In mid-April, the struggling footwear brand Allbirds made the puzzling decision to rebrand not as a shoe company, but as an AI computing infrastructure company. It was a bizarre shift, but one that sent Allbird’s share price soaring immediately.
The warm market reception, even for this curious shift, reflects the widespread, strong belief in AI’s potential to work to a business’s advantage. Brands across fashion and beauty, as well as many other sectors, are eager to find ways to implement AI into their operations to save costs.
But how are brands actually putting AI to work? At Glossy’s AI Marketing Strategies event, co-hosted with our sister publications Digiday and Modern Retail, Glossy’s research team surveyed dozens of business leaders. We asked them multiple questions about how they were using AI and what results they’ve seen so far.
By far, the No. 1 use case brands are implementing is data analysis, according to the data. More broadly, companies including Zara have been using AI to analyze sales data and predict demand and inventory needs.
Other popular use cases include optimizing search and discovery, and targeting ads. Generating creative content is also a common use, although it’s one that has engendered the most backlash from consumers.
But the most pressing question for many brands looking to integrate AI is in the actual return. Despite the hype, the cost savings have proven somewhat modest so far.
A significant majority of the surveyed leaders said that using AI has led to only “some” savings, with the next-most-popular response reporting no savings at all. A few respondents said they hadn’t used any AI in the last year, while a smaller minority said AI actually cost them money.
Our research coincides with other reports on AI usage, which indicate excitement and exploration in using the technology, but with major returns on investment remaining elusive.
Nevertheless, 17% of respondents did report significant cost savings, indicating that there may be greater returns down the road once the technology matures.
