AllSaints has announced a partnership with AI-native SaaS platform Impact Analytics, under which the British fashion retailer will introduce AI‑native tools to modernise its buying and merchandising operations. The move is aimed at replacing a legacy environment heavily dependent on spreadsheets and manual processes with automated, insight‑led planning.
For many retailers, buying and merchandising remain among the most time‑consuming and labour‑intensive functions in the business. Teams often spend a significant proportion of their working week manually pulling data from multiple systems, reconciling versions of spreadsheets and preparing reports. As product ranges grow, channels multiply and trading conditions become more volatile, these time-consuming processes can become a significant drag on the business.
AllSaints said the new approach will instead “streamline processes, improve forecast accuracy, and empower teams to focus on value‑added decision‑making rather than data manipulation”.
Alfie Meekings, chief transformation and technology officer at AllSaints, said the project forms part of the retailer’s wider transformation strategy.
“At AllSaints, one of the four pillars of our transformation is to become data‑driven and powered by AI,” he said. “We have a great team, but they have to spend so much time manually pulling and analysing data. This partnership allows us to eliminate repetitive, low‑value tasks so our merchandisers can focus on understanding what is truly happening in our brand and make quicker, higher‑quality decisions to get the right products in the right places for our customers.”
Phased implementation
The partnership will be rolled out in phases, with Impact Analytics implementing a fully integrated, AI‑native solution covering the end‑to‑end supply chain and merchandise planning lifecycle.
Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at CI&T, said the announcement reflects a growing recognition among retailers that merchandising expertise is being underused when teams are tied up in manual work.
“AllSaints is wise to bring advanced AI technology into the buying and merchandising process. This move will relieve expert talent from spending their most valuable hours manually pulling and preparing data,” she said.
“Merchandising relies on deep knowledge and a wide range of variables. As a result, many retailers have experienced internal resistance when it comes to implementing AI throughout planning and pricing. However, the most successful retailers will do what AllSaints intends to do here – get crucial information to decision-makers faster.”
Her comments highlight a broader challenge for the sector: while merchandising decisions have a direct impact on margin, inventory risk and customer experience, they are still often powered by tools that were designed for much simpler retail models.
Automation – a competitive necessity
As retailers contend with economic volatility, rising costs and margin pressure, the ability to speed up buying and merchandising decisions is becoming a competitive necessity. AllSaints’ move signals how fashion retailers are increasingly treating AI, not as a novelty or even an engagement tool, but as an end-to-end solution that can help unlock the full value of their merchandising expertise.
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