For two decades, fashion retailers bought visibility by bidding on high-intent phrases: ‘linen shirt’, ‘occasion dress’, ‘organic cotton T-shirt’. AI shopping agents change the unit of competition. The shopper may now ask: ‘Find breathable office trousers for humid weather, under $***, with easy returns.’ The agent does not display a search-results page first; it filters, compares and recommends.
Adobe’s latest retail data shows why this matters. AI-sourced traffic to US retail sites rose *** per cent year on year in Q* ****, while March **** AI-referred visitors converted ** per cent better than non-AI traffic. During the **** holiday season, generative-AI traffic to retail sites jumped ***.* per cent. Apparel was one of the largest holiday e-commerce categories, with online spend of $** billion.
