Kantar report: AI, retail media and 'treatonomics' to reshape fashion in 2026

As 2026 approaches, fashion is entering a new strategic cycle. The Kantar Marketing Trends 2026 report outlines its key features: the rise of AI agents; the structural transformation of retail; a revolution in creativity; cultural fragmentation; and the emergence of micro-communities. These forces are profoundly transforming how brands emerge, tell their stories and, most importantly, build desirability.

The fashion sector is already being disrupted by a slowdown in wholesale, the saturation of paid digital advertising and the explosion of social commerce. For this industry, these trends are not just signals; they are redrawing the rules of competitiveness.

Conversational AI becomes a style advisor

The first disruption is undeniable. AI assistants are being integrated into the purchasing journey. According to Kantar, 24 percent of AI users already rely on an assistant for their product choices. This delegation of purchasing will transform the industry faster than it thinks.

The question is no longer “does a brand appeal to a consumer?” It is becoming “is a brand clear enough to be recommended by an AI agent?”

Poorly detailed product sheets, inaccurate size guides or a lack of transparency are becoming handicaps. Conversely, data quality—material, cut, durability, dynamic pricing—is becoming a key factor for algorithmic ranking. This is a vital issue for European players, who are often strong on storytelling but less disciplined in structuring their data.

Algorithmic fashion: be visible or lose visibility

Kantar notes that 74 percent of AI users actively seek generative recommendations. This highlights a new phenomenon: the algorithm is becoming a filter between the brand and its customer.

In practical terms, if a model does not “see” a brand—because it does not feed the engines correctly—it will simply no longer appear in the suggested choices. Brands that can feed AI with reliable information will see their visibility increase. For fashion the challenge is as much about data accuracy as it is about differentiation: how to avoid appearing as just another pair of jeans, another dress, or another trainer in a sea of generic, AI-generated products?

Another major shift is the move from intuitive creativity to measured creativity. The solutions analysed by Kantar can now predict the effectiveness of content in 15 minutes, by measuring its potential for attention, emotion, attribution and purchase intent. In a fashion sector where the pace of content production has soared, this capability drastically reduces creative risk.

'Treatonomics' and the new visibility tax

The Kantar report confirms a trend already noticeable in retail: the rise of “little treats” as drivers of emotional purchases. 36 percent of consumers say they are willing to go into slight debt to treat themselves. In fashion, this phenomenon is reflected in the rise of limited-edition capsules, premium accessories, and small, accessible pieces with a “luxury feel”.

This 'treatonomics' is a response to the current economic context: persistent inflation, strained budgets and a growing desire for small, compensatory pleasures. For brands, this is a growth lever to be activated. Impulse buying is not disappearing; it is reconfiguring around items with high emotional value that are instantly gratifying and perfectly calibrated for TikTok.

At the same time, the spectacular growth of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) is another key point. Kantar notes that these platforms deliver 1.8 times the performance of classic digital advertising. The fashion sector will be one of the first to be affected. Distribution platforms like Zalando, La Redoute or Amazon are becoming fully-fledged advertising environments. The line between distribution and media is blurring, and the challenge for brands will be to balance immediate performance against a growing dependence on this new visibility tax.

Creators, micro-communities and cultural fragmentation

According to Kantar, 61 percent of marketeers plan to increase their creator budgets in 2026, but only 27 percent of the content actually strengthens brand image. These numbers illustrate the current transition: opportunistic collaboration is dead.

In fashion, this means building long-term relationships with creators who share the brand’s DNA and accepting that the narrative is not entirely controlled. Investment is shifting towards smaller but more engaged communities (trainer Discords, denim forums, vintage niches). The report highlights that these micro-communities generate a 40 percent trust level, equivalent to that of a friend—a rare figure in a market saturated with messages.

Industry must choose: be useful, clear, relevant… or be ignored

All trends are converging on a single point: 2026 will not be a year of transition, but a year of selection.

Brands that can structure their data, speak to AI as well as customers, and produce measurable creativity will gain a decisive advantage. They must also invest in the right environments, such as retail media, creators and micro-communities, while offering a simple, fast and intuitive experience. The rest will lose all commercial visibility—often without even realising it.

Fashion is clearly entering a cycle where desirability is no longer determined solely by the product, the image or the street, but by the invisible infrastructure that connects a brand to its consumer. In this new equation, data, AI and creators are becoming the new pillars of fashion competitiveness.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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