Losing The Human Touch?

Last week, #AdAge reported: “Chase commits to AI after machines outperform humans in copywriting trials”. One such example was the variance between human-inspired, “Access cash from the equity in your home.”, and the AI version, “It’s true — You can unlock cash from the equity in your home,” which resonated better amongst customers.

For years, machines have appeared to replace humans primarily within manufacturing, yet computers are increasingly moving ‘up’ the supply chain. Inside retail attention has been on fit guides or digital models, but design and merchandising are where the real gains are to be made.

Indeed, just this year Zalando SE’s partnered with Google, taking Google’s Fashion Trends Report and hashtag#Zalando’s own data to put-forward customer-inspired designs. Another example is hashtag#StitchFix’s algorithms, which identify styles missing from the inventory that are then recommended to humans to create.

In the near future, companies might deploy a combination of influencers and sentiment analysis to trial-run designs, sourcing feedback before committing to mass production*. Longer-term, one has to wonder if AI will be used to ratify collections or pieces, assessing their likelihood to sell-through and thus effectively sanction — or not — human designs.

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*With extraordinary timing, H&M just announced a capsule collection in collaboration with “men’s style account MenWith, H&M launches a collection based on data derived from the most engaging posts on the Instagram account”. And so it begins!