John Lewis continues digital push with 100 million pound Google partnership

The John Lewis Partnership is pushing forward with its digital transformation with the announcement it has struck a 100 million pound deal with Google Cloud to provide customers with “even more tailored and personalised experiences”.

The new partnership will see the partnership migrate more of its technology to Google Cloud, harnessing the tech giant’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offerings.

This will allow the company to be more efficient, spend more time focusing on customers, and better use data insights to help curate products and services, it said in a statement Wednesday.

“Investing in cutting edge technology is not just a choice, it’s a necessity for a modern retailer like us,” said John Lewis Partnership CEO Nish Kankiwala in a statement.

“Core to our strategy is building our technology infrastructure for the long term, drawing on the latest innovations to benefit our customers.”

Digital-first push

The five-year partnership marks a “significant step forward” in the British retailer’s efforts in recent years to bolster its digital business. In 2020, it announced a target to become a 60-70 percent online retailer by 2025, up from 20 percent pre-pandemic.

Its plan was to focus on the expansion of digital, virtual, and delivery services to keep up with rapidly-changing consumer habits.

Last month, the company introduced a virtual try-on feature for its fashion rental offering, powered by tech company Zyler.

Its digital transformation announced in late 2020 is part of a broader target by the company to reach profits of 400 million pounds by 2025.

However, the business has been hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis and wider retail headwinds.

In March of this year, the company announced it would be withdrawing its staff bonuses after posting a pre-tax loss of 234 million pounds in the year to January 28, widening from a loss of 27 million pounds the prior year.