Virtual try-on is finally getting good enough to matter for fashion e-commerce
After years of gimmicky AR mirrors, AI-powered virtual try-on is reaching the accuracy threshold where it actually reduces returns. The early data is encouraging.
Section
AI & Tech
How software, AI, and data are reshaping retail operations.
Generative AI for product copy: what's working in 2026, and what's still hand-rewritten
A practical look at where retailers have replaced human copywriters with LLMs, where they've quietly reverted, and what the unit-economics actually look like.
AI & TechRetail media networks: the margin story behind the hype
Retail media keeps getting called the highest-margin business in retail. We unpack who's actually capturing those margins and who's spending them on tech that doesn't ship.
AI & TechComputer vision for shrink: Q1 pilot results are in, and the cost-benefit is messy
After a year of CV-at-the-shelf pilots, the early data shows shrink reduction is real but inconsistent - and the labor it shifts is more than the labor it removes.
AI & TechThe composable commerce backlash: who's regretting the rebuild
Two years into the rip-and-replace MACH wave, several mid-market retailers are re-platforming back to monoliths. Here's the cost they're trying to recover.
AI & TechAgentic commerce, fall 2025: the API economy retailers didn't ask for
Agent-based shopping - where AI agents transact on behalf of consumers - is shifting from demo to deployment. Retailers are scrambling to figure out which agents to allow, which to block, and how to price for either.
Retail media attribution: the credibility crisis is here
Brands are pulling back from retail media networks that can't survive an honest attribution audit. The 2025 budgets are being repriced - and several mid-tier RMNs are about to feel it.
AI & TechAI shopping assistants in 2024: behind the demos, the reality is messier
A wave of retailers rolled out AI-powered shopping assistants this year. The ones that survived contact with customer behavior look very different from the launch demos.