Fashion Retail 2026: Strategies for Winning in a World of AI, Algorithms, and Tariffs
Is your fashion brand ready for 2026?
Fashion retailers are entering a race. 2026 won’t just define the next 12 months of business, but the next decade. If your strategy isn’t strong enough, you may never catch up.
This is your comprehensive guide to bring the future into focus, with exclusive insights from:
- Retail and tech powerhouses like Zalando and Algolia
- eCommerce strategist like Rick Watson
- 5,000 shoppers surveyed across the US, UK, Germany, and Asia
Download the guide to unlock industry leader insights
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“The future of search – fundamentally, discovery – will go far beyond algorithms. It will center on deeply understanding user intent by capturing full context.”
Tian Su, VP Personalisation & Recommendation and Chief AI & Science Officer at Zalando
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“The way we discover, search, and buy online has fundamentally changed. On a retailer’s own digital properties, it’s no longer only about searching and browsing, it’s about enabling agentic and conversational commerce that anticipates intent and acts on behalf of the customer.”
Bernadette Nixon, CEO and Board Member at Algolia
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“The problem is that we often think we have time. With the pace of disruption accelerating, businesses need to make agility a super power.”
Steve Dennis, Leading Global Retail Influencer
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“Early pilots, currently at small experimental scale, show up to 40% fewer size-related returns, indicating that high fidelity, data-driven AI and 3D experiences help customers make better size and fit purchase decisions online.”
Reza Shirvany, Director of Applied Science at Zalando
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“Your commerce tech stack needs to sync every event in real-time, from catalog updates to checkout, through one trusted and consistent data layer. Without such backbone, even with the most advanced models and agents frameworks becomes guesswork.”
Luis Ribeiro, VP of Technology at ZEOS
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“…content is the bridge between technology and empathy. It allows brands to adapt their voice, tone, and story to how customers feel in the moment, creating experiences that feel personal, relevant, and real.”
Barry D’Arcy, VP of Partnerships at Storyblok
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“If your eCommerce platform can’t handle agentic AI or other AI-driven capabilities, it’s time to consider your options. AI is the future of fashion. Anyone who can’t keep up will be forgotten.”
Tarek Müller, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of ABOUT YOU
Key findings: fashion retail trends for 2026
A new era of search for fashion retailers
Your new competition isn’t other fashion brands – it’s the algorithm. AI engines. Marketplaces. Social. No matter where shoppers look, if you’re not in the first scroll, you disappear.
Learn how to stay visible wherever the journey begins.
Delegating decisions: the rise of agentic AI in fashion
AI isn’t just answering your questions anymore – it’s deciding what you’ll buy. In Asia, 70% of shoppers are likely to let AI make their purchases – while in the West, the numbers tell a different story.
Are your customers ready to hand over their carts to AI?
Visual commerce: images that close the deal
Static images don’t cut it anymore. Shoppers want to interact and explore your products to feel confident in a purchase. From 3D product views to virtual try-ons, find out which visual experiences actually convert – and how to bring your storefront to life.
Emotion-driven retail: commerce with a pulse
Your algorithm can recommend a product – but can it make your customers feel something?
In 2026, shoppers want more than transactions. They want to feel seen. And the enterprise fashion brands that use tech to create moments that shoppers remember will be the ones that earn lasting loyalty.