Background: With continuous developments of AI and digitalisation, the fashion industry has transformed remarkably. In Sweden, as a large fashion export, these technological developments have reshaped various aspects of the industry. The digital shift has also contributed to the customer journey’s complexity. The significance of using AI and understanding the customer journey, both has a growing relevance as they are experiencing changes. However, there is limited research on AI’s influence on the customer journey among fashion retailers. Hence, this study highlights the research gap in how fashion retailers can leverage AI technologies in this context. 

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore how retailers in the Swedish fashion industry can leverage AI to influence the customer journey, from a managerial perspective. Furthermore, to explore Swedish fashion retailers’ perceptions of future possibilities for AI and its influence on the customer journey.       

Method: This study is based on a qualitative method with an inductive approach, by combining literature review with six semi-structured interviews of Swedish fashion retailers. It adopts an interpretivist paradigm to ensure quality and depth of the collected data. 

Conclusion: The results show that AI is primarily used online and in the prepurchase stage of the customer journey. Implementation of AI tools vary between fashion retailers in Sweden, including tools like targeted advertising. The research presents that fashion retailers have mainly implemented AI tools internally and not directly towards customers. The results highlight factors, like the maturity level of AI, as important for current and future implementations of AI as a fashion retailer. Moreover, Swedish fashion retailers recognise AI’s potential for future implementations to influence the customer journey, especially regarding personalisation and customisation.