Fashion retail is entering a new era. AI agent traffic surged 805% year-over-year on Black Friday 2025, and $67 billion in Cyber Week sales were influenced by AI agents. For fashion and lifestyle brands, the question is no longer whether to prepare for AI-first shopping, but how quickly you can adapt.
TL;DR: AI agents now influence 20% of all e-commerce orders. Fashion leaders like SKIMS, Glossier, and Vuori are already live on ChatGPT Instant Checkout. Retailers must choose between ACP and AP2 protocols, optimize catalogs for AI discovery, and act before the 2026 inflection point when Forrester predicts one-quarter of shoppers will use retail chatbots.
Why Should Fashion Retailers Care About AI Commerce?
AI commerce represents the fastest-growing channel in retail history. According to Salesforce, retailers with AI agents achieved 13% sales growth during Cyber Week 2025, while those without managed only 2%, a 7x performance advantage.
Fashion-specific data is compelling:
- 50% of consumers trust AI more than friends for fashion advice (Bloomreach)
- SKIMS, Glossier, Spanx, and Vuori are live on ChatGPT Instant Checkout
- Target launched multi-item shopping with fresh food and drive-up fulfillment
The stakes are clear: SAP Emarsys declared that "2025 will likely be the last year consumers shop as they do now."
What Protocols Should Fashion Brands Support?
Two competing protocols dominate the agentic commerce landscape. Your choice determines which platforms can sell your products.
| Protocol | Developers | Platforms | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol) | Stripe + OpenAI | ChatGPT, Salesforce, Shopify | Merchant control, open standard |
| AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol) | Google + 60 partners | Google Search, Mastercard, PayPal | Payment network integration |
ACP is live today. Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori already process transactions through ChatGPT Instant Checkout using ACP. PayPal adopted ACP in October 2025, and commercetools joined as a launch partner.
AP2 is building ecosystem support. With 60+ partners including Mastercard, PayPal, American Express, and Adobe, AP2 focuses on authorization, traceability, and audit controls across the payments ecosystem.
Strategic recommendation: Support both protocols. Protocol fragmentation is real, and fashion brands need presence across ChatGPT (ACP), Google (AP2), and emerging platforms.
How Should You Optimize Catalogs for AI Discovery?
AI agents behave differently than human shoppers. According to HUMAN Security, 87% of agent requests target product pages directly. Optimization requires structured data that machines can parse instantly.
Essential catalog optimizations:
- Rich product descriptions with material, fit, and care information
- Comprehensive size guides in machine-readable formats
- High-quality images with descriptive alt text
- Schema markup for AI comprehension
- Inventory and pricing feeds updated in real-time
For lifestyle brands, aesthetic storytelling matters. As one boutique retailer noted in research calls, "the aesthetic experience IS the product." Solutions include hybrid strategies: AI discovery leads to website visits, which later convert to purchases.
Case Studies: Fashion Brands Leading in AI Commerce
SKIMS: The Kardashian-backed brand joined ChatGPT Instant Checkout among the first wave of Shopify merchants. Their early adoption follows a pattern of staying ahead of e-commerce trends.
Target: Launched a custom ChatGPT app with multi-item cart support, fresh food shopping, and drive-up fulfillment options. Retail Brew described their execution as "ahead of Walmart."
Glossier: The beauty and lifestyle brand went live on ChatGPT checkout, positioning for the 50 million daily shopping queries processed through ChatGPT.
Vuori: The athleisure brand joined the Shopify merchant cohort on ChatGPT, gaining access to AI-referred shoppers who demonstrate 38% higher completion rates.
What Results Can Fashion Retailers Expect?
The data from Cyber Week 2025 provides benchmarks:
- 805% YoY growth in AI-driven traffic on Black Friday (Adobe Analytics)
- 38% higher completion rate for shoppers arriving via generative AI
- 32% more time on site for AI-referred visitors
- 27% lower bounce rate compared to traditional referrals
Amazon Rufus users were 100% more likely to complete purchases than non-Rufus shoppers on Black Friday. The conversion advantage is substantial and measurable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is agentic commerce?
Agentic commerce is the practice of AI agents autonomously browsing, comparing, and purchasing products on behalf of consumers. Unlike chatbots, these agents execute complete transactions from discovery through checkout without human intervention.
Which fashion brands are already using AI commerce?
SKIMS, Glossier, Spanx, and Vuori are live on ChatGPT Instant Checkout through Shopify integration. Target launched a custom ChatGPT app with multi-item support. Over 1 million Shopify merchants are coming to the platform.
What is the difference between ACP and AP2 protocols?
ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol) was co-developed by Stripe and OpenAI, focusing on merchant control. AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol) was created by Google with 60+ partners, emphasizing payment network governance. Most retailers will need to support both.
How much does AI traffic convert?
AI-referred shoppers show 38% higher completion rates, spend 32% more time on site, and have 27% lower bounce rates compared to traditional referrals. Amazon Rufus users converted at 100% higher rates on Black Friday 2025.
Get Started with Paz
As of December 2025, the fashion retail landscape has fundamentally shifted. AI agents influenced $67 billion in Cyber Week purchases, and leading brands like SKIMS, Glossier, and Vuori have already positioned themselves for AI-first shopping.
The window for early-mover advantage is closing. Forrester predicts one-quarter of shoppers will use retail chatbots by 2026—and fashion retailers need infrastructure that can handle both ACP and AP2 protocols, optimize catalogs for AI discovery, and integrate seamlessly with emerging agent platforms.
That's where Paz comes in. Our agentic commerce infrastructure helps fashion and lifestyle brands prepare their catalogs, connect to the right protocols, and capture revenue from AI-driven shopping. The brands that build this foundation today will capture the 805% traffic surge. Those that wait will watch competitors claim market share in a channel that didn't exist before 2025.
Ready to make your products discoverable to AI agents? contact@paz.ai