Published
May 30, 2019
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Westfield to launch AI-powered trending pop-up concept

Published
May 30, 2019

Shopping malls giant Westfield is combining artificial intelligence with social good via a new initiative that sees it forging online links.


Westfield London


Over four days in early July, the company that has two major malls in London, will open The Trending Store pop-up at the Westfield London mall. It will stock the top 100 items of both womenswear and menswear (including accessories) that are trending online.

It’s a new concept that the company thinks could point to a new way of thinking about retail and merging online and offline experiences.

The initiative will also raise funds for Save The Children, the charity that Westfield has supported for some time.

It’s working with Next Atlas on the project, the company that has spent several years perfecting its AI trending technology, with it tracking more than 0.4 million “trend innovators” globally to get a picture of what’s trending on any given day.

“Spotting influencers who are early adopters of key trends – Nextatlas can track what they’re wearing and in turn creates and collates trends as they happen, whilst also predicting the future of fashion,” Westfield said.

Next Atlas’s information will then be used by Westfield’s own stylist team who will scour the mall to find items that fit the trend with the company saying that it will include items at all levels of the price scale.

It will be the first time a fashion store has been entirely styled using items driven by AI trending data.

“We know that the UK is shopping online, but we’re also seeing and hearing from consumers that they crave the human factor that shopping in person provides – the ability to touch, feel, try and seek advice, to ensure the products are right for you,” Myf Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer for Westfield said. “The Trending Store provides the best of both worlds via a unique shopping experience, one that we believe represents the way we will all be shopping in the future.”

Mario Coletti, Managing Director at Nextatlas, added: “Traditional retailers have always used stores to gather customer information. The Trending Store is revolutionising store management to make stores a destination of data science rather than a source of it. It's a pioneering example of how AI will be relevant for customers as well as a way to make stores more effective in generating enhanced customer experiences.”

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