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The IADS attended the 2023 Viva Technology conference that took place from June 14th to 16th in Paris to scout the key trends and interesting startups that could be of value to our members. We have highlighted the most relevant retail trends, topics and solutions that were strongly featured in this year’s edition of VivaTech.

VivaTech 2023 reflected the current state of the world – AI is all the buzz! Meanwhile, AR and web3 technologies are also still a significant focus as businesses gain a better grasp of how to leverage these technologies properly. And of course, businesses cannot write off the topic of sustainability, as the impending regulations are looming over their heads.

AI: the main attraction

AI undoubtedly dominated the show during this year’s edition. As Artificial Intelligence, specifically OpenAI, has taken the world by storm, ChatGPT has almost become synonymous with AI. This is not surprising as many retail organisations are harnessing this technology in a variety of ways. For example, Zalando has launched a ChatGPT assistant, and Hyundai department store is testing an AI system similar to ChatGPT for their copywriting. Other retailers have also been tapping into ChatGPT to make their chatbots smarter and VivaTech was the occasion to show off some of these interesting use cases.

Case study: Carrefour teams up with OpenAI to harness the powers of generative AI

In a rather timely manner, Carrefour announced its plans to launch a generative AI-powered shopping experience with OpenAI one week before VivaTech. Inside the exhibition, Carrefour had its own booth showcasing the ways in which it aims to utilise generative AI to enhance the customer experience and transform its working methods.

The retailer introduced a new AI Chatbot based on ChatGPT, called Hopla, which has been integrated into its website to assist customers with their daily shopping. Customers can seek assistance from the chatbot when it comes to selecting products within a specific budget, considering dietary restrictions and food constraints, or generating menu ideas.

Through the collaboration with OpenAI, Carrefour is also employing AI to enhance its product descriptions and streamline internal procurement procedures. These initiatives form a crucial component of Carrefour’s plan to enhance overall customer satisfaction and revolutionise its operational practices.

Although ChatGPT and AI are somewhat synonymous, AI overall should not be reduced to ChatGPT alone. Below is a selection of AI-powered startups scouted at VivaTech that may be of interest to our members.

• ChatLabs: AI-powered social experience platform that generates a unique, personalised journey for each customer based on the creative context of social media and level of engagement with brand content. ChatLabs was a finalist for the 2023 LVMH Innovation Award.
• Safira.ai: AI-based solution that generates, optimises and enhances online retailer’s product data to create an engaging shopping experience. It automates and professionalises the steps required to run an e-commerce shop.
• Vrdrobe LLC: Mobile app that harnesses AI technology to enable the user to try on clothes, shoes and glasses with their camera, thanks to AR models.
• Neobrain: Digital platform with three solutions based on AI to help companies match talent to opportunities, turning skills into collective performance. The platform was awarded the number one talent marketplace solution in Europe.

AR and virtual experiences: the future is digital

Augmented Reality and other digital experiences were also heavily present throughout the exhibition, likely due to the fact that businesses now have a greater understanding of how to leverage the Metaverse and other Web3 applications. Notably, many luxury brands like Dior, were showcasing their digital experiences as a means to provide distinct consumer experiences.

Case study: Emperia: Creating an immersive virtual store for Bloomingdale’s

Emperia is an immersive virtual store platform for retailers and fashion brands to create their own virtual and Metaverse experiences. Some of their clients include Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and Dior Beauty, as well as a department store client – Bloomingdale’s.

Bloomingdale’s launched their first-ever virtual store with Emperia in celebration of the company’s 150-year anniversary. The virtual store featured games, special surprises and a Bloomingdale’s exclusive collection for its anniversary celebration.

It also included rooms dedicated to brands, allowing Bloomingdale’s to sell virtual spaces to brands such as Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Nespresso and others. Essentially, it recreated the traditional retail concept of the concession model and transformed it into an e-concession in the virtual world.

Launching a virtual experience proved successful for Bloomingdale's as it was crucial in creating a new, innovative online shopping experience for customers and providing a platform for concessions.

It was evident that digital and innovative experiences remained at the forefront of businesses' minds at VivaTech, as AR and other virtual experiences were prominently featured in the exhibition. Here is a selection of intriguing startups in the sector that we discovered at this year's salon:

• Kivisense: AR-powered solutions that provide hyper-realistic try-ons for various store categories, including clothing, footwear, watches, handbags, eyewear and jewellery.
• BryanThings: Digital ‘retailtainment’ company that designs digital point of sale solutions for global and luxury brands, counting L’Oréal, Dior and Le Bon Marché among its clients.
• Cobalt: Merges digital and physical retail through a 3D immersive Metaverse experience for VR, desktop and web. It links real products to NFTs with NFC C-link chips, ensuring authenticity, supply chain transparency and data integration with logistics and CRM systems.
• GK Concept: Agency that creates bespoke interactive experiences in-store, strengthening the connection between consumers and brands. They design, develop and manufacture their own retail technologies.
• Veris Behavior: Develops VR, neuromarketing and data technology to conduct immersive consumer studies, assisting companies in the retail, consumer goods and hospitality sectors in validating their commercial and marketing strategies before launching to the market.
• Vyking: 3D and virtual try-on technology with an end-to-end platform, enabling fashion retailers to seamlessly create, scale and track 3D and AR shopping experiences both online and in-store.

Sustainability: still a pressing topic

Sustainability remains a pressing topic across all industries, with upcoming regulations driving businesses to prioritise their Scope 3 emissions and daily operations. However, the focus on sustainability was somewhat less prominent at this year’s conference than the last.

Kristen Davis, CEO of CinqC, chaired the panel discussions titled ‘Shifting to a Sustainable Business Model’. The panel included Julie Linn Teigland, Area Managing Partner EMEA at EY, Marie Ekeland, Founder and President of 2050.DO and Claire Martin, VP of CSR at CMA CGM. Together, the panelists discussed the importance for businesses embarking on a sustainability journey to look beyond individual countries or specific sectors and to consider ecosystems. Why? Examining ecosystems offers greater access to talent, resources and knowledge, and serves as a crucial avenue for businesses to observe how larger companies are collaborating with startups and other organisations to pave the way towards achieving a more sustainable business model.

Here is a selection of interesting startups in the sustainability sector that we pulled together from this year’s edition:

• EON: A product cloud platform that delivers business value with a digital ID for every product. This enables retailers to trace products from end-to-end, unlock and scale new business models, instantly authenticate their products, and engage customers long after the sale.
• Finds: A solution that serves as an overstock matcher, connecting fashion brands with surplus inventory to resellers, NGOs, and recyclers. Its aim is to maximise monetisation and achieve circularity.
• Carbon8: A circular impact company that converts carbon and industrial residues into sustainable value streams. Through its solution, it seeks to assist heavy industries decarbonising while transitioning to a more circular operation.
• Woola: A company that takes waste wool, material that would otherwise be discarded, and transforms it into a sustainable alternative to plastic bubble wrap.

Other retail solutions

Department stores are complex, centuries-old organisations who are constantly on the market for new solutions to help them stay relevant and work efficiently, here is a selection of startups that we scouted at VivaTech that we believe are relevant for department stores:

-    Alpha: A clienteling platform that simplifies and enriches the sales associate-client relationship. Sales associates can offer a "Red Carpet" like shopping experience to their clients thanks to a communication channel filled with product inspiration, client requests, style sessions and one click buy & try capabilities.

-    Fabriq: An app that combines digital tools for improving shop floor management, aiming to enhance the efficiency of shop floor staff, expedite the resolution of operational issues, enable seamless information flow, and leverage operational data to enhance daily decision-making.

-    Bloom: A business intelligence platform that analyses discussions and engagement and harvests data on social media to generate strategic insights for decision-makers to help brands leverage opportunities and detect risks.

This year’s VivaTech was also an opportunity for influencers to discuss the major advancements taking place in the wider technology industry. Among the overall 150,000 attendees, influencers such as Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and Marc Benioff were in attendance, including French President, Emmanuel Macron, who discussed the AI landscape in France. This is a small piece of the fruitful exchange that VivaTech 2023 offered, and we can't wait to see what the next edition of VivaTech holds. See you in 2024 VivaTech!

Credits: IADS (Kaitlyn Lim)