Vestiaire Collective announces AI advancements and tech appointments

Resale fashion platform Vestiaire Collective is continuing to invest in Artificial intelligence (AI) driven technologies with a new AI-powered search engine, alongside the arrival of two tech veterans to further develop and implement its tech strategy globally.

Stacia Carr joins Vestiaire Collective as the company’s new chief technology and product officer, while former Zalando and Amazon executive Jim Freeman has been appointed to its board of directors and will act as an advisor for the company’s long-term tech strategy.

Vestiaire Collective said that Carr, who has worked at Zalando and SoundCloud, would be responsible for elevating the resale platform's technology strategy, focusing on AI and advanced data analytics “to bring the customer experience to new levels”. Carr, who is based in Berlin, will report directly to Maximilian Bittner, global chief executive of Vestiaire Collective.

On her appointment, Carr said in a statement: “I am excited to join Vestiaire Collective to lead the company through new technology advancements and leverage AI innovations for a better user journey.

“I look forward to elevating the company’s customer experience through AI and Data Analytics and I am proud to be part of a company making a positive change in the fashion industry and democratizing the global circular economy.”

Vestiaire Collective names new chief technology and product officer and integrates more AI-powered technology

These appointments come as Vestiaire Collective implements a new AI-powered search engine that translates keyword searches into image pattern recognition to deliver significantly more accurate and relevant items and enhance the overall user experience.

Vestiaire Collective states the move comes as most customers come to the website with a clear picture of what they are looking to purchase, with 40 percent of all orders coming from text searches. Customer searches often include very specific designers and particular categories, with nearly 45 percent of these being more complex than the combination of a brand and category. For instance, a user usually does not look for ‘Gucci Bag’ or ‘Pink Shoes,’ but rather ‘Gucci Flower Bag’ or ‘Pink Pointed Toe Lace Up Heels’.

This complexity led to a significant challenge for users, explains Vestiaire Collective, as 22 percent of one-time buyers and 17 percent of repeat buyers said they struggled to find the items they wanted. To address this limitation, the new AI-powered search engine translates keyword searches into image pattern recognition, which the platform states will drive higher conversion rates and sales.

The B Corp fashion resale platform is also developing a new AI-powered price recommendation system with image recognition to offer an intuitive and personalised experience for both buyers and sellers. This new feature will launch later this year and aims to deliver more precise price recommendations and showcase more relevant similar items for sellers to find the right price range.

In addition, Vestiaire Collective buyers will soon be able to upload images to search for similar or identical items, making the discovery process "even more intuitive and fun".

Commenting on the tech advancements and appointments, Bittner said: "By implementing a new AI-powered search engine that translates keyword searches into image pattern recognition, Vestiaire Collective is taking another step to offer customers a more precise and tailored shopping experience.

“Our tech strategy will be accelerated by welcoming Stacia and Jim to the company, who both bring outstanding track records to Vestiaire Collective. Carr’s expertise in AI and product development paired with Freeman’s strong background in tech will be key drivers in the company’s development and growth. We are looking forward to their contributions to Vestiaire Collective’s ongoing success.”