Sports company Puma is to deploy Google Cloud’s data, analytics and AI to make its online retail experience more efficient, agile and personalised for shoppers worldwide.

This should pave the way for consumer-facing innovations, ranging from generative AI shopping assistants, to virtual try-ons, to AI-driven loyalty programmes.

The collaboration will see Puma shift parts of its ecommerce ecosystem, including PUMA.com, to Google Cloud and build out a global ecommerce data platform. Early results have already driven customer experience improvements, including a 19% increase in average order value, as a result of Puma using Google Analytics and BigQuery to understand and tailor content to customers. In addition, using Apigee and BigQuery, Puma has been able to access real-time inventory levels up to four times faster, helping shoppers find the exact products they wish to buy at the nearest stores.

“With Google Cloud’s AI and data capabilities, we have been able to not only gain a far better understanding of our customers, but also translate that insight into frictionless commerce, and more personal shopping experiences both online and offline,” said Pancho Ortuzar, director at Puma. “Migrating our ecommerce infrastructure to Google Cloud will greatly accelerate our efforts towards making Puma’s direct-to-consumer channels a significant driver of overall business growth.”

Over the course of this multiyear agreement, Puma will incorporate Google Cloud AI capabilities at all stages of its direct-to-consumer channels for more tailored and rewarding customer experiences. Vertex AI Search for retail (cloud.google.com/solutions/retail-product-discovery) will bring Google-quality search and recommendations to Puma’s digital properties, helping shoppers discover products and deliver personalised shopping recommendations based on their current interests and trends.

In addition, Puma will explore Google Cloud’s generative AI and visual search tools to power future bespoke offerings, such as a generative AI shopping assistant and options to try on sportswear items virtually with the help of AI-generated content.

Google Cloud’s AI capabilities will also sit at the heart of Puma’s refreshed global loyalty programme, accelerating rewards transactions and tailoring special offers and promotions to the preferences of individuals and their families.

“Family has always been a big part of the Puma experience, and our AI-driven approach to loyalty will help us better understand and reward customers based not just on individual but also on family needs,” said Ortuzar. “By streamlining the technology stack and eliminating data silos with the help of Google Cloud, Puma employees are now freed up to pursue innovative uses of AI and other technologies that build stronger, more nuanced relationships with customers.”

As part of the migration, Puma will consolidate its global ecommerce data and workloads onto Google Cloud, creating a single data engine that will give the company end-to-end insight into how audiences engage with its brand and digital content, driving faster and more accurate personalisation of products and offers. The move will not only generate cost savings compared with Puma’s previous ecommerce cloud, but will also empower the company to exchange data more efficiently with other internally used cloud platforms, third-party ecommerce options, and even its global network of vendors and partners.

“By building a centralised customer data platform on Google Cloud, we get the highest quality technology when it comes to analytics, data governance and security, allowing us to radically improve how we work with partners in the interests of our customers,” said Ortuza. “Common data standards and API management through Apigee mean that no matter where our retail outlet operators are on their digitisation journeys, they can tap into our digital services and insights without having to alter their current IT systems. That, in turn, enables them to create even more localised experiences, supported by consistently world-class data security and operational intelligence, with minimal disruption to them or their customers.”

Carrie Tharp, vice president at Google Cloud (cloud.google.com), added: “As consumer tastes become more personalised and bespoke, popular brands will need to look at technologies like generative AI to stay ahead of the curve. Puma’s partnership with Google Cloud is leading the industry in applying cloud, data analytics and AI to transform the customer experience.”

Puma distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs about 20,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.