CHAPTERI INTRODUCTION 1.1Background Fashionisdefinedastheprocessofmakingclothesandaccessoriessuchasshoes,bags,jewelry, andmakeupthatareabletorepresentcultureorstyleoveraperiodoftime.Ithasbeenredefined morethanonce,fromhandselectiontomechanization.Technologyhasthegreatestinfluenceon fashion.Becausefabrics,patterns,andpiecesaremadefirstthroughanyproduction.Digitaltools arenotonlyusedbytheentertainmentindustry,buttheindustryitselfalsousesonlineinstruments toimproveoperationsinthem.Today'stechnologyhascompletelyrevolutionizedthefashion industry. Thecurrentretailecosystem'smainstay,e-commerce,hasexperiencedaglobalupsurgethathas changedmarketdynamicsandconventionalconsumerbehaviour.Prominententitiesinthe worldwidee-commercedomainhaveinitiatednovelapproachesaimedataugmentinguser experiences,optimizingtransactions,andmeetingarangeofcustomerrequirements.Giantsinthe market,platformslikeAmazon,Alibaba,andeBayeachprovideuniquefeaturesandapproachesto thecompetitivescene.Theplatform,whichcaterstoabigworldwideaudience,hashighstandards forsimplicityandreliability.Cloudcomputing,digitalentertainment,ande-commercehaveallbeen successfullyincorporatedbyAlibaba,aprominentplayerintheChineseindustry,intoitsbroad ecosystem.Ithasanimpactthatextendsbeyondordinaryonlineshoppingandhelpsleadtoafully digitallifestyle(Adawiyahetal.,2024). Amazon,thebiggestinternetstoreintheUnitedStates,isasuperbexampleofsuccessfullybringing AIintoonlineshopping.Asling(2017)affirmsthatincorporatingAIintoonlineandsocial commerceshoppingenablescustomer-centricsearchandanewdegreeofpersonalisation, culminatinginamoreeffectivepurchasingoperation.Artificialintelligencehasbeenused 9 extensivelytoimprovetheefficiencyofmarketingstrategiesaswellastomarketingautomation.As AIhasemergedasanimportantedgeoftechnologicalinnovation,severalapparelanddesign companieshaveadoptedthisnewapplicationinrecentyears(Wong&Liu,2018).Thefashion industryhasbeenidentifiedasoneofthemostvitalindustriesasitcontributesalargeportionofthe worldwideeconomy(Yeoetal,2022). Conversely,ShopeehasestablisheditselfasaleaderinSoutheastAsiathankstoitsfocuson creativemarketingcampaigns,specializedservices,andmobile-firsttactics.Ascreenshotofthe Shopeeappwastakeninordertobetterexplainitsuserinterface.Shopee,aprominente-commerce platforminSoutheastAsia,holdsasubstantialandconstantlyexpandingmarketshare.Its widespreadpresenceacrossnumerousnationsenablesresearcherstoinvestigatethevarietyofusers andconsumerpreferences,givingrisetoacomprehensivepictureofhowtheintegrationofAIand ARtechnologiesaffectscustomerusageintentions.Furthermore,Shopeeiscreditedasbeinga trailblazerintheapplicationofcutting-edgetechnologies,suchastheabilitytotryoncosmetic items(Keeatal,2023). E-commerceisnowanintegralpartoftoday'sdigitalage.Inrecentyears,ArtificialIntelligence (AI)hasbecomeanincreasinglyimportantandrelevanttopicinthecontextofE-commerce,which isplayingamoreandmorecentralroleinmodernbusiness.ArtificialIntelligenceiscapableof improvingcustomerexperienceandbusinessoperationalefficiency(Bawacketal.,2022).Overthe pastfewdecades,AIhasplayedakeyroleinthedevelopmentofE-commercetechnology,changing thewayconsumersshoponlinewithrapidgrowth(Wangetal.,2022).Therefore,itisimportantto understandhowArtificialIntelligenceisacceptedinthecontextofE-commerce(Azisetal,2024). Artificialintelligence(AI)hasrapidlygrownsinceitsestablishmentasanareaofstudyin1956and hashadasignificantimpactonpeople'sdailylives(Russell&Norvig,2003).Inrecentdecades, commercialsuccesshasbeenachievedbynumerousindustrialsectorsthroughtheuseofAI-driven 10 1. mediatoolslikechatbots(Cheng&Jiang,2020).Thechatbotmarketisexpectedtogrowby29.7% yearly,from2.6USDbillionin2019to9.4USDbillionin2024,accordingtoBusinessInsider's 2020prediction.Withchatbots,customerserviceisthesectorwiththequickestrateofgrowth,with projectedgrowthof31.6%annuallybetween2019and2026. Artificialintelligence(AI)-drivenchatbotsquicklybecomepopularandcompletelychangetheway customersconnectwithbrandsbyconversingwiththeminanaturallanguage.Chatbotsfacilitate real-timecommunicationonwebsites,socialmediaplatforms,andinstantmessagingapplicationsat anyplace(Hagbergetal,2016).Worldwide,about1.4billionpeopleusechatbotsdaily.Inthe UnitedStates,27%ofadultshaveusedchatbotsforshoppingatleastonceandnearly40%ofthem favorthiskindofshoppingexperience(Jovic,2020). Chungetal.'s(2018)studyexaminestherelationshipsbetweenchatbotmarketingefforts(suchas problem-solving,customization,trendiness,interaction,andentertainment),communicationquality, andconsumersatisfactioninlightofthegrowingroleofAIchatbotsinsupportingbusiness communicationobjectives.Nevertheless,thegeneralizabilityofthestudy'sdata(157Korean students)andthefactthatitonlylookedatasmallnumberofluxurygoodslimitedthescopeof Chungetal.'s(2018)investigation.Chatbotshavebeenusedbyseveralbrandstocommunicatewith theircustomers(Forbes,2017).Forinstance,moviegoerscanquicklyreviewandpurchasetickets fortheirpreferredfilmsusingFandango'schatbots.ThroughAzurecognitiveresearch,Microsoft's chatbotdigitalsolutionsinChinaandtheUnitedStatesalsoofferclientsindividualizedinformation andrespondtoopen-endedinquiries(Yao,2017). Artificialintelligencetechnologyisveryhelpfulinthefashionindustryprocess.Itimprovesthe end-to-endprocessfortheindustry.Inaddition,itreducestime,humanlabourerrors,andimproves accuracyandspeed.Thefashionindustryisbeingleveragedusingartificialintelligencetonavigate aneweraofindividualcustomerrelationshipsandforecastanalysis.Fashioncompaniesare redefiningthewaytheypredictconsumerdemandandforecasttrendsthroughartificialintelligence 11 algorithmstoanalyzevastamountsofdatafromsocialmedia,searchpatterns,andpastpurchases (LIMcollege,2024;Moldstud,2024).Withthehelpofthisdata-drivenapproach,companiescan proactivelychangetheirstrategiestostayaheadofmarkettrendsandinlinewithconsumer expectations(LIMcollege,2024;Moldstud,2024). Intheever-evolvingdigitalera,artificialintelligence(AI)technologyhashadasignificantimpact onthefashionindustry.ResearchbyYazdaniandDarbani(2023)showsthatAIplaysarolein shapingtrends,innovationdesign,andconsumerbehaviorindepth.Thestudyidentifiesthreemain themes:theapplicationofAIanditsimpact,AI-drivendesigninnovation,andAI-inducedchanges inconsumerbehavior.AIenablesdeeperpersonalization,automatedprocesses,andmoreethical designpractices,aswellasinfluencingpurchasingdecisionsandconsumerengagement(Yazdani& Darbani,2023).AIintegrationhelpsfashioncompaniesoptimizemarketingstrategiesandimprove consumerexperiencethroughmorepreciserecommendations. AI-poweredtechnologies,includingdataanalyticsandmachinelearning,havecompletelychanged howcompaniescommunicatewith,understand,andservetheirclients.Personalized recommendationsystemsrepresentoneofthebiggestadvancesinartificialintelligencein e-commerce.Toofferpersonalizedproductrecommendations,sophisticatedalgorithmsexamine enormousdatabasesthatincludeuserpreferences,browsinghistory,andpurchasehabits.This degreeofcustomisationimprovescustomerhappinessbymakingthebuyingexperiencemore relevantandengaging,whilealsoraisingtheprobabilityofsuccessfultransactions(Rajietal, 2024). AIisalsousedinpredictiveanalyticstoanticipatecustomertrendsandenhanceinventorycontrol. Thisguaranteesthatcompaniesmayeffectivelypredictandsatisfycustomerexpectationsin additiontoincreasingsupplychainefficiency.AI-poweredchatbotsandvirtualassistantsarebeing includedintoe-commerceplatformsmorefrequentlytoofferreal-timecustomerassistance,respond 12 1. toinquiries,andassistcustomerswiththeirpurchases(Lee,2020).Despitethesedevelopments, therearestillethicalquestionswhenitcomestotheuseofAIine-commerce,especiallywhenit comestoalgorithmicbiasanddataprotection(Ikhtiyorov,2023).Retainingconsumertrustrequires strikingabalancebetweenpersonalizationanduserprivacy.Furthermore,inordertostop discriminatorybehaviorsandfosteraninclusiveonlinebuyingenvironment,itisimperativeto guaranteethatalgorithmsareimpartialandfair. Theoretically,thestudyexpandstheunderstandingofhowAItechnologyaffectsconsumerbehavior anddesignpracticesinthefashionindustry.Typically,consumerbehaviortheorydoesnotinclude advancedtechnologicalfactorsinitsmodels.ThefindingsofYazdaniandDarbani(2023)makea newcontributionbyhighlightinghowAIshapesconsumerpreferencesandtransformstheir interactionswithfashionbrands,thusofferingadditionalinsightsintotheimpactoftechnologyon purchasingbehaviorandmarketingstrategies(Yazdani&Darbani,2023). Practically,AIopensupnewpossibilitiesinthefashionindustry.AccordingtoForbes,AIcan impacteveryaspectofthefashionprocess,fromdesigntoproductionandsales.Thistechnology notonlyimprovesoperationalefficiencybutalsoallowsformoreinnovativedesignsandbetter personalizationforconsumers(Forbes,2023).AnarticlefromLIMCollegealsohighlightshowAI canintroducenewpossibilitiesindesignandproduction,impactingeveryaspectoffashionfrom creationtosales(LIMCollege,2024).ByunderstandingtheimpactofAIonconsumerdecisions andengagementinshopping,fashioncompaniescandevelopmoreeffectivestrategiestonavigate marketchangesandmeetevolvingconsumerneeds(Yazdani&Darbani,2023;LIMCollege,2024; Forbes,2023). Theimpactofartificialintelligenceontrendforecastingiscrucial,withimprovedalgorithmsthat areessentialforpatternidentificationandforecastingoffuturetrends.Companiesareusing artificialintelligenceprimarilytostaycompetitive.Byforecastingfuturetrendsorstylepreferences, 13 thisstrategicuseofartificialintelligenceguidesbrandsinimprovingconsumersatisfactionand operationalefficiency(TheGuardian,2024). 1.2ProblemStatement AsArtificialIntelligence(AI)increasinglybecomesanintegralpartofthefashionindustry,AI's abilitytoanalyzevastdatasetsandforecastfashiontrendsisnotonlyacceleratingthepaceof innovationbutalsorevolutionizingthewayfashionproductsaremarketedandconsumed. Nevertheless,theenormousinfluenceofAIonconsumershoppingbehaviorisstillunknown,as manystudiesonlycapturemainlyontechnologicalinterventions.