Polarn O. Pyret builds AI capabilities for the future of e-commerce 

E-commerce is changing as AI becomes an increasingly important part of the customer journey. Customers discover and compare products across new channels, while businesses gain new opportunities to streamline processes and make better decisions. For Polarn O. Pyret, this development is about more than adopting new technology. The company is building its own capability to use AI to develop the business, while keeping its knowledge of customers, products and the brand at the centre.

– What matters is not AI itself, but what the technology makes possible. We want to use it to free up and amplify what our colleagues do best – experience, creativity, judgement and an understanding of our customers and our brand, says Charlotta Brandstedt, Chief Digital Officer at Polarn O. Pyret.

New ways of working with AI

Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P) has been using AI in areas including product information, translation, analytics and customer service. The company is now taking the next step, exploring how people, AI agents, automation and existing systems can work together in new ways of working. 

The starting point is to understand the business and its processes before introducing technology. What information is needed? What decisions are being made, and where does human expertise create the greatest value? By understanding the entire flow, PO.P can determine where AI and automation can contribute, and where other solutions or ways of working are more appropriate. In parallel, PO.P is developing specific AI agents, including for product copy, social media and newsletters.

A technical foundation for AI agents

To test new solutions, PO.P also needs a technical foundation that provides control over security, access and governance. Together with Iver, the company has worked with AI Landing Zones in Microsoft Azure, creating the conditions needed to develop and scale AI agents in a secure and structured way. Iver contributes specialist expertise in areas including Azure, architecture and security, while PO.P retains ownership of its direction, data and solutions. 

The collaboration combines PO.P’s business and process knowledge with Iver’s technical expertise. A specialist works closely with the PO.P team, develops an understanding of the business needs and helps turn ideas into working solutions. 

E-commerce is changing

The customer journey is becoming increasingly fragmented. Today, a customer might discover a product on social media, through a marketplace or via an AI service. For PO.P, this makes product data, content, structure and integrations increasingly important. The company’s products and knowledge need to work and remain relevant wherever customers encounter the brand. 

As the same AI models also become available to all retailers, the technology itself becomes less of a differentiator. For PO.P, its own knowledge therefore becomes an increasingly important asset. 

– We have 50 years of experience with children, parents, functionality, quality and how children actually use clothing. AI should help us make that knowledge more accessible, relevant and scalable – not level it out, says Charlotta Brandstedt. 

That is also why people remain at the centre of PO.P’s continued AI work. The company is working with Growth Mindset, Learning Zone and Rethink to create a culture where employees can test, learn and challenge established ways of working. Employees should be able to describe the problem and the outcome they want to achieve, rather than starting with a specific technical solution. Technology should free up time and provide better decision support, but it is people who bring the experience, creativity and judgement.

Customers should notice that PO.P has become better

PO.P has already seen business value from AI and advanced analytics. One example is its work with pricing and markdowns, where better analysis has strengthened the decision-making process and contributed to improving the markdown rate. At the same time, it is important to PO.P that AI does not become an end in itself. The technology should contribute to the same things as the rest of the business: better results, a better customer experience and more efficient ways of working. 

– A child does not care that we use AI. Parents probably do not either. They want to find the right product, understand the difference between two garments, get relevant information and receive quick help when something goes wrong. Ideally, customers should not notice our AI. They should notice that we have become better, says Charlotta Brandstedt. 

For Polarn O. Pyret, the AI journey is therefore about developing the company without losing what makes it unique. By building its own capabilities while bringing in specialist expertise where needed, PO.P can develop new ways of working and explore new opportunities without giving up ownership. 

AI requires new investments in technology, data and skills, but the ambition is also to build a company that can continue to develop, grow and create more value without costs increasing at the same rate. 

– Technology can be bought. Many companies will have access to the same AI models. But our culture, our experience and the collective knowledge our people have about children, products and our customers are much harder to copy. AI should not make PO.P more like everyone else. It should help us become even more PO.P, concludes Charlotta Brandstedt.