Walmart Transforms Fashion Production with New AI Tool
By Alex Vuocolo
May 6, 2025
4 min read
Walmart now uses a new AI tool in its fashion work. The store set up the Trend-to-Product tool last month. This tool cuts product work time from six months to six or eight weeks. The tool ties trend data to design work. It binds online ideas with in-house facts so that work flows fast.
Using AI for Trend Detection
The tool scans many online posts. It checks social posts, runway videos, and red carpet clips. The system finds links that show what is in style. Designers now get ideas in less than one hour. Before, they made mood boards by hand with names, colors, and textures. Now, the AI builds similar boards right away.
Jen Jackson Brown, who leads design at Walmart US, said the tool helps design teams work on what they enjoy. The teams can spend less time looking for trends and more time making products that suit every season and event.
Meeting a Fast-Paced Market
Fashion teams today must work fast. Competitors like Temu and Shein also speed up product work. Walmart’s fast tool cuts the wait for new designs. Other stores such as Target cut their work time too. Rick Gomez, Target’s chief for buying, said new clothes reach shelves in eight weeks. Walmart expects a faster path to more sales and lower stock levels.
AI’s Growing Role
Professor Tucker Marion from Northeastern University noted that AI can cut design time by 30 to 50 percent. Companies now finish work much faster. At the moment, Walmart checks each AI idea with its own data. Human designers still decide the final look. In time, the tool may even use customer data for design choices.
Beyond Fashion
Walmart plans to use Trend-to-Product outside fashion. Andrea Albright of Walmart Sourcing said the tool might help in picking a new lipstick color or a new food flavor. Walmart keeps on working with fast product work. This progress shapes future retail and lets customers get fresh, new items fast.
For more views on retail changes, check updates from Retail Brew.
