The way of buying online has not changed significantly in the last two decades. Many brands continue to trust that their products are attractive enough for consumers to sail for hours on their websites to find what they are looking for. Others are already trusting the capabilities of artificial intelligence to offer new and more attractive experiences.
This is the case of Ralph Lauren, which has presented Ask Ralph, a new conversational purchase experience promoted by the integrated in its application. In collaboration with the Microsoft Azure OpenAi platform, the tool is an AI agent who mimics the experience of talking to a stylist. To find the right style.
As the company expresses in a statement, Ask Ralph combines advanced technology with the timelessness of Ralph Lauren to provide inspiration. The chatbot offers suggestions of custom garments and complete sets according to the user’s instructions, based on the inventory of Pole Ralph Lauren for men and women. It is able to understand open indications, interpret the context and offer recommendations.
Users can interact with Ask Ralph as they would with a stylist in a Ralph Lauren store, through simple and conversational questions. They can plant questions like “What do I wear for a concert?” or “Teach me some woman’s polo sweaters.” Also style consultations like “How can I combine my navy blue blazer of man?”
Allows to ask clearance questions and refine the recommendations
The tool responds by presenting complete looks. It allows to ask explanatory questions and refine the recommendations for them to conform to their own style. It also facilitates adding individual elements of a look to the purchase cart or acquiring the complete set.
In this sense, Ralph Lauren has followed the footsteps of Daydream, a purchasing assistant based on artificial intelligence that was presented in spring and has gained popularity, especially among younger consumers. His proposal is also designed to buy by asking, refining and exploring, and making the user feel as if he spoke with an expert fashion friend or with his personal shopper.
“Whether to prepare for the first day of work or to create the perfect look for a night out, Ask Ralph is much more than a simple discovery“said David Lauren, brand director and innovation at Ralph Lauren Corporation, in a statement.”It is about connecting with consumers with what they like most about Ralph Lauren: our iconic and unique vision of style, offering timeless looks from head to toe that inspire them to enter our world”
Thus, for the training of the tool, data from the files and current collections of the brand have been used. In addition, the creative team have contributed their knowledge and expensive experience to ensure that the application creates looks that reflects the brand’s style vision. The store team has also provided information about how they work with customers to help them find garments.
They assure that Ask Ralph is a new sample of its innovation trajectory
From the company they assure that Ask Ralph is a new sample of its innovation trajectory. It emphasizes that it was one of the first luxury brands to be a pioneer in electronic commerce and throughout the years has developed innovative purchase experiences, from the incorporation of interactive purchase technology to holograms or 4D projections.
In addition to applying AI in marketing customization or digital interaction, Ralph Lauren also uses it to optimize operations, such as the predictive management of the inventory or demand forecast.
Aks Ralph is now available for users of the United States on Apple and Android devices. The company ensures that it will continue to develop the tool as consumers interact with it, so that in the future new functions and more personalized experiences can be included, or can be expanded to other brands of the group or other markets.
