Data + AI Automation #1. How to Spot Rising Categories Early
“Which skincare category should we focus on next?”
“What are competitors launching that we haven’t spotted yet?”
For retail buyers and category planners, these questions come up often — especially in beauty, where trends shift fast and competitor visibility is limited.
Tracking launches across channels takes time. Manually scanning product pages, decoding naming patterns, and spotting rising formats is tedious — and easy to miss what matters.
In this edition of Data + AI Automation, we’ll show a step-by-step method to identify white space in skincare using Trendier Generator data and a focused GPT prompt — helping you spot rising categories before they go mainstream.
Step 1. Extracting the Data
Trendier Generator is an AI-powered tool that instantly delivers custom market reports and transforms keywords or URLs into structured, market-ready data that AI can understand — all at speed.
For this analysis, we used Trendier AI’s Category Trends report covering Olive Young’s skincare category from January to March 2025.
By clicking “Download PDF”, you’ll get the full report — including review concentration, SKU distribution, and pricing trends.
Want to see it for yourself?
👇 Download the full sample dataset instantly — no signup needed.
Step 2. Writing the ChatGPT Prompts
🎯 Prompt 0 — Set the Role and Objective
“What’s the specific question we’re trying to answer with this data?”
“You and I are now in full-on real-world beauty industry mode.
We’re analyzing market trends using Trendier data and other reports.
The goal isn’t just text generation, but data-driven analysis and actionable commentary.
So please make sure to provide insights that are as fact-based (numeric) as possible.”
This helps define the role, task, and context ChatGPT should consider.
Feels like ChatGPT is already on the same page, right?
From there, we’ll upload the category analysis report from Trendier Generator and plug it into the GPT instruction to generate actionable insights.
✏️ Prompt 1 — Identify High-Potential Categories
“Which categories balance growth, pricing power, and competitive space?”
“I’ve uploaded a series of visualized report slides containing 3 months of category-level data.”
“Using this dataset, please identify which categories are the most promising for new market entry, in terms of growth potential, market saturation, and price flexibility.”
“Finally, summarize the Top 3 categories, key performance changes, recommended entry strategies, and briefly mention any risks or red flags per category.”
By giving ChatGPT the right context and format like this, you’re way more likely to get useful and spot-on results.
Prompt 1 highlights high-potential categories, pricing flexibility, and whitespace opportunities — enabling buyers to make faster, data-backed decisions on where to focus next.
In our example, the analysis identified three standout categories to watch: Mist-Fixer, Skincare Set, and Lotion-Emulsion. It also surfaced compelling product angles to help brands stand out in a crowded space. Just as critically, it flagged potential risk factors — giving buyers a clearer view of what’s worth pursuing, rather than simply following the hype.
🔍 Practical Takeaways & Applications
This workflow shows how combining Trendier’s structured e-commerce data with GPT unlocks fast, strategic insight — without the manual lift.
- For buyers: Spot high-potential categories and emerging formats before they peak.
- For marketers: Turn product trends into tailored campaign angles and content briefs.
- For merchandisers: Align assortment planning with what’s gaining momentum across the market.
- For brand teams: Back creative decisions with real consumer behavior and pricing trends.
In this article, we showed how structured market data — paired with the right GPT prompt — can uncover high-potential categories, product angles, and emerging risks in just minutes.
With the right input, you unlock clear, actionable insights that power confident, data-driven decisions.
👉 Up next in Episode 2, we tackle promo planning — and show how Trendier + GPT can help you spot which SKUs are built to win the season.
🚀 Want to try this for your own product planning?
If you’re curious to:
- Get the full list of prompts used in this article
- Learn prompt-writing techniques for other common use cases
- Try it all hands-on using your own product or channel data
👉 Apply for the Bootcamp Now — Try it out with real product data!
