Fanatics AI Tool Boosts Product Engagement 10 Percent
The new feature automates merchandise curation for retail operators managing large, high-volume product catalogs.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Retail
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Fanatics has introduced Shop the Look, an AI-powered tool designed to generate automated merchandise recommendations for its catalog of over 1.5 million SKUs. The feature, which leverages OpenAI Codex, aims to improve product discovery for international customers in over 180 countries.
Why it matters
The tool addresses the operational difficulty of manual curation for a high-volume retailer that manufactures over 45 million items annually. By automating recommendations, Fanatics reduces the reliance on traditional lead times for product displays, helping to manage customer navigation across a massive inventory.
The AI integration yielded a 10% increase in product engagement, helping the company manage a vast catalog of 1.5 million unique SKUs. Fanatics Commerce, which manufactures 45 million items annually, is projected to exceed $7 billion in revenue this year alongside $5.5 billion in collectibles revenue.
The players
Fanatics
A global sports retailer managing 1.5 million SKUs and manufacturing 45 million items annually for over 180 countries.
OpenAI Codex
The artificial intelligence platform providing the programming infrastructure to identify and match compatible merchandise in the Fanatics catalog.
The details
The Shop the Look feature utilizes OpenAI Codex to parse catalog data in real time, matching merchandise based on team identity and style. By automating the alignment of compatible, in-stock products on webpage layouts, the system bypasses the lengthy manual curation processes that previously hampered the company's ability to market its massive volume of inventory. This automated approach allows the retailer to dynamically reevaluate and refresh product suggestions as inventory levels shift across its global platform.
Timeline
October 2026: Fanatics officially launched the Shop the Look feature.
2026: Fanatics expects commerce revenue to surpass $7 billion.
Market Landscape
Fanatics is utilizing OpenAI Codex to automate merchandising tasks, following a broader industry trend toward AI-driven catalog management. This shift moves the retailer away from traditional manual curation, which has historically struggled to keep pace with high-volume, multi-million SKU product cycles.
Retailers with large, rapidly changing inventories should evaluate if their current manual curation strategies create bottlenecks that limit product visibility. Managers should monitor whether automation tools can effectively replace the traditional lead times associated with managing thousands of SKUs.
The takeaway
Large-scale retailers are increasingly shifting toward automated curation to solve the logistical challenges of managing deep product catalogs. Operators should monitor this 10 percent engagement shift as a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of their own catalog automation investments.
Further reading
For broader trends in digital merchandising, browse our Retail section.
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