1-800-FLOWERS.COM Launches Beta of "GWYN", an Artificial Intelligence Powered Online Shopping Experience
In time for Mother's Day, "GWYN" Creates an Engaging Customer Experience Using Fluid Expert Personal Shopper Powered by IBM Watson to Identify the Perfect Gift!
CARLE PLACE, N.Y., May 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- She can help you find exactly what you are looking for, the right gift for the perfect occasion to deliver a smile. She's "GWYNsm" (Gifts When You Need) and she's the new AI-powered gift concierge, intuitive shopping experience in beta across the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. suite of brands, a leading destination for floral and gourmet gifts.
"We created GWYN as part of our ongoing commitment to continually enhance our customer experience, providing ease and convenience for our customers to act on their thoughtfulness and deliver smiles to the important people in their lives," said Chris McCann, President, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. "As a company that embraces emerging technologies, we are thrilled to offer our customers another new and innovative way to engage with us."
1-800-FLOWERS.COM is the first leading ecommerce player in the gifting category to use this technology. GWYN is based on the Fluid Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) software platform, powered by IBM Watson. She is a gift concierge that intuitively guides customers through their shopping experience to help them select the perfect gift from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., including 1-800-Flowers.com®, Harry & David®, Cheryl's® cookies, Fannie May® chocolates, The Popcorn Factory® and 1-800-Baskets.com®.
Using IBM Watson's Question Analysis API, GWYN can interact with online customers using natural language. For example, a customer might type, "I'm looking for a gift for my mother," and GWYN will be able to interpret their question, and then ask a number of qualifying questions about the occasion, sentiment and who the gift is for to ensure she shares the appropriate, tailored gift suggestion with each customer.
GWYN is available for mobile and desktop users, interacting with customers via natural language by typing answers to questions. As customers continue to use GWYN, her underlying cognitive capabilities will enable her to learn about their unique gifting needs and wants, refining and enhancing the shopping experience specific to each customer over time.
"The world's data is growing at a tremendous rate, and the retail industry is at the forefront of tapping into this unstructured information to better cater to the modern consumer," said Keith Mercier, IBM Watson retail leader. "By using Watson, the cognitive capabilities of GWYN are enabling 1-800-FLOWERS.COM to offer a more personalized and intuitive online shopping experience, and foster new levels of brand engagement."
GWYN joins other recent initiatives by 1-800-FLOWERS.COM designed to enhance the customer experience, including the ability for customers to order floral gifts on Facebook Messenger as well as through Amazon's Alexa.
About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is a leading provider of gourmet food and floral gifts for all occasions. For the past 40 years, 1-800-FLOWERS® (1-800-356-9377 or www.1800flowers.com) has been helping deliver smiles for our customers with gifts for every occasion, including fresh flowers and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, candles, balloons and plush stuffed animals. As always, our 100% Smile Guarantee® backs every gift. The company's Celebrations® suite of services including Celebrations Passport® Free Shipping/No Service Charge program, Celebrations Rewards® and Celebrations Reminders(sm), are all designed to engage with customers and deepen relationships as a one-stop destination for all celebratory and gifting occasions. In Q3 2016, 1-800-Flowers.com was awarded a Silver Stevie "e-Commerce Customer Service" Award, recognizing the company's innovative use of online technologies and social media to service the needs of customers. In addition, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. was recognized as one of Internet Retailer's Top 300 B2B e-commerce companies and was also recently named in Internet Retailer's 2016 Top Mobile 500 as one of the world's leading mobile commerce sites. The company was included in Internet Retailer's 2015 Top 500 for fast growing e-commerce companies. In 2015, 1-800-Flowers.com was named a winner of the "Best Companies to Work for in New York State" Award by The New York Society for Human Resource Management (NYS-SHRM). The Company's BloomNet® international floral wire service (www.mybloomnet.net) provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. "Gift Shop" also includes gourmet gifts such as premium, gift-quality fruits and other gourmet items from Harry & David® (1-877-322-1200 or www.harryanddavid.com), popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's® (1-800-443-8124 or www.cheryls.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gift baskets and towers from 1-800- Baskets.com® (www.1800baskets.com); premium English muffins and other breakfast treats from Wolferman's® (1-800-999-1910 or www.wolfermans.com); carved fresh fruit arrangements from FruitBouquets.com (www.fruitbouquets.com); and top quality steaks and chops from Stock Yards® (www.stockyards.com). Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.
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SOURCE 1-800-FLOWERS.COM
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