Unfortunately, with all the ease and convenience of online shopping, a shopping cart cannot say “this dress looks like it was made especially for you, ma’am” or “may I suggest a scarf which would look just right with this blouse?”

Fashion brands are turning to technology, artificial intelligence, in particular, to recreate that personalized atmosphere of a beauty boutique right within their online applications.

To learn more about chatbots in retail, read our article How Chatbot Integration Benefits Ecommerce Retailers.

What does the fashion industry think of chatbots?

The fashion industry was among the first to recognize the value chatbots can bring to its online commerce.

A chatbot in ecommerce can supply that missing link between the customer and the retailer creating a personalized approach to each user while keeping the convenience of online shopping.

Many leading fashion and beauty brands have already adopted the chatbot technology to create an individualized customer experience.

We come across chatbots for Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Sephora, Victoria’s Secret, Estée Lauder – this is just a short list of brands using chatbots for interacting with their customers.

Tommy Hilfiger was one of the groundbreakers in the chatbot universe implementing a Facebook chatbot in 2016.

When asked about the reasons and expectations of introducing a chatbot, Tommy Hilfiger gave the following explanation: “We’re really focused on going directly to the consumer. We are obviously distributed in our own stores and department stores, but going directly to the consumer is really part of the motive and the future of the omnichannel process.”

So, let’s look closer at some of the fashion brand chatbots to see if they are really up to the task.

Tommy Hilfiger’s chatbot – fashion shopping in one place

Once you start a Facebook chat with Tommy Hilfiger’s chatbot, it immediately engages you in a vivid conversation, first introducing itself as a chatbot and then offering a variety of options.

You can browse the collections, proceed directly to the catalog of available items, or have the chatbot assist you in selecting an outfit. With a half-dozen questions, the bot filters the collections to suggest the items fitting your style – if you said you prefer casual clothing in neutral colors, this is what you are going to get.

The chatbot puts together the entire outfits including shoes and accessories so that you can immediately get an idea of your new Tommy Hilfiger look.

If you like what you see, there is the “Add to cart” option which, after walking you through a couple more questions about your size and the country you are in, chatbot finally redirects you to Tommy Hilfiger’s website where you can see your shopping cart ready for checkout.