Carrefour is showing its ambition in the digital world by opening a Digital Hub in Paris. In a partnership with Google, the retailer wants to develop new solutions based on artificial intelligence.
Omnichannel experience
Carrefour wants to set up an ecosystem of startups in its Digital Hub in order to move up a gear in digital innovation. It’s one of the key points of CEO Alexandre Bompard’s ambitious plans for the chain’s transformation. The goal is the creation of new customer experiences, as stated in the press release. The Digital Hub will focus on the integration of data in all group activities and the development of an omnichannel environment so as to achieve e-commerce leadership in food. Carrefour wants to do this by setting up an open and flexible organisation.
The 2,500 sqm innovation lab is located in Paris’ hip 13th arrondissement. It will be home to mixed teams including experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as over 300 employees who are specialised in digital applications and e-commerce. The opening follows the partnership made between Carrefour and Google in June 2018. Both parties agreed to serve shoppers together using Google’s voice assistant (known as the Google Assistant), Google Home smart speakers and the Google Shopping search engine.
“Out teams will be working on innovative projects in artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to create value for our business. This is really a great asset for the realisation of Carrefour’s digital ambitions by 2022,” says Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who is responsible for e-commerce, data and digital transformation at Carrefour Group.
