AI tool complements the work of stylists

Luxury online fashion retailer is developing an AI-powered tool that will help ensure customers get their choice right first time.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming one of the hot pieces of technology used to support a number of tasks in everyday life and the retail industry is catching on. Consumers in the UK spend GPB 388 billion on retail purchases and the industry is making a huge strides away from the high street and towards online. The number of purchases made online is up 16 percent against last year and this is constantly growing.

As part of a GBP 442m investment, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, which recently opened their new Tech Hub in London, are now expanding their use of AI technology to personalise the shopping experience for consumers. The company, which was established in 2015 following the merging of the two luxury e-commerce sites (Yoox and Net-a-Porter) has been experimenting with AI since 2016 and is currently exploring new tools such as a virtual stylist to complement the work of their personal shoppers.

The intelligent tool will draw on the past work of the company’s stylists as well as the customer’s purchase history, likes and dislikes, to learn what types of clothes combine well for an outfit. The virtual stylist will offer customers a more sophisticated degree of personalisation by suggesting complementing products to create an outfit that works well for them. The system could also potentially help customers pick clothes based on their location, schedules holidays and activities, whilst also speeding up the work of customer care teams and personal shoppers in making product recommendations and put together outfits more quickly.

AI is taking the online market by storm and we are seeing an increase of innovations such as the mobile app Blippar which allows shoppers to make purchases straight from the runway at fashion shows. How could AI further complement the human touch and contribute to a even more personalised shopping experience?