How Urban Outfitters Is Using AI to Predict Buyer Trends and Customer Demand

Artificial Intelligence platforms like Midjourney have plenty of implications for apparel designers. You can theoretically plug in an art prompt and end up with a printable image in minutes, if not seconds.

Urban Outfitters is showing how AI can be used for more of the behind-the-scenes and business side of things, using AI platform o9 to predict demand and aid in merchandising decision-making and planning.

According to Chain Store Age, Urban plans to use predictive analytics, and allocation and replenishment optimization programs to "proactively position inventory to better meet consumer demand."

"To position URBN for long-term sustainable and profitable growth, we embarked on an extensive review of the retail software market to digitally transform our end-to-end merchandising strategy," Rob Friedmen, chief information officer for URBN, told Chain Store Age. "It's clear that o9 is a solution leader in fashion apparel planning. We look forward to working with o9's superior technology and highly knowledgeable and experienced team to ensure we continue to meet the demand of our customers and growth market share across all of our bradnds."

Urban Outfitters will use AI to adapt to buying trends more quickly than before, take advantage of demand-drivers in the marketplace that can be picked up by AI technology, and ultimately use that information to place items across regions and stores under the company's umbrella, which includes Anthropologie, Terrain, Free People, and more.

This is where AI technology really becomes worth looking at from a business standpoint. It's one thing to ignore the image-generating programs or even ChatGPT, as those have plenty of flaws and can tend to "hallucinate," meaning you're still doing plenty of work on your own. But, just like we use AI programs like search engines to make our lives easier, businesses can start using AI to work smarter, rather than harder, and gain insight into what customers want, when they want it, and more.