Very forays into generative AI to “revolutionise” shopping experience

As artificial intelligence (AI) garners hype across the globe, e-tailer Very has today announced its expanded collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to “accelerate retail innovation” with generative AI.

As part of the revolutionary collaboration, Very will launch a new ‘Gen AI Innovation Lab’. The lab will be powered by generative AI, machine learning and storage capabilities to deliver interactive and personalised digital shopping experiences to its millions of customers.

Very has already successfully implemented AI to enhance its business operations by using AI to forecast product demand and plan inventory, which led to better product availability. However, the new collaboration with AWS marks a significant step toward incorporating AI into the retail industry.

By combining generative AI capabilities with Very’s retailing experience and insights, the lab will create new products and immersive offerings that will power digital personalised shopping experiences.

Very's data teams will work closely with specialists from the newly launched $100 million AWS Generative AI Innovation Centre. AI experts will help Very securely use generative AI at scale, navigate technical challenges and roll out new experiences for customers.

Matt Grest, CIO at The Very Group, commented: “We want to be recognised as one of the UK’s leading AI-powered retailers. To keep our customers satisfied and transform our business operations, we've chosen to build on our existing strategic relationship with AWS and incubate new generative AI-powered products with a trusted collaborator and innovator who understands how we work with data at scale.”

Ornella Urso, Head of Retail Insights Europe, added: “The Very Group’s innovative approach, developed using AWS technology, sets a great example for the industry on the power of leveraging AI and ML capabilities in retail. Fueled by generative AI, the opportunities for retailers to use data and analytics to improve both the customer experience and internal processes are enormous.

“At IDC, we see improving product data as a top use case for retailers today and The Very Group taps into that with its initiative to use generative AI to improve product descriptions and images. Long-term, tapping into generative AI not only brings innovation at the forefront of the retail industry, it is also aligned with The Very Group’s continuous efforts to improve the buying experience for their customers.”

Last month, Very revealed that its pre-existing collaboration with AWS and investments in digital customer experience boosted “resilient” revenues. For the year ending 1 July 2023, the group's revenue stood at £1.82 billion, up 1.9% from £1.79 billion the previous year.