When I find a piece of clothing I love, I always look for inspiration for complementary accessories. For example, I might see a dress I love on a model. How am I supposed to find the shoes and bracelet to complete the look? It’s tough to search countless pages only to find they’re unavailable! There must be an easier way.
This common frustration from shoppers highlights a significant disconnect: 85% of businesses say they deliver a personalized experience to their customers, but only 60% of consumers say they’re receiving one. This gap shows that what companies think they’re offering isn’t always what customers feel they’re getting.
“Complete the Look” technology is one-way retailers differentiate themselves from their competitors, offering curated suggestions that help customers visualize entire outfits, room settings, or complementary pairings. But as with all great strategies, there are roadblocks and pitfalls to be aware of that can make or break the buying journey. Read on to ensure your “Complete the Look” strategy isn’t broken and discover how shoppers can “get the look” seamlessly.
Here are five critical reasons why your “Complete the Look” strategy might be falling short:
1. Manual “Complete the Look” Processes
If you still rely on manual processes, that’s a surefire way to slow down. Modern shoppers expect instant, accurate suggestions, and many styling and bundling solutions do not hit the mark regarding AI automation. Instead, they rely on their teams to manage and update items as needed, often only focusing on new or high-value items. This causes delays, added costs, limited product coverage, and burnt-out employees.
Without AI that automates inventory management and augments your team’s efforts, you’ll likely neglect the rest of your products, frustrate shoppers with out-of-stock suggestions, and ultimately leave opportunities on the table. Instead, choose a provider that keeps your suggestions current, only featuring available and accurately priced products, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and boosting conversions.
2. Suggestions that Don’t Reflect Your Brand
Your brand is the heart and soul of your business, a carefully crafted identity that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from the competition. However, many ‘Complete the Look’ technologies inadvertently undermine this painstakingly built brand equity through generic user interfaces and off-brand product suggestions.
It’s easy to spot content that isn’t curated, or worse, produced solely by generative AI. It’s often generic and overlooks the elements that differentiate a brand, creating an overall inconsistent customer experience. You wouldn’t copy and paste AI content and publish it on your website without human review, and product suggestions should be treated no differently.
The best product suggestions leverage brand guidelines and stylist expertise to augment what internal teams can curate alone rather than replacing them entirely.
3. High Costs to Scale
Scaling up should be exciting, not a financial burden. Some platforms increase costs with growth, but with the right AI automation, you can scale affordably. Consistent costs mean you can expand dynamically without the fear of escalating expenses.
Leveraging AI to take the heavy lifting of outfit creation and catalog management allows your experts to focus on high-level strategy, trend forecasting, and fine-tuning the AI’s output. This approach lets you maintain your catalog’s quality and brand consistency without the linear cost increase typically associated with scaling.
How to Dodge “Complete the Look” Strategy Pitfalls
Here’s a few ways to optimize your “Complete the Look” strategy with the latest innovations:
Blend Styling Expertise with AI Automation
The future is here; ditch the manual grind! AI automation is your ticket to a streamlined, efficient “Complete the Look” strategy. You can leverage brand guidelines & suggestions your stylists have already put together to easily generate outfits that cover your entire catalog. This means less time spent on tedious tasks and more time seeing your sales soar.
In an A/B test, neither merchants nor customers could distinguish which outfits were powered by FindMine, which integrates brand styling expertise with AI automation, versus those hand-picked by stylists manually.
Insist on Instant New Product Integration
New products should shine from the get-go. Ensure your system integrates new items instantly, allowing customers to see and purchase the latest offerings without delay. Quick integration maximizes sales opportunities and keeps your inventory looking fresh and exciting.
“FindMine has helped us ensure that our newest products have cross-sell opportunities from day one, improving conversion, average order value, and customer satisfaction better than any other solution we’ve tried.” – Senior Director, Consumer Experience at an Athletic Apparel and Footwear Retailer
Ensure Dynamic Inventory Management
Out-of-stock items and price changes shouldn’t be a headache. Embrace dynamic inventory management that automatically updates product availability and pricing in your suggestions. This keeps your catalog accurate and ensures customers always find in-stock, correctly priced items, boosting their shopping experience.
“Automating complete looks around every jewelry item drove tremendous value for the online shopper and the retailer, allowing for seamless updates in product availability and pricing.” – Senior Director of Digital Experience at a Luxury Jewelry Retailer.
Invest in Affordable Scaling Solutions
Scaling shouldn’t break the bank. Choose solutions that offer affordable scalability, keeping costs consistent as you grow. With advanced AI automation, you can dynamically expand your operations without the fear of skyrocketing expenses. This ensures sustainable growth and maximized revenue.
A luxury menswear brand implemented FindMine’s scalable outfitting solution and experienced a 31% increase in average order value and an 885% increase in demand per visit during peak seasons. They were able to easily showcase three unique outfits per product without any manual lift.
Creating a Winning “Complete the Look” Strategy
AI product suggestions are more than a trend — top retailers are harnessing their power to stay ahead, offering everything from curated outfit suggestions to personalized styling tips tailored to every occasion and season. “Complete the Look” simplifies choices and showcases hidden gems to create a more personalized digital shopping journey for consumers.
FindMine’s AI-driven solutions differentiate from generic suggestions by maintaining brand integrity and automating at scale. Our technology provides high-quality, brand-aligned product suggestions without the need for manual intervention, ensuring that your unique brand aesthetic is preserved across all touchpoints.
Ready to elevate your “Complete the Look” game? Explore how AI automation can revolutionize your online retail experience.
