Lululemon and other retailers aim to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool to attract new customers.
lululemon Athletica, which began as a yoga wear company and has now grown to become a well-known sportswear brand, is utilizing generative artificial intelligence to enhance the online search experience for customers, making it easier for them to locate exactly what they need.
For instance, the company’s website now asks you if you want 25-inch-long black tights or ones with pockets when you search for them.
“Our data is one of our competitive advantages. We have a great deal of insight into our visitors’ needs and desires. According to Julie Averill, Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of Lululemon, “We can now anticipate and provide recommendations about new products that they might like and what’s available for them,” emphasizing how the company is utilizing Gen AI to improve the online shopping experience.
Averill told Indian Express, “We want them to be able to speak in their language and get the results as expected,” during a recent visit to Lululemon’s tech hub in Bengaluru. “How they construct that and how we receive that.”
However, according to Averill, there are many applications for generative artificial intelligence technology, and making shopping easier and more enjoyable is just one of them.
Creation of products
The Canadian company is experimenting with employing Gen AI for product innovation. It is well-known for selling now-iconic yoga pants to affluent consumers and establishing a market for sports and leisure apparel. “We are presently in the proof of concept phase, integrating Gen AI with our product designers to investigate quicker and more effective product development,” the spokesperson states.
“Gen AI is a fascinating field, in my opinion. There is a lot of promise when we consider product creation through the guest experience, and we’re testing a lot to figure out when it’s best to dive in headfirst right now, says Averill.
Retailers like Lululemon, who use a vertically integrated business model in which they design products, sell them through their retail stores and online, and even control the entire supply chain, want to use AI as a tool to reach out to newer customers. This is because they want to expand their customer base as more sophisticated artificial intelligence technologies are incorporated into the mix.
Connect India
Retailers have a huge opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence (AI), according to India Connect Averill. This opportunity extends beyond personalizing customer shopping experiences to include item planning, automated attributions, and store clustering. When asked how big brands across various domains are looking to capitalize on large language models (LLMs), which can generate more humanlike responses thanks to the massive amounts of data they are trained on, she responds, “As retailers, we can build and also leverage the innovation that’s in the market.”
“We view technology as a tool that makes all aspects of our business possible and allows us to accomplish more and move more quickly.”
The company powers Generative AI products with its own data and technology through AI/ML (machine learning) models and LLMs. “We are using a lot of AI internally, I would say. She emphasizes, “We’re not currently constructing Gen AI platforms, but we do have the capabilities and knowledge in-house.
To create its AI and ML solutions that provide generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered capabilities for consumers online and across their stores, lululemon depends on its global tech hubs, one of which is located in Bengaluru, India. Averill traveled to India to inaugurate the tech center’s new location. The hub currently employs 500 people with a focus on cloud, AI, and machine learning. In the future, Lululemon intends to double the workforce.
According to Averill, “The true reason for coming to India was the breadth of expertise and the depth of talent that was available.” “Although we were aware that many businesses had previously found success in India, we also believed we had a special offering.”
