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APPARENTLY ‘SLOP’ WAS NAMED THE 2025 WORD OF THE YEAR!


The impact of Artificial Intelligence on our online world has not gone unnoticed, so much so that one of America’s leading dictionaries has summed it up perfectly: “the Word of the Year for 2025 is ‘slop’”.


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s you read this article, you may be wondering what the 2025 Word of the Year – ‘slop’ – has got to do with


anything. Well, Merriam-Webster defines ‘slop’ as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of Artificial Intelligence (AI)”. For retailers, the rise of ‘slop’ is important


because it increasingly shapes the way customers encounter online products and reviews before they reach the shop floor. AI- generated content is everywhere in the form of videos and blogs, product descriptions and social posts, and much of it is churned out quickly and in volume, prioritising quantity over accuracy. As a result, online shoppers may find


themselves wading through a glut of ‘slop’ with important details buried under generic copy, exaggerated claims or misleading advice. Especially in the fashion industry with the rise of the “want it now” culture where consumers may not take the time to read all the product information before making a purchase. That, in turn, contributes to the increasing piles of returns as users discover their items do not fit or are not fit for purpose. Merriam-Webster points out that ‘slop’ has a


50 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • FEBRUARY 2026


wet, unpleasant sound, “like slime, sludge, and muck,” capturing perfectly the sense of content you don’t really want to touch. In a world dominated by AI-generated material, it’s become a way to describe something that’s at once fascinating, annoying and a little ridiculous. And that’s exactly the kind of material that can leave customers sceptical or confused when they hit the counter, expecting one thing based on what they’ve seen online and finding something different in real life.


Information overload Fake reviews, copied product descriptions, and misleading influencer content reduce consumer trust and make it harder for shoppers to identify authentic brands. Search engines and social platforms become crowded with repetitive, SEO- driven posts, pushing innovative designers and ethical businesses out of view. Spam ads promoting counterfeit goods also harm brand reputation and distort pricing expectations. As customers face information overload, decision fatigue rises, conversion rates fall, and returns increase. Ultimately, poor-quality content weakens transparency, sustainability efforts, and long-term relationships between fashion brands and their


audiences online worldwide today. And the consequences for retailers are


tangible. Unrealistic expectations, half- remembered claims, and general suspicion of brands can all land with sales staff, who increasingly have to act as guides, trouble- shooters and myth-busters, helping customers separate the valuable from the disposable. In a sector where trust, reliability, and expertise are everything, managing this “slop economy” – as some are now calling it – is now part of the job. Retailers must spend more on paid


advertising and content moderation just to stay visible among spam and low-quality competitors. Counterfeit promotions and fake reviews can damage brand reputation and compress prices, reducing margins. Information overload also increases product returns and customer service demands, raising operational costs. The takeaway for retailers is that in an online


world increasingly stuffed with AI-generated ‘slop’, attention-grabbing content might get clicks, but clarity, credibility, and accurate information still drive customer trust. The question is: how do footwear retailers make sure that, amid all the noise, their expertise and reliable guidance are the things customers actually pay attention to?


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