US firm Stitch Fix is coming to the UK with its unique personal shopping service that uses artificial intelligence to guess what you want to buy and then sends it to you.High street shopping footfall has dropped considerably in the past several years as consumer purchasing habits turning more toward online shopping. San Francisco-based startup Stitch Fix aims to compete with online giants such as Amazon by applying emerging Artificial Intelligence technology to the problem. The company has seen success in the US and
plans to enter the UK market in 2019.
Wired UK published an interesting piece this week delving into Stitch Fix's fresh ambitions in the UK and pointing out its existing competition in the field, as it isn't the only company using artificial intelligence to add a more personal and curated touch to shopping. UK rival firm Thread has been running since 2012 and provides personal shopper services for over a million customers via its personalised menswear shopping service, for example.
While many retailers now take an algorithmic approach to determining what a user will like, Stitch Fix doesn't just use that to suggest items or curate a storefront. Instead you'll be sent a mystery box of items the algorithm has picked and you have three days to try them on and decide whether to keep them or return them using a prepaid envelope included in the service. Stitch Fix's AI has even reportedly identified gaps in the clothing market and the company has moved to producing its own products to fill them.
Source: Wired.co.uk
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Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.
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