British electrical retailer Currys has selected Accenture and Microsoft to deliver its core cloud technology infrastructure so it can leverage the latest AI technologies and improve the shopping experience.

Accenture and Microsoft, through their joint venture Avanade, will work closely with Currys to modernise, secure and simplify its technology estate, enabling Currys to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft AI technologies such as the Azure OpenAI service.

By leveraging Microsoft AI technologies, Currys hopes to unlock benefits such as:

• Making it easier to shop: Through personalised relevant product information and suggestions tailored to the consumer’s needs in the moment.
• Building customers for life: By providing Currys’ customers with an improved post-sales experience and warranty services.
• Enhance staff experience: By equipping staff with faster and easier access to information such as product availability, delivery costs and add-on services so they can better serve customers, while identifying potential cross and upselling opportunities.
• Drive growth and profitability: Through integrating AI into marketing, HR, finance and legal processes, Currys can benefit from increased productivity across core business functions. The retailer will look to harness AI for opportunities to improve omnichannel experiences.

The transition will also accelerate Currys’ journey to net zero emissions by 2040 by moving nine existing data centres with more than 2000 servers and 200 applications onto Azure to create a more energy efficient infrastructure.

“AI is the biggest technological leap of our life time,” said Alex Baldock, group CEO at Currys. “Currys exists to help everyone enjoy amazing technology so, as well as bringing the benefits of AI to millions of customers, we’ll do the same to our own business. We couldn’t have better partners for this, and together we aim to put Currys at the forefront of digital transformation in retail. We’re just starting out here, but the possibilities are vast. I’m looking forward to unlocking big benefits for our colleagues, customers and shareholders.”

Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, added: “Building a strong digital core will enable Currys to take its customer service and employee experience to the next level, and more quickly harness the potential of AI and generative AI to drive its ongoing reinvention. Together with Microsoft, we are helping Currys raise the bar in the retail industry, reach new frontiers of performance and efficiency, and create new value and growth.”

And Ralph Haupter, president in Emea for Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), said: “AI is rapidly unlocking new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world. By deploying the latest cloud and AI technologies, Currys can enhance the shopping experience for millions of customers, both in-store and online, while ensuring its 25,000 employees have the insights at their fingertips to unlock value across the entire business.”

Currys (www.currysplc.com) is an omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, operating online and through 727 stores in six countries.

Accenture (www.accenture.com) is a professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organisations build their digital core, optimise their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services. It employs approximately 742,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.