London Designer Outlet, based in north London’s Wembley Park, has seen a double-digit rise in page views since launching its new AI assistant, Retail Week can reveal.
The new AI assistant dubbed “Joy” is now live on the London Designer Outlet website, with the aim of answering customer queries so they can get the most out of their trip.
Head of marketing Michelle D’Vaz Plant told Retail Week that since its launch a few weeks ago, 1,500 conversations have already been recorded and page views have shot up 19% month on month.
“The types of questions we’re seeing are ‘How do I get here? Which brands should I shop with? Who should I eat with? What menus do they have?’ It’s really about curating and navigating the journey for them.
“The next level will be around who’s got the best offers and discounts, and it’s such a great tool as it enables us to get that information out live.”
She added that she can’t see how much footfall has been driven as a result of “Joy” as Wembley was just home to a 12-night residency from singer Harry Styles and that had a huge impact on who was visiting the centre.
As London Designer Outlet has a wide catchment with many different demographics, D’Vaz Plant said the AI assistant is also able to serve information in a variety of languages.
“I think it covers around 60 different languages, which you wouldn’t necessarily get everywhere. The fact AI can do that is fantastic.”
Next steps
While “Joy” acts as a personal guide for website users, D’Vaz Plant revealed a game will be launched for people to become “more familiar with their shopping companion”.
As well as the gamification element, she said another phase would be to incorporate loyalty.
“We eventually want to make it integrated so that if you’re a member of (the loyalty scheme) One Wembley Park, when you come onto the website it becomes even more of a shopping companion for you because it serves you and recognises you,” she explained.
“The fact you’re already a member shows what points you’ve got, what offers are specific to you, and what tier you’re in as part of the loyalty platform.
“We haven’t launched this yet. At this point it’s purely information gathering, and then level two will be that full integration where it’s able to identify that somebody is a non-member, and can encourage them to sign up to get those loyalty benefits.”
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