But a department store has another recommendation system operating every day. It influences every customer who enters the building, yet it is rarely measured with the same discipline.
The distance between Dior and Celine is a recommendation. The path from skincare to fragrance is a recommendation. The brands placed around an escalator are recommendations.
The opportunity for retailers such as department stores, luxury groups, and beauty specialists is to use the customer data they already own to answer a different question:
Not because an algorithm should design the store alone. Because merchandising teams deserve better evidence when they negotiate space, adjacencies, category zones, and renovation scenarios.
About the author
Cyril Noirot
Lead Data Scientist
Freelance data scientist. I design and ship decision systems — forecasting, pricing, marketing measurement, optimization.