that this industry can continue mass-producing clothes to keep up with this fast fashion epidemic. However, artificial intelligence can be used at many stages of production to combat this dilemma, in turn reducing inventory levels. 

AI offers a sustainable solution to fashion. It reduces overall inventory levels by 20–50% as well as improves working conditions in the fashion industry. The use of Artificial Intelligence alongside Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Visual Recognition, and Data Analytics can be used to reduce errors in trend predictions and forecast trends more accurately which would reduce the amount of clothing produced and then unused.

Closing thought

The online fashion retail industry is the most competitive yet profitable niche. therefore, to stay afloat with your online fashion brand, you need to empower your online store with streamlined in-site search, immediate customer support, and more personalized suggestions.