Artificial Intelligence in Practice

11Burberry: Using Artificial Intelligence To Sell Luxury

British fashion retailer Burberry sells its luxury goods online, but also through its network of over 500 bricks-and-mortar stores and concessions spread across 50 countries.¹

In high-end fashion retail, customers still enjoy the personal touches that come with shopping in an exclusive boutique outlet. It also locates many of its outlets at airports where it caters to travelling clientele, who may need items immediately rather than delivered to their home in the near future.

Burberry's strategy for ensuring its actual stores remain competitive with virtual ones has been to bring many of the innovations made possible in the online world with web technology into the physical world – and much of this has been accomplished through artificial intelligence (AI).

What Problem Is Artificial Intelligence Helping To Solve?

Brands pushing the “luxury shopping” experience haven't been so quick to jump on board the e-commerce bandwagon as businesses aiming to replicate the day-to-day shopping experience.

Those buying expensive luxury goods clearly still appreciate being able to examine fine workmanship and high-end materials themselves before committing to buy, and enjoy being pampered in exclusive surroundings while they're doing it. This means a physical bricks -and-mortar presence in retail centers is a strategic necessity for some retailers, which is unlikely to be completely replaced by online.

Bricks-and-mortar stores still ...