John Lewis Announces Investments in AI-Powered Shopping

John Lewis also extended its partnership with commercetools, the AI-first digital commerce platform, to utilise its new AI capabilities.

John Lewis is making significant investment in AI-powered shopping, with the ambition to be one of the first UK retailers to fully adopt and integrate the technology. It began serving John Lewis products to customers seeking inspiration on AI platforms like Google Gemini and ChatGPT later that year. 

When and where technology was introduced in the UK, customers were expected to ultimately transact and purchase items via these apps within a few clicks. The investment marked the latest milestone in John Lewis’s broader £800m multi-year transformation programme.

Already known for its approach to integrating its physical and digital worlds, this early investment kick-started the integration needed for AI-powered shopping. John Lewis extended its partnership with commercetools, the AI-first digital commerce platform, to utilise its new AI capabilities.

The functionality put John Lewis at the forefront of the new retail revolution, meeting customers in the apps they were already using.

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In a further step forward, the brand launched on TikTok Shop on 9 March. Initially a 90-day pilot timed to help with Mother’s Day gifting, the TikTok Shop trial focused on a curated edit of beauty and gifting items, instantly shoppable through the platform.

This included a final drop of the now sold-out John Lewis Mother’s Day Beauty Box, featuring a collection of beauty treats from brands including Jo Malone London, Augustinus Bader and Estee Lauder.

Strategically, these investments put John Lewis in the places and spaces where customers looked for ideas and discovered products. As well as allowing them to buy instantaneously in one seamless customer experience, they helped attract new customers to John Lewis.

In a similar vein, John Lewis pioneered online shopping 25 years earlier, launching its first shopping website in 2001. Online accounted for 60% of total sales, complementing the 36 John Lewis physical stores.

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Dom McBrien, Chief Digital and Omnichannel Officer, John Lewis, said, “Our customers are already using AI apps and discovery platforms to find products they love. These investments will mean that we are right there when customers are looking for ideas – and being able to quickly and easily buy in a few clicks is a game-changer.”

“We look forward to rolling out these functionalities and welcoming them into our omnichannel mix alongside our own app, website, and physical stores.”

Broghan Smith, Head of Key Accounts at TikTok Shop UK, said, “We’re delighted to welcome John Lewis to TikTok Shop. As a cornerstone of British retail with a proud heritage, John Lewis represents exactly the kind of quality brand our community loves to discover.”

“We’re excited to see how they’ll succeed with discovery commerce on TikTok Shop, bringing their trusted products to life in new and engaging ways for our users.”

Later that month, John Lewis broadened its expansion into on-demand shopping with Uber Eats. Customers within the delivery catchments of the Stratford, Kingston, Cambridge, and Liverpool stores were expected to order from a selection of 3,000 John Lewis products from across home, beauty and tech categories.

Purchases were expected to be delivered to customers within 45 minutes. This followed on from an initial trial with Uber Eats the previous year, with two stores.

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