JD will enable clients to purchase merchandise straight via AI platforms

JD Sports is the latest major retailer to allow customers to buy its products directly through AI platforms.

The sports retailer will allow one-click purchases through AI platforms, meaning customers will not have to leave the apps.

It is the latest move by retailers to adapt to the consumer shift towards using AI to do their shopping.

ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot have already partnered with retailers like Etsy and Shopify in the US to pull live product data, prices and availability.

JD Sports said it will start by linking with Copilot before extending this to other leading large language model platforms.

AI first: JD Sports says AI is the future of shopping particularly among younger shoppers

The sportswear giant said it believes AI is ‘the future of how people will shop’ and will launch the technology in the US in the coming months.

It said it plans to expand the tech into new regions, but it will depend on the regulatory landscape as policymakers grapple with AI.

The recent fallout over X’s AI platform Grok shows policymakers are struggling to rein in AI’s influence as it spans various territories. 

JD Sports will be pinning its hopes on partnering with AI platforms to push sales higher, particularly among its core demographic of younger shoppers.

In November, the retailer said it expected annual profits to come in at the ‘lower end’ of current forecasts amid ‘volatility around consumer sentiment’ and ‘strained consumer finances’.

In the UK, like-for-like sales slipped 3.3 per cent, although it marked an improvement on the 6.1 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

Jetan Chowk, JD’s chief technology and transformation officer, told the Press Association: ‘We think AI is the future of how people will shop, and we want to stay at the forefront of how they shop.

‘What we are currently seeing is that customers are regularly using AI apps to research and discover the products they want to buy.

‘We can see that already and want to ensure we are moving early to meet customers and their needs in that space.’

Group chief executive Regis Schultz added: ‘We see AI as a real opportunity to improve our customers’ experience with JD, as well as making our own operations more efficient, and so I’m really pleased that with this big step forward we are putting our words into action.’