AI digital transformation: Marks & Spencer partners with Microsoft

22 Jun 2018 --- High-end British grocer Marks & Spencer is teaming up with Microsoft Corporation to explore and test how Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can be incorporated into retail stores and optimize operations.

Microsoft AI engineers will partner with the M&S technology team in the partnership which will investigate and test the capabilities of technology and artificial intelligence in a retail environment.

The aim is to accelerate M&S’ digital transformation to become a “digital-first business” by building on M&S’s new technology approach which was announced earlier this year.

“M&S is transforming into a digital-first retailer, at a time when the sector is undergoing a customer-led revolution. We want to be at the forefront of driving value into the customer experience using the power of technology,” says Steve Rowe, M&S CEO.

“Working together with Microsoft to understand the full potential of how technology and artificial intelligence can improve the in-store experience for our customers and the efficiencies of our wider operations could be a game changer for M&S – and for retail.”

“We firmly believe that AI has the power to amplify human ingenuity,” says Cindy Rose, CEO, Microsoft UK. “The retail sector is one of the most challenging landscapes in the UK right now and we are thrilled to be working with M&S to explore how AI can help such an iconic brand transform the customer experience and improve wider operations.”

Earlier this year an Amazon Go store opened in Seattle incorporating AI and other technologies to revolutionize the way that consumers buy groceries with its new grab and go brick and mortar store, Amazon Go, where shoppers can simply take what they want and walk out of the store.

Amazon Go weaves the most advanced machine learning, computer vision and Artificial Intelligence into the fabric of the Seattle store, so shoppers never have to wait in line or pay at checkouts.