Dive Brief:
- Furniture company Ashley is allowing shoppers to buy products directly through AI-powered search engine Perplexity and pay with PayPal, the retailer announced last Wednesday.
- Shoppers can request product recommendations, view curated options, add items to their cart and complete a payment transaction in one continuous conversation.
- “As more customers begin their furniture search on AI platforms such as Perplexity, this new capability positions Ashley at the forefront of agentic commerce,” the company said in a press release.
Dive Insight:
Ashley’s AI shopping experience is part of the retailer’s efforts to appeal to a digital-first customer. The company is one of the first home retailers to integrate AI commerce so customers can find and buy products in a single step, according to the company.
“For us, innovation always starts with the customer,” Nick Lezin, senior vice president of e-commerce at Ashley Global Retail, said in a statement. “By offering a fully shoppable experience within Perplexity, we’re removing friction and giving customers a smarter, more intuitive way to shop Ashley.”
Ashley’s partnership with Perplexity and PayPal signals a deepening relationship between retailers and artificial intelligence companies. In recent months, several retailers have turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to connect with generative AI users.
ChatGPT debuted its Instant Checkout feature in September, allowing shoppers to make purchases directly on the platform. The company partnered with Shopify and Etsy to allow shoppers to buy items from their merchants via ChatGPT. While Walmart began allowing shoppers to buy items through ChatGPT in October, Target launched an app within ChatGPT in November that lets shoppers make purchases through the retailer.
In addition to growing its roster of retail partners, ChatGPT aims to simplify the comparison-shopping process. The company recently released its shopping research feature that helps shoppers find the right products based on their search prompts. In response to users’ search queries, the tool provides multiple product options, an assessment of their differences or trade-offs and information on “reliable retailers.”
Beyond its digital investment, Ashley has also expanded its brick-and-mortar footprint. In June, the company announced the opening of its largest North American store in Las Vegas. The two-story, 88,000-square-foot location boasts a Sleep Shop and the retailer’s widest product assortment.