Ahead of NRF 2024, the retail industry’s largest event, Victoria’s
Secret & Co. (VS&Co) and Google Cloud today announced a
strategic, multi-year partnership. Victoria’s Secret & Co. will
leverage Google Cloud’s AI and generative AI technologies to create
more personalized and inclusive online shopping experiences for its
global customers. Through this partnership, VS&Co will also
leverage Google Cloud’s AI technologies to improve customer and
associate experiences and drive operational efficiencies within the
business.
With Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s website now driving more than
500 million annual visits and growing, a key priority for the
company is to leverage new technologies to create personalized
customer experiences at scale. Under the new, multi-year
partnership, the brand will explore a new generative AI-powered
conversational assistant, created with Google Cloud’s AI platform,
Vertex AI. The goal of the conversational chatbot is to provide
shoppers with tailored product recommendations and helpful advice
based on personal preferences and life experiences – whether a
customer is a sports enthusiast, a nursing mother, a breast cancer
survivor recovering from a mastectomy, or simply ready for a new
bra.
In December 2022 Victoria’s Secret purchased Adore Me, a leading
direct-to-consumer lingerie company, with the goal of leveraging
Adore Me technology and expertise to continue to improve the
Victoria’s Secret and PINK customer shopping experience and
accelerate the modernization of VS&Co’s digital platform. Adore
Me has already been using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform and
Duet AI for Google Workspace for generative AI efforts, and this
new partnership creates even more synergy across the brands and
allows Victoria's Secret & Co. to more easily and quickly
integrate large language models created and used by Adore Me.
“The integration of Google Cloud's AI and generative AI
technologies will not only improve the online shopping experience
for our customers, but also will empower our internal teams to
drive innovation across various business functions,” said Chris
Rupp, chief customer officer, Victoria’s Secret & Co. “This
partnership signifies a new era for Victoria's Secret & Co.,
where cutting-edge technology meets our passion for enhancing the
customer journey and reinforcing our position as a leader in
retail.”
Victoria’s Secret & Co. is actively exploring strategic ways
to integrate Google Cloud’s cutting-edge AI technologies to elevate
its internal operations. The brand’s vision includes leveraging
these technologies in marketing, analyzing customer sentiment and
more. Google’s AI capabilities could also be used for supply chain
optimization to better forecast product demand and ensure timely
inventory management, as well as support human resources and store
operations through conversational and personalized associate
onboarding and training programs.
“We are strategically implementing AI to help us better use data
to benefit our customers and enhance internal processes. We’re
excited about the potential use cases including international
expansion planning to marketing development and supply chain
optimization,” said Murali Sundararajan, chief information officer
at Victoria’s Secret & Co. “These initiatives could not only
streamline our operations but also enable us to better meet the
needs of our customers and associates.”
Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK will also aim to
enhance its website and mobile app by implementing Google Cloud’s
Vertex AI Search for retail technology. This visionary integration
can boost the retailer’s ability to provide Google-quality search
and recommendations capabilities, helping shoppers search, find and
discover relevant products more quickly and easily.
“Victoria’s Secret & Co.'s use of AI and generative AI to
fuel its strategic growth plan illustrates how retailers can
practically use these new technologies to deliver the full
potential of their brands,” said Carrie Tharp, vice president of
Strategic Industries, Google Cloud. “From building tailored
experiences that resonate with shoppers, to transforming how new
products are developed and delivered, Victoria’s Secret & Co.
is at the forefront of retail innovation.”
These new technology initiatives build on Victoria’s Secret
& Co.’s recently introduced, AI-powered product search feature
that uses Google Cloud’s Vision API Product Search technology to
help users to find a specific product by simply dropping an image
into the website’s search bar. For example, a shopper can upload a
photo of a bra from an earlier product lineup and immediately get
product recommendations for current bras with a similar fit and
style. This feature and other enhancements in partnership with
Google Cloud furthers Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s ongoing
commitment to delivering world class customer experiences through
technological advancements, which is at the very core of how the
business operates and thrives.
The selection of Google Cloud’s AI technology was based on a
variety of factors, but importantly came down to Google Cloud’s
leadership position in AI security practices, and ability to
flexibly integrate with existing business systems at scale.
About Google CloudGoogle Cloud accelerates
every organization's ability to digitally transform its business
and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage
Google's cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers
build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and
territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable
growth and solve their most critical business problems.
About Victoria’s Secret & Co.Victoria’s
Secret & Co. (NYSE: VSCO) is a specialty retailer of modern,
fashion-inspired collections including signature bras, panties,
lingerie, casual sleepwear, athleisure and swim, as well as
award-winning prestige fragrances and body care. VS&Co is
comprised of market leading brands, Victoria’s Secret and
Victoria’s Secret PINK, that share a common purpose of inspiring
and uplifting our customers in every stage of their lives, and
Adore Me, a technology-led, digital-first innovative intimates
brand serving women of all sizes and budgets at all phases of life.
We are committed to empowering our more than 30,000 associates
across a global footprint of more than 1,350 retail stores in
nearly 70 countries. We provide our customers with products and
experiences that make them feel good inside and out while driving
positive change through the power of our products, platform and
advocacy.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995We caution that any
forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this
press release or made by Victoria’s Secret & Co., our
management, or our spokespeople involve risks and uncertainties and
are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are
beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and
financial results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied in any such forward-looking statements, and any future
performance or financial results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. Forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding our future operating results, the
implementation and impact of our strategic plans, and our ability
to meet environmental, social, and governance goals.
Information about risks and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied
in any forward-looking statements can be found in “Item 1A. Risk
Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 2023. Except as may
be required by law, we assume no obligation and do not intend to
make publicly available any update or other revisions to any of the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release to
reflect circumstances existing after the date of this press release
or to reflect the occurrence of future events, even if experience
or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed
or implied by those forward-looking statements will not be
realized.
For more information, please contact:
Victoria’s Secret & Co:
Media Relations:
Brooke Wilson
Communications@victoria.com
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