Gap Inc. is unveiling a suite of AI-powered shopping tools for all of its brands, 30 years after launching the first e-commerce website for its namesake Gap brand.
The announcement coincides with SF Tech Week, when various companies, startups and investors organize events and panels throughout the city, this year from Monday through Sunday.
Starting Monday, Gap customers will be able to discover items via two AI-powered third-party platforms. Alta Daily curates outfit suggestions based on variables including a user’s schedule, budget and the weather forecast. The app can surface items from users’ existing wardrobes as well as brands’ assortments.
Shoppers can use everyday language to interact with another platform, Daydream, which provides fashion ideas based on what they are looking for. Daydream will have access to all Gap Inc. brands — Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta — for those suggestions.
Old Navy and Banana Republic customers can similarly use natural language to describe what they’re looking for to conversational shopping agents on those two brands’ websites and apps.
Gap Inc. Chief Technology Officer Sven Gerjets is aware that users can be wary of or even disappointed with AI-assisted shopping experiences. Some 45% of purchases that consumers regret making with the help of AI were apparel and footwear, according to a SmartCustomer survey last month. Consumers are more likely to shop with AI at retailers they already trust, but are leery of how their data is used and want to maintain some control, according to recent research from Synchrony and Oxford Economics.
AI is “another important evolution in how customers may discover and shop our brands,” just as the Gap website was when it first launched in 1996, according to Gerjets. The goal is to reduce friction and provide a “genuinely useful” experience, and if the tech doesn’t succeed, to learn and improve, he said by email.
“Our starting point is always the customer. AI should make shopping easier and more intuitive, not add complexity or take choice away from the customer,” he said. “As these experiences evolve, we’re focused on making sure recommendations are relevant, that customers remain in control of their journey, and that the technology supports — rather than replaces — the relationship they have with our brands.”
On Wednesday at Gap Inc.’s headquarters, Gerjets will host a Tech Week event, “Never Finished: The Next Chapter,” in partnership with innovation consulting firm Silicon Foundry.
Speakers include Alta founder and CEO Jenny Wang, Daydream co-founder and CEO Julie Bornstein and Gap Senior Vice President of E-Commerce Megan Zapala, with moderator Kevin Delaney, editor-in-chief of The San Francisco Standard. Apple marketing executive Arem Duplessis and Rocket Companies Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Mildenhall will also hold keynote sessions.
