35 Synopsis Ralph Lauren is using AI to scale personalised luxury service while protecting brand heritage, a balance most luxury brands struggle to achieve. Article Luxury brands face a structural tension: scale personalised service too aggressively and risk losing the human nuance that defines the category; avoid scale and fall behind consumer expectations shaped by digital-first brands. Ralph Lauren is attempting to resolve this tension by applying artificial intelligence selectively across service, merchandising, and client engagement, without allowing automation to rewrite the brand’s core identity. Rather than positioning AI as a front-facing replacement for human interaction, Ralph Lauren is using it as an internal intelligence layer. AI systems analyse customer preferences, purchase history, and behavioural signals to support store associates and client advisors, enabling more informed and timely service rather than scripted interactions. The objective is not efficiency alone, but consistency at scale, ensuring a client in Shanghai or Chicago experiences the same level of attentiveness associated with the brand. According to company leadership, the focus has been on “augmenting human judgment, not automating luxury.” This distinction matters. In luxury retail, service quality is often defined by discretion, memory, and emotional intelligence, attributes that cannot be fully automated but can be supported with better data context. The strategy reflects a broader shift within high-end retail. A 2024 Bain & Company report noted that over 60% of luxury consumers now expect brands to recognise them across channels, while still valuing human-led engagement for high-consideration purchases. Ralph Lauren’s approach aligns with this expectation by using AI to inform decisions behind the scenes rather than replace the experience itself. The implication is clear: in luxury, AI adoption succeeds only when it remains invisible to the customer. Brands that treat AI as an operational enhancer rather than a storytelling device are more likely to scale without eroding trust, a lesson that will shape the next phase of digital transformation in premium retail. You Might Be Interested In Cool Campaigns, Flat Sales: Booze Marketing’s Reckoning Marriott’s Creator Campaigns Deliver 5x ROI With Precision Personalization TikTok deal signals de-escalation — but platform risk remains on marketers’ radar Nykaa appoints Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador boAt and Blinkit launch real-time gifting campaign for Raksha Bandhan Google launches Gemini 3, its most advanced AI model yet
