Fanatics offers 1.5 million products

Fanatics operates hundreds of e-commerce sites offering more than one point five million unique product SKUs, from jerseys and hats to team-branded streetwear and socks.

The shopping problem

Justin Tsai, chief product officer for Fanatics Commerce, said customers routinely spent over thirty minutes searching the large catalog. Fanatics releases upwards of a thousand new products each week.

Shop the Look launches

Fanatics created Shop the Look with OpenAI's Codex. The feature suggests coordinated outfits on product pages, matching items with other in-stock items based on team and intended style.

Why AI matters for sports fans

Traditional curation strategies have long lead times that don't work with Fanatics' rapid product releases.

“Nobody who is a Los Angeles Dodgers fan wants to be matched with a San Francisco Giants item.”

Team merchandise drives revenue

Team merchandise remains Fanatics' biggest revenue source. Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin said the commerce business will exceed seven billion dollars in revenue this year, compared with roughly five point five billion for collectibles.

OpenAI's retail strategy

OpenAI has experimented with shopping tools for ChatGPT since launch. The company ended its Instant Checkout effort and now works directly with retailers to create dedicated apps within ChatGPT, according to CNBC reporting.

How Codex powers recommendations

Shop the Look uses OpenAI's Codex to parse product and catalog data, find compatible items, and reevaluate recommendations. The tool suggests hats, socks and accessories to go with a jersey a fan is considering purchasing.

Results show 10 percent boost

After rolling out Shop the Look, Fanatics saw a ten percent increase in views of recommended items. Tsai said suggested items help shoppers have more conviction about items they're thinking of buying.