Fnac Darty said in late February that it had entered into a new cloud and data partnership with Google, which will enable it to accelerate its digital transformation and thus improve its online services. In addition, the group has begun testing Google’s “Cloud Retail Search”, a solution designed to help customers find products more easily in its stores. This collaboration should enable the company to achieve the objectives of its strategic plan “Yesterday” and in particular that of “embodying the new standards of tomorrow’s winning omnichannel retail”.

Online commerce first developed in France thanks to the Minitel. It mainly benefited mail order companies such as 3 Suisses, La Redoute, Camif… Then the arrival of the Internet allowed e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Cdiscount, eBay to make a place for themselves in retail. Ordering online has become a way of life and this approach has been accentuated during the pandemic. At the same time, the consumer has become more demanding: he wants to be delivered quickly, compares prices, expects relevant advice and is increasingly concerned about the durability of products.

The major retail groups often sell the same products, whether they are smartphones or washing machines, differentiating themselves from others is essential and all are looking to improve their offer.

Fnac Darty’s Everyday strategic plan.

In February 2021, the group announced its “Everyday”plan, which revolutionizes
the place of advice, sustainability and service at the heart of the daily lives of all its
everyday life of all its customers”.

Enrique Martinez, CEO of Fnac Darty, said at the time:

“Everyday is a particularly ambitious plan, which commits us to an unprecedented disruptive approach while accelerating the deployment of our omnichannel model. This new strategic plan is our response to the increasing digitalization of consumption, the proven importance of human contact on a daily basis and the imperative need to work towards a form of consumption that is more in line with social and environmental issues.
environmental issues. As a recognized omnichannel leader, Fnac Darty will build its future by reinventing the way it serves its customers by 2025. To this end, we will invest in our digital ecosystem, to emphasize the advice and recommendations that are the strength of our brands, and to make the customer experience more fluid. Through our actions in favor of product sustainability, we will engage our customers and partners in a more sustainable consumption.
sustainable consumption. Finally, we will reinforce a trusted daily customer relationship, based on the use of a new subscription-based support service for the home.”

The partnership with Google Cloud will enable the group to achieve the goals of this plan.

The partnership with Google Cloud.

This strategic partnership has three innovative focuses:

● The deployment of the Google Cloud Retail Search solution on the Fnac.com and Darty.com websites. Google launched the Cloud Retail Search solution for e-commerce sites at the end of July 2021, and Fnac Darty is the first retailer in France to implement it to
establish new standards for online and mobile shopping journeys.
Its objective is to increase site performance through a more fluid and relevant product search and discovery, and thus offer consumers an easier, more personalized and enriched online shopping experience.

● The integration of data analysis and processing tools, Machine Learning (ML)and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This contribution will improve operational efficiency, customer experience and innovate in terms of services: improved management of promotions, demand forecasting, after-sales service, prevention of customer churn (unsubscribing).

● Training and awareness-raising of teams on the challenges and culture of Data and AI thanks to Google’s experience. This training will allow the dissemination of the digital and data culture and the democratization of the use of AI within the teams in order to support the capacities and the will to innovate of its employees.

This three-pronged approach to innovation is accompanied by an accelerated migration of Fnac Darty’s data base to Google’s cloud infrastructure.
This new partnership completes a fruitful and innovative relationship between Fnac Darty and Google. The two companies have combined their expertise in personalized and differentiated services, marketing technologies

All of these initiatives aim to generate at least 30% of the Group’s revenue on the web by 2025, half of which will be omnichannel thanks to the proven success of Click & Collect, which reflects the complementary nature of stores and the web.
In this way, the Group intends to be at the side of its customers, every day, in stores and on the web, to help them make informed choices, backed by the expertise of its 12,000 salespeople.

Translated from FNAC DARTY accélère sa transformation digitale grâce à Google Cloud.