Mercari Launches ChatGPT-Powered Digital Shopping Assistant
Resale marketplace Mercari has launched a new digital shopping assistant, Merchat AI, powered by ChatGPT technology. This AI-enabled conversational shopping bot uses large language models to personalize recommendations for customers, based on their prompts. The technology enables customers to enter requests in natural language and receive personalized recommendations from Mercari's extensive selection of listings.
Mercari's suggested search uses for the shopping assistant include everything from Mother’s Day Gifts, specific items that are sold out in stores, summer wedding dresses, and trending products. Mercari's U.S. CEO John Lagerling believes the technology represents an exciting step forward for secondhand shopping. In his own words, "With this technology, we're leveraging the transformative power of artificial intelligence to make it easier for Americans to shop and explore Mercari's extensive marketplace. We anticipate that generative AI will also unlock more opportunities to iterate on our customer experience, along with additional ways to make the resale experience even more appealing to buyers and sellers."
Conversational AI technology, like ChatGPT, is becoming increasingly popular in the retail sector. Amazon, for example, recently announced their own AI-based AWS cloud service, Bedrock, which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI. Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Nestle, and General Mills have also adopted generative AI technology for marketing and consumer experiences. Despite ethical concerns around generative and conversational AI, the market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The global generative AI market size is expected to reach USD 109.37 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. The market is forecast to expand at a CAGR of 35.6% from 2023 to 2030.
