Welcome to this week's AI edition of The Commerce Brief 🤖
✦ THIS WEEK’S AI INDUSTRY UPDATES
01. Vêtir, an AI styling platform positioning itself as a "wardrobe operating system" for luxury consumers, has raised $5.5m in its Series A at a $150m valuation. The platform helps users manage what they own, discover new products and receive highly personalised styling recommendations. (source)
02. JD Sports has published its Global Impact Report 2026, identifying an acceleration of AI adoption as one of its five key strategic priorities for 2027. The retailer aims to be at the "front of the market in executing AI-driven, one-click commerce" through its Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) strategy, which it plans to enable across its major platforms. (source)
03. Unilever is deploying a suite of AI tools across its beauty business as it aims to become the "superior" beauty player in 2026. These include a Virtual Cohort system to assess consumer responses before physical testing, an R&D Assistant connecting staff to over 150,000 research documents, and AI analysis of more than 100,000 data points on hair properties for Dove's Damage Therapy range. (source)
04. Ines Clark, founder of MartyAI, an AI omnichannel retail personalisation solution powered by purchase intent data from the shopfloor, has moved to Visa to lead Agentic Commerce Strategy & GTM. The appointment signals the payments giant's growing commitment to AI-driven commerce infrastructure. (source)
05. Fresha, an AI-powered marketplace and business management platform for the beauty and wellness industry, has secured an $80m investment from funds managed by KKR, valuing the company at over $1bn. The funding will support Fresha's continued growth as it scales its AI-driven platform for salons, spas and wellness businesses globally. (source)
06. RADAR, an AI-powered retail intelligence platform, has raised $170m in funding. The company's real-time inventory intelligence platform combines proprietary hardware, software and analytics to deliver 99% item-level inventory accuracy for retailers, bringing physical retail deeper into the AI era. (source)
07. Naia, a taste-led AI discovery platform for independent fashion, has launched on the iOS App Store. The platform connects fashion enthusiasts with one-of-a-kind, craft-forward apparel and accessories, launching with more than 150 hand-selected independent designers and a virtual inventory exceeding 10,000 unique or small-batch pieces. (source)
08. Alipay has launched what it calls the world's first AI Wallet and Token Pay, a full-stack AI payment solution for partners across industries. Available in the Alipay app, the AI Wallet allows consumers to manage tasks executed by AI agents before and during payment, and review and analyse spending afterwards, supporting the rapid growth of the agentic economy. (source)
09. Marks & Spencer is equipping store managers with AI assistants to support administrative tasks such as taking meeting notes, creating handovers and analysing sales performance data. The retailer is also adopting AI forecasting tools to help managers predict stock and staffing needs based on customer traffic and demand, freeing up time for the shop floor. (source)
That's a wrap for this week! If you found this useful or if you have any feedback, hit reply and let me know, or share it with someone in the industry who'd enjoy the read.
Thanks - Sue
