From Runway To Rack, Using AI To Stay Ahead Of Fashion Trends

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Fashion retail isn’t a catwalk, it’s a constant balancing act.

Trends don’t care about your gut instinct, they move or you lose.
One wrong trend call and you’re sitting on a warehouse full of what-were-we-thinking stock, discounts and dead cash. Meanwhile, brands that used to be neck and neck with you are selling out (full price) because they’ve got something you don’t:-

Machine learning.

Not hype. Not magic. Just cold, calculating algorithms that are learning what people want before even they know it.

How does it actually work?

AI trend forecasting isn’t someone shouting “cargo pants are back!” and hoping. It’s data driven pattern recognition at scale. Here’s how it works:-

Step 1, It Tracks What People Actually Do

  • What they search
  • What they click
  • What they save to wish lists
  • What they return (and why)
  • What sells fastest and where

Step 2, It Watches the World Around Them

  • Trending hashtags
  • Influencer content
  • Weather shifts

  • Local events, TikToks and celeb outfits that suddenly spike demand

Step 3, It pulls everything together and finds patterns

Machine learning looks at all the data and tells you what’s really happening.

“UK women aged 18–25 are shifting from plain to bold colours. Searches for yellow skirts are up 300% this week. Zara’s increasing stock in five regions. TikTok’s trending with cargo pants.”

All of that? It takes seconds.
And guess what? You didn’t need a trend forecaster, just good data.

Here’s the difference it makes

According to a 2023 McKinsey report, fashion brands using AI in demand forecasting have:-

  • Cut forecasting errors by 30-50%
  • Sold up to 40% more stock at full price, no markdowns, no panic discounts

That’s the difference between staying profitable and having to heavily discount your entire spring range.

Why it gives brands an advantage

Fashion used to be about taste. Now it’s about timing and not just being first, being right.

With machine learning and the right ERP setup, fashion brands can:-

  • Predict demand with serious accuracy
  • Order the right quantities, not too much, not too little
  • React faster when a product starts starts flying off the shelves
  • Cut the slow movers before they cost you

It’s not a gut game anymore. It’s a system game and those without one are losing money.

Still buying on instinct? That’s not brave. That’s expensive.

There’s a reason fast fashion giants are pouring millions into AI and it’s not because they’re tech nerds. It’s because guessing is dead and data is king.

This is exactly where we’re going with Stok.ly

Stok.ly are now introducing AI and machine learning powered demand forecasting, built right into our cloud ERP to help fashion retailers make sharper, faster, more confident stock decisions.

  • It learns from your sales patterns
  • It factors in seasonality and returns
  • It predicts demand at SKU level across all your sales channels
  • And it helps you buy just the right amount, at just the right time

All inside your ERP. No spreadsheets. No guesswork. Just smart, data backed decisions.

Outdated data leads to overstock, stockouts and lost revenue. Real-time systems fix that.

Ready to make smarter stock decisions? Let’s talk.

Book an online demonstration

Call us on 01432 804333

Author: Iain Coplans CEO Stok.ly