Does Online Shopping Feel A Little Clinical And Rather Lonely? Welcome To The World Of Conversational Commerce.
Picture taken at Drapers Future of Fashion Expo May 2025
Are You Ready To Go Shopping With Your New Best Friend?
Does online shopping feel a little clinical? Do you ever find yourself endlessly clicking through filters, rewording your searches, and still not quite landing on what you really want?
You’re not alone.
Sometimes, all you really need is a friendly sales assistant — someone who can listen, understand your vibe, and point you to the perfect outfit without all the guesswork. That’s exactly what conversational commerce is aiming to bring to online fashion retail: a more natural, human way to shop and a hot topic at Last weeks Drapers Future of Fashion Expo.
What Is Conversational Commerce?
Conversational commerce is the growing trend of shopping through chatbots, voice assistants, and messaging apps. Instead of typing “red dress” into a search bar and scrolling through hundreds of options, you can just say, “I’m going to a garden party next weekend — can you show me something red and floral for under £100?”
It’s like chatting with a stylish friend, the one that always ‘gets’ you— and she just happens to know the retailers catalogue inside and out.
Why Retailers Are Moving Beyond Basic Search Boxes
The way people search online is changing, especially when it comes to fashion. We’re no longer satisfied with typing a couple of keywords and hoping for the best. Here’s why more detailed, in-depth search phrases are the future:
1. We Want to Be Understood
Fashion is personal. When we shop, we’re not just looking for “jeans” — we’re looking for “high-waisted, relaxed-fit jeans in a soft wash that go with white sneakers.” Longer search phrases help reflect our style, our needs, and even our mood.
2. Typing Filters Is Exhausting
Let’s face it — filter fatigue is real. Scrolling through drop-downs and toggling options takes time and often still doesn’t narrow things down the way we want. Being able to just say or type out exactly what we’re looking for is way more efficient (and satisfying).
3. Mobile Shopping Needs to Be Easy
On a small phone screen, navigating tons of filters is clunky. But tapping a mic and saying “show me a casual dress for brunch this weekend, under £50” is quick and easy. That’s why voice and messaging-based search is becoming a go-to on mobile.
4. It Feels More Human
Conversational shopping feels a bit like talking to a helpful sales assistant. You explain what you need, they “get it,” and guide you in the right direction. It brings a touch of warmth and intuition to an otherwise cold and mechanical process.
What This Means for Fashion Retailers
To keep up with this shift, brands need to evolve how they handle search and recommendations. That means:
Smarter AI: Using natural language processing (NLP) to understand detailed, conversational queries.
Richer Product Descriptions: Tagging items with all the things real people care about — fabric feel, fit, vibe, occasion, sustainability, and more.
Integrated Chatbots and Voice Search: Letting shoppers interact naturally, without forcing them into a rigid search format.
Visual + Text Search Together: Imagine uploading a photo and saying, “I want something like this, but sleeveless and more budget-friendly.” That’s where this is heading.
The Bottom Line
Fashion shopping is about self-expression — and our search experience should reflect that. With conversational commerce, retailers moving into an era where online shopping feels more personalized, more intuitive, and just… better.
So the next time you're stuck in an endless loop of filters and scrolls, imagine instead just asking for what you want — like you would with a real person — and actually getting it.
That’s the promise of conversational commerce. And it’s coming fast.