Upscale retailer Ralph Lauren claims it was the first luxury chain to sell its wares online, aiming to re-create the feel of its Manhattan flagship store with its website. The company is now delving into the next frontier: artificial intelligence, as are some of its peers.
David Lauren, chief branding and innovation officer at the New York-based chain, on Monday discussed his company’s 25-year partnership with tech giant Microsoft at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference in New York.
On Sunday at the show, executives from French luxury conglomerate LVMH talked about how it was using AI in different ways for its 75 “maisons,” or brands. That same day, John Furner, the president and CEO at Walmart U.S. who is about to take those roles at Walmart Inc.; Sundar Pichai, CEO at Google and Alphabet unveiled their new AI partnership.
At retail industry conferences these days, digital pioneers are standing alongside store chain executives to outline their collaborations regarding AI and other digital initiatives — tech that promises a transformative future but comes with warnings of a potential investment bubble that could burst. The show floor at the NRF event at the Javits Convention Center was crammed with AI-related vendors, and many of the conference sessions related to AI and how retailers were using it.
Lauren appeared with Shelley Bransten, Microsoft corporate vice president, worldwide industry solutions, to chronicle how the chain pioneered e-commerce as a luxury retailer working with the tech giant. And that relationship has expanded to include AI.
“About 25 years ago, we were the first luxury fashion brand to tell our story” online, Lauren said. “The internet brands had marketing sites, and there were a lot of sites showcasing products. ... I think the Gap had been out there, a couple brands, and a lot of discount sites. People were trying to figure out what it would be. And we had this mansion on 72nd Street, which was glamorous with mahogany and chandeliers. How do you take that storytelling, that richness of that world, and bring it to the internet?”
The combination of storytelling and commerce served as a perfect vehicle for Ralph Lauren, he said. Instead of being confined by the limits one finds in a magazine, online “you could have an endless amount of space to create a rich atmosphere,” according to Lauren.
The target customer was then-Apple CEO Bill Gates, Lauren said. A website was a way for Ralph Lauren to sell to shoppers in Silicon Valley, where it didn’t have many stores, he added. As it turned out, despite the skeptics, affluent shoppers were in fact willing to buy pricey sweaters and suits online, according to Lauren.
Just ‘Ask Ralph’
Ralph Lauren has moved onto the next stage, to AI. In September, it introduced a new AI-powered feature on its app, “Ask Ralph,” a shopping assistant. It provides styling options by serving up multiple, shoppable visual laydowns of complete outfits, personalized to a user’s prompts.
NRF President and CEO Matt Shay said he tried it out in December.
“‘Ask Ralph,’ I mean, when you go there, it feels warm,” Shay said. “It feels like I’ve walked into the mansion or one of the stores. That’s the way it feels when you get on the app. And you get sort of invited in with the experience, the visuals, the storytelling.”
Bransten chimed in and said her husband has used “Ask Ralph” to pick out the black coat she was wearing onstage.
On Sunday, Gonzague de Pirey, LVMH’s chief omnichannel and data officer, and Soumia Hadjali, Louis Vuitton’s global senior vice president, client development and digital, spoke about their corporate approach to AI.
LVMH has employed a “digital concierge” strategy aimed at using AI to personalize and enhance the luxury customer experience across its multiple brands. Hadjale and de Pirey stressed that at LVMH, the technology is not meant to replace creativity at its brands — or affect their quality — and that it must not be visible to shoppers.
LVMH approaches AI cautiously because it “carries the risk of flattening creativity,” de Pirey said.
AI color testing
At Louis Vuitton, AI is used to speed up creative explorations for its products, such as helping to visualize materials or test colors, according to Hadjie.
“We see AI as helping our creatives be more creative,” Hadjali said. “For us, AI will never replace creativity. It amplifies it.”
Also on Sunday on the AI front, Walmart and Google unfurled plans for the discount giant to make products from its namesake chain and Sam’s Club be available through Google’s Gemini. That’s a group of AI assistants designed to help with tasks like writing, coding and research.
Now Gemini will automatically include Walmart and Sam’s Club in-store and online products when it’s relevant, according to Walmart. For example, when a customer asks for advice on camping equipment for the spring season, Gemini will suggest items from Walmart’s inventory.
Google also announced that it had partnered with several companies, including Walmart and Wayfair, to co-develop a Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard designed to enable more seamless, secure interactions between AI agents and retailers’ platforms.
“Wayfair is investing in AI‑powered discovery wherever our customers are — whether that is on our own app or across external AI platforms,” Fiona Tan, Wayfair’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “The Universal Commerce Protocol serves as the common language for this new ecosystem. It allows agents to bridge the gap between discovery and checkout, while ensuring we remain the merchant of record to guarantee the quality of the service.”