In the rapidly evolving landscape of fashion retail, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a game-changing force. Ruth Díaz Barrigón, VP of Amazon Fashion Europe, recently shared insights on how the e-commerce giant is leveraging AI to transform the industry.
Accelerating Innovation
Amazon has been at the forefront of AI deployment for over 25 years, with applications ranging from voice assistants like Alexa to supply chain optimization. In fashion retail, AI is enabling Amazon to match customers with products in ways previously unimaginable.
“What we thought was going to be possible in 2027 or 2030, we have to make happen in weeks or months,” Díaz Barrigón explained. “The speed at which we can accelerate deployment is really phenomenal.”
Empowering Brands
Amazon’s AI initiatives aim to support brands selling on their platform in two key ways:
- Respecting brand identity while reducing the “cost of snap”
- Helping brands grow their business efficiently
AI-powered tools assist brands in creating authentic voices, improving supply chain efficiency, and optimizing advertising investments. Amazon’s vast customer base and diverse touchpoints offer brands unprecedented reach and engagement opportunities.
Enhancing Customer Experience
AI is revolutionizing the customer journey on Amazon:
- Review summarization: AI condenses millions of customer reviews into digestible insights.
- Size recommendations: Billions of personalized size recommendations are made monthly, reducing return rates.
- Rufus: An AI shopping assistant that leverages Amazon’s extensive product catalog and customer data.
“Rufus knows absolutely everything about Amazon’s catalog,” Díaz Barrigón enthused. “It’s really exciting because it will help customers find the brands they like and often discover new ones.”
Democratizing AI
Amazon is committed to making AI accessible to businesses of all sizes through Amazon Web Services. This democratization allows even small sellers and brands to harness the power of AI for growth and innovation.
The Future of Fashion Retail
As AI continues to evolve, it promises to create more effective social shopping experiences and personalized product offerings. Amazon’s “Style Snap” feature, used over a billion times last year, exemplifies the potential for AI to transform how consumers discover and interact with fashion.
Díaz Barrigón emphasizes that AI is a tool to augment human creativity and efficiency: “It’s not about the technology itself, it’s what you do with it. We can really invest our value and raise it to something that we already can do and take away things that will take us a lot of time.”
For fashion retailers looking to embrace AI, Díaz Barrigón offers this advice: “Understand what you thought wouldn’t happen. Actually, you can do it with what you are trying to solve. That’s the first step.”
As the fashion industry navigates this AI revolution, Amazon’s approach demonstrates the potential for technology to enhance creativity, streamline operations, and deliver unparalleled customer experiences.
