Uniqlo IQ goes live in Japan

Uniqlo has launched Uniqlo IQ, a Google-powered voice-activated digital concierge service.

Within the Japanese retailer’s mobile app, this helps customers find style inspiration and recommendations, for instance, with hourly product rankings, searching by occasion type and finding items featured in monthly magazines. It then helps them purchase products within the app or by providing directions to the closest stores with the items in stock.

Uniqlo first started testing the concept in the US. In October 2017, it soft launched as a beta programme to 2,000 select users in Japan. The service is now available to millions of customers in Japan in the retailer’s app, LINE messaging app as well as Google Assistant.

Rei Inamoto, Founding Partner of Inamoto & Co., which conceived Uinqlo IQ and created the brand and service design, says: “As retail moves deeper into the digital realm, shopping needs to be not just portable and perpetual but personal as well. There has been a lot of talk about AI in the last few years but most use cases have been toys, not tools. Available through chat, search and even voice activation, this iteration of Uuniqlo IQ is the foundation of how Uniqlo will provide customer service on a personal level not just reactively but also proactively.”

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