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AI generated product marketing goes from zero to 90% in a year, Zalando says
Artificial intelligence is transforming commerce at a “rapid speed,” Zalando Co-founder David Schneider said on Tuesday, as he mapped out how the leading European online platform was working with the technology to serve customers’ individual needs.
“The rate of change is accelerating incredibly,” Schneider said while delivering the opening address of the World Retail Congress to over 800 delegates in Berlin.
“If I look at the last three years, even the last few months, things are changing at rapid speed, and I think in future we’ll change faster,” he said. Schneider, who co-founded Zalando in 2008, said the changes opened up growth potential across the board, while also increasing efficiency.
“Now we can build features with less resources and shorter development times,” he said. “Things used to take years.”
Schneider outlined how AI is being used for personalisation and he referenced Zalando’s personalised feed and its AI assistant that six million customers, which “frequently engage with”.
“Customers don’t want generic,” Schneider said, stressing that consumer trends were now meeting advanced tech development. “They want something that is personally relevant for them, they want authentic. The product of that is a whole new generation of commerce.”
Schneider told how 90% of Zalando’s product marketing content is now AI generated. “One year ago it was close to zero,” he said.
Schneider added that customers want a connection between commerce and culture.
“That’s what people are craving,” he said, adding that the lines between inspiration, social media and commerce were blurring.
“It’s getting more social. Trends are picking up at speed,” Schneider said as he stressed that he didn’t want to ignore the fact that consumer markets were in a difficult place at the moment.
He highlighted Germany as being one country hit by inflation due to recent global crises. However, he said when it comes down to it, AI advances must be embraced by retailers, both those operating online and those on the high street.
“Despite all the difficulties of the current time, I really think it’s a good moment to invest, create and form strong partnerships,” he said.