UK homewares retailer Dunelm is working with Google Cloud’s generative AI technology to improve the consumer’s online journey, making it much easier to discover and engage with Dunelm products online.
Dunelm aimed to modernise its website search capabilities. By transitioning from a first-generation search engine to Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search for Retail platform, Dunelm looked to provide a seamless and increasingly personalised shopping journey for its customers.
With Vertex AI Search for Retail, Dunelm can now offer Google-quality product discovery on its website, resulting in an improved search experience for its customers.
John Gahagan, chief technology and information officer at Dunelm, said: “A key part of our strategy is to improve the ways we connect products to our customers. Partnering with Google Cloud brings innovative generative AI solutions to our online search capabilities, making it much easier for customers to find the products they want. This is an exciting step forward in providing a best-in-class online shopping experience.
“By leveraging the power of AI, we’re making it easier than ever for our customers to find inspiration, supporting our growth potential as ‘The Home of Homes.'”
Early testing of the new generative AI platform has yielded some notable improvements to key metrics, including a significant reduction in search friction, with less than 1% of search terms returning zero results. These enhancements translated to a more intuitive and efficient shopping experience, allowing customers to quickly discover the perfect products for their homes, from our extensive ranges across multiple homeware and furniture categories.
“Website search abandonment costs retailers millions of pounds annually, as consumers are unable to find the specific products they need,” added Tara Brady, president, Google Cloud EMEA. “We’re proud to collaborate on this important project to use generative AI to improve consumer experiences and shape the future of retail.”
Dunelm’s work with Google Cloud was in partnership with Kin + Carta (recently acquired by Valtech), who supported with the initial design and experimentation of the programme.
Customer experience, and value, are strategic priorities for Dunelm, a company profile in the RetailX UK Top500 2024 report highlights.
Download the full report to access the Dunelm profile, which is one of eight retailer case studies featured. Amazon, Ikea, Next, Asda, Boden, Richer Sounds and Very are also looked at in detail.
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