Fashion eCommerce has a discovery problem.

Most sites are still designed around the idea that shoppers arrive knowing what they want, ready to type a product into a search bar and move swiftly from search to product detail to checkout. But that journey has changed completely.

In our recent webinar, “Reinventing Product Discovery: What Fashion Brands Need to Win in 2026,” Charlotte Arnold (Head of Marketing at StoryStream) was joined by CEO Alex Vaidya and Zak, Senior Content Solutions Manager at Primark. We explored why search-led shopping is falling short, how Primark is using community content to close the discovery gap, and the role of AI in building more intent-led, conversational journeys.

👉 Watch the full recording

The Discovery Shift: From Search to Inspiration

Charlotte opened the session by highlighting a major shift in shopper behaviour. The traditional search model only works for a small group of users. In fact, just 1 in 10 consumers¹ say they find what they’re looking for through keyword-based search. That means 90% of visitors are actually in discovery mode browsing for ideas and inspiration, not typing in specific products.

These users are often met with static product grids and data-heavy layouts that don’t reflect how people are discovering products elsewhere. As Charlotte put it:
“What these people want, we believe at StoryStream, is ideas, looks and inspiration, not just filters and grids.”

Discovery Happens Off-Site

Two forces are reshaping how people discover products: social media and AI. Around 60% of consumers discover products unintentionally on TikTok², just by scrolling. And over 50% now want AI assistance¹ to guide them, expecting to ask questions like “What should I wear to a wedding in Italy?” rather than typing keywords.

This creates what Charlotte called an “inspiration gap.”
“Right now many brands are suffering from an inspiration gap. There is this jarring disconnect between dynamic social and AI discovery that brings users in and the static transactional eCommerce pages that they land on.”

Charlotte summarised the goal:
“Your goal should be to build discovery that feels like social, but buys like eCommerce.”

INSIDE PRIMARK'S DISCOVERY JOURNEY

Primark, traditionally a store-first brand, now has 70% of its 16,000-product range online. But the challenge isn’t getting products online it’s getting shoppers to see them. Zak explained that just 20% of products drive 80% of engagement, and only about a quarter of visitors reach the bottom of a product listing page (PLP).

“We spend so much time to get, as we sit here today, 16,000 products on our website, but 80% of them do not really get much engagement.”
Zak, Senior Content Solutions Manager at Primark

Standard product pages aren’t built for visual discovery. That’s why Primark launched Primania.

PRIMANIA: COMMUNITY-POWERED INSPIRATION

Primania is Primark’s user-generated content (UGC) gallery, showcasing real customers and creators styling Primark products. Zak noted that performance is driven by the nature of the content itself:

“There is something fundamentally more engaging with content that influencers and customers create themselves… we cannot get people to get through two clicks on an old fashioned PLP.”

Shoppers who engage with Primania generate an 80% uplift in PDP views and scroll further than on traditional PLPs.

“When someone engages with the Primania gallery, we get them through more products and more clicks… the value to us in terms of product discovery is much greater.”

Importantly, UGC helps shoppers connect emotionally by showing products on diverse body types and in real-life contexts:
“Models tend to normally all be the same sort of size… When you get UGC content, you get all sorts of people… we definitely see an impact there.”

Currently, about 15% of Primark’s site features UGC, with plans to double that through community content, seeding programmes, and even employee-generated content.

SHOP THE LOOK

Primark’s next step is launching StoryStream’s Shop the Look feature.

“You do not tend to buy an item of clothing in isolation. You buy into the look.”
Zak

Whether it’s co-ord holiday sets or loungewear collections, Primark has seen strong results from curated outfit shopping. Shop the Look helps remove friction no more hunting down individual pieces. Shoppers can buy the entire outfit directly.

Alex from StoryStream explained how AI makes this scalable by turning existing imagery into instantly shoppable experiences.

WHERE DISCOVERY IS HAPPENING NEXT

Zak spoke about a shift from product-based search to intent-led journeys. Shoppers are moving from searches like “red dress” to queries like “what should I wear to a work party?”

To support this shift, Primark is building more contextual product information into the journey explaining where, when, and how to wear an item.

“Where would you wear it, but also what would you wear it with.”

The conversation also touched on whether the future of shopping involved AI agents that could shop for you. However, Zak expressed what Primark are seeing, shoppers still enjoy the act of browsing.

“I really do not believe we are anywhere near agentic shopping taking off. People find value in the shopping experience… there is a joy in having a little browse.”

Right now, one of the best applications of AI is using it to solve real problems improving product discovery, scaling UGC, and powering personalised journeys, to enhance a customer's experience online not replace it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Reinventing product discovery doesn’t mean rebuilding your eCommerce site from scratch. It means recognising that most visitors arrive to explore, not to search.

It’s about closing the gap between the social experience that brings them in and the transactional site they land on.

As Charlotte said:
“Build discovery that feels like social, but buys like eCommerce.”

With innovations like Primania and Shop the Look, Primark is already showing how this works in practice: more inspiration, more visibility, and a more natural journey from discovery to purchase.

🎥Watch the full webinar recording

REFERENCES

1. McKinsey & Company (2025). Unlocking the next frontier of personalized marketing.

2. Forbes, February 2025, How Social Media is Driving eCommerce (And How Brands Can Capitalize)

3. Hubspot Social Media Trends Report, 2025