Author: Antony Joseph
Technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing etc are attracting more attention than ever and are starting to disrupt many industries. Here is a sneak peek into what the future holds for the Fashion Industry and how these technologies could impact businesses and consumers in the next few years.
Personal Stylist & Recommendation Engines:
Ever wondered if you could hire a professional stylist to crack the perfect look for an event or party but dropped the idea because these services are inaccessible or too expensive? The day may not be far when you have a personal stylist at the click of a button. Startups are building Artificial intelligence systems that could suggest styles exclusively for you suiting your tastes, budget, occasion, current trends etc.
Consider this scenario – You are searching for the perfect wedding dress and have narrowed down a few style inspirations from the internet. With the help of AI applications, you could upload these pictures and the program would throw in more details regarding fabric, designer, availability at online or retail stores, customization options etc. Advanced systems might even be able to take in your instructions and create multiple design sketches for you in real-time and also suggest designers / tailors who could create the dress for you.
Ecommerce companies are already using technology to track consumer behaviour and understand which products catch the attention of users the most. With the help of machine learning techniques, these systems could quickly learn about a specific customer’s preferences and then showcase or recommend products which they are most likely to buy.
Chatbots:
Companies have also started using chatbots to handle customer queries. At Fashionous, we are using Facebook Messenger chatbot to showcase and sell products and also to update customers about order /shipping status. Click here to try out the messenger app and let us know your feedback. Though the technology is in the early stage, in the coming years we can expect the chatbots to become more intelligent and they could engage in more natural & meaningful conversations with customers and eventually the customer may not be able to distinguish whether he / she is communicating with a real person or a chatbot!!
Trend Predictions:
With so much of data (consumer behaviour, Shopping patterns, historical trend cycles, cultural preferences etc) available, AI systems can predict which styles are likely to be adopted by customers in the coming seasons. Fashion retailers could get insights on what products to stock, set up price points at which they are most likely to sell and also plan product launches.
With rapid developments in technologies such as AI & Machine learning the future certainly looks promising and exciting!!