Why bridal retailers are jumping into AI shopping before the model is proven

Fashion Why bridal retailers are jumping into AI shopping before the model is proven Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit By Zofia ZwieglinskaApr 14, 2026 Retailers are moving quickly to lean into AI-powered shopping — even as the path from discovery to purchase inside chat remains inconsistent. David’s Bridal is the latest to act. On April 13, the retailer launched on Shopify’s “agentic storefronts,” enabling customers to discover products, receive recommendations and initiate purchases directly within platforms like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. The integration includes real-time inventory, structured product listings with images, pricing and customer reviews, and embedded “buy” functionality, bringing transactions closer to the point of discovery. “This is a structural shift in how consumers discover and buy,” said Kelly Cook, CEO of David’s Bridal. “Consumers are moving from traditional search to AI-driven discovery at an extraordinary pace, and increasingly expect to complete their purchase in that same moment.” Traffic from generative AI to retail sites grew more than 600% year over year during the 2025 holiday season, while shoppers arriving via AI show higher engagement and conversion rates than those coming from traditional search, according to a 2025 report from e-commerce consultancy Elogic, citing Adobe Analytics data. What’s more, roughly 73% of consumers now use AI at some point in their shopping journey, though fewer rely on it to complete purchases end-to-end,...