Fanatics’ OpenAI tool lifts online outfit engagement 10%

By James Calloway

Fanatics’ OpenAI-supported Shop the Look tool generated 10% higher engagement than its previous version after a pilot spanning about 30,000 MLB products, the company said Monday.

Fanatics reported the gain in a Monday press release. It did not disclose an engagement baseline or separate sales and conversion results, leaving the 10% comparison as the clearest performance measure.

How does Shop the Look work?

On a product page, Shop the Look suggests coordinated outfits for sports fans around the item a shopper selected. OpenAI’s AI models use Fanatics’ product data, team information and inventory information to curate recommendations based on that selection, Fanatics said.

Fanatics’ merchandising rules govern the combinations so suggested choices remain “compatible and relevant,” the company said in the release. Each look uses in-stock merchandise and reflects the style and sports team of the selected product.

The suggested looks refresh daily. Shoppers can access the tool on Fanatics’ website and through the online stores for the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

For shoppers, the daily refresh makes the tool closer to a live merchandising board than a fixed outfit gallery. Its placement also puts inventory-linked recommendations directly in the path of shoppers browsing team merchandise across the retailer’s general store and four league-specific storefronts.

What did the 30,000-product pilot show?

Fanatics piloted AI recommendations across about 30,000 MLB products before the OpenAI-supported version delivered the 10% engagement increase, Dive reported. The retailer’s release compared the new tool with its previous version.

The Fanatics partnership is the latest in a series of OpenAI ventures aimed at courting consumers and retailers, Dive reported. Earlier this year, Walmart introduced an in-platform app within ChatGPT that lets shoppers browse the retailer’s product assortment and connect loyalty-program and payment information.

Dive reported that the following major retailers had adopted OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol to improve product discoverability on the platform:

• Nordstrom
• Target
• Sephora
• Lowe’s
• Best Buy
• The Home Depot
• Wayfair

OpenAI has also released ChatGPT features designed to attract shoppers to its platform, Dive reported. Two recent additions cover research and visualization:

• Shopping research: Launched last year, the feature searches for products, compares them and recommends items based on users’ search queries.
• Virtual try-on: Debuted earlier this month, the feature lets shoppers upload images of themselves and visualize clothing and accessories on their bodies.

How is Fanatics extending the model offline?

Alongside the digital refresh, Fanatics has experimented with new in-store shopping experiences in the U.S. and abroad. This year, the company introduced the “Game vs. Game” store concept in Hong Kong.

Fanatics Collectibles opened its second international flagship store in Paris this year, the company said in a separate release. This month, Fanatics announced plans to open an immersive retail store in Atlanta in 2027.

The two releases place the Shop the Look work within a wider push spanning daily online recommendations, a new store concept in Hong Kong, collectibles retail in Paris and an immersive Atlanta format scheduled for 2027.

For Fanatics, the next dated test is physical: the immersive Atlanta store scheduled to open in 2027 will sit alongside daily digital recommendations already operating across four league stores.