A new AI-powered Shoppe Advisor at the brand’s Upper East Side location uses semantic search technology to help customers explore products, content and real-time inventory
The Vitamin Shoppe is the latest wellness brand to plunge into artificial intelligence, unveiling an interactive tool at its new Innovation Store on the Upper East Side in New York City.
The new store introduces in-store shoppers to the Shoppe Advisor, an AI-powered, discovery device designed to enhance education, engagement and personalize the shopping experience.
Using the digital touchscreen, customers can access detailed product information and expert-sourced wellness content on the Vitamin Shoppe website, including articles and videos searchable by health goals, trends and brands, as well as real-time inventory checks in stores and online.
“We are thrilled to open this new Innovation Store with Shoppe Advisor elevating the customer journey,” said Vitamin Shoppe executive vice president and chief retail officer Jim Abbatemarco.
credit: The Vitamin Shoppe
The Shoppe Advisor is based on an advanced AI search that draws upon semantic queries, rather than traditional keyword searches, according to Vitamin Shoppe chief information officer Scott Devlin.
“This sophisticated approach allows the platform to understand the context and intent behind user queries, delivering highly relevant results across various content types, such as videos, blogs and articles, in addition to product listings,” Devlin told Athletech News.
“By transcending the limitations of keyword-based searches, our AI-driven semantic search significantly enhances the relevance and accuracy of the results, providing users with a much more comprehensive and meaningful search experience,” he added.
Devlin explained that machine learning capabilities are in the works as the company intends to expand the Shoppe Advisor to more stores in the future.
credit: The Vitamin Shoppe
The Upper East Side store not only provides Vitamin Shoppe customers with the chance to try out the new tech, but the brand also plans to host a series of health and wellness events partnering with top brands and public figures.
The store’s grand opening event featured an appearance by Raw Nutrition athlete and fitness creator Sara Saffari, mini consultations with registered dietitian Vanessa Rissetto, a Wellness Wheel with healthy prizes, complimentary Juice Press smoothies and gift bags for the first 100 guests.
“We are located on one of New York City’s busiest shopping streets, surrounded by top gyms, activewear and beauty brands, med spas and smoothie shops — and the Vitamin Shoppe perfectly complements this thriving wellness hub,” Abbatemarco added. “With our expansive assortment and the personalized support of our expert Health Enthusiast associates, the Vitamin Shoppe is making it easier and more engaging for New Yorkers to shop all their favorite health and wellness essentials.”
The Vitamin Shoppe isn’t just hopping on the latest wellness tech trend — the company has been ambitious in embracing the biggest fitness and wellness trends in the past year, partnering with GenoPalate to offer DNA-based nutrition kits online and launching its own line of GLP-1 support supplements.
The new store and in-store AI assistant is another move in the brand’s experiential retail strategy, in which the Vitamin Shoppe has looked to create more memorable, interactive and engaging shopping experiences.
