Victoria's Secret & Co., a world-leading
intimates retailer, charts a new course with Google Cloud AI to
enhance online shopping experiences and accelerate core business
operations
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 11,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 Cloud
Google 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.
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SOURCE Google Cloud