Alpen's Official EC Site Introduces "AI Shopping Agent" Powered by Brand-Provided Product Information – Achieving New Digital Collaboration Between Retailers and Brands with Firework's "Retail Connect"

Background of this Release and Issues to be Solved Currently, a major challenge in the EC market between retail companies and brand manufacturers is the "fragmentation of data." Core information such as the latest feature explanations, product development backgrounds, and unique brand worldviews held by manufacturers is not fully reflected on retailers' EC sites, creating a situation where consumers find it difficult to make optimal purchasing decisions.

"Firework Retail Connect" is a platform that resolves this fragmentation by directly syndicating (distributing and linking) a brand's official assets (videos and data) to the retailer's EC side. We have now implemented this platform on Alpen's official online store, starting with Adidas products, and are launching a more reliable "AI Shopping Agent" that significantly reduces the risk of hallucination (factually incorrect answers) based on product information provided by the brand.

AI Customer Service Experience with "AI Shopping Agent" on Alpen Online With this implementation, users on the Adidas product pages within Alpen Online can enjoy an interactive purchasing experience, similar to receiving service from a specialized staff member in a store, 24 hours a day.

In-depth explanations of "specialized technologies" and "unique features" of browsed products: For questions like "How does this material affect performance?" or "What are the benefits of the unique features?", immediate answers are provided based on data supplied by the brand.

Confirmation of suitability for individual athletic levels and usage environments: Users can consult about whether products match their specific needs, such as "Is this suitable for my target time?" or "What is its durability in the expected ground conditions?", dispelling pre-purchase anxieties.

Intuitive understanding through short videos: In addition to text-based answers, the AI presents vertical short videos that convey the feel of actual use and movement, intuitively complementing the product's appeal.

Three Technical Advantages of "Firework Retail Connect" This solution goes beyond a simple chatbot and is equipped with the following next-generation features, looking ahead to the era of AI search (AIO/GEO):

Synchronization of Experience (Syndication): Seamlessly synchronizes product data and explanatory videos provided by the brand into the retailer's (Alpen's) EC environment. It significantly reduces the registration and operational workload for retailers while maintaining the latest brand experience at all times.

Suppression of Hallucination with Evidence-Based AI: Significantly suppresses the risk of generating inaccurate information (hallucination), a concern with general generative AI. By operating with product data and video content provided by the brand as the primary knowledge sources, it enables more reliable and secure customer service.

Data Feedback Structure for Next-Generation SEO (AIO): Structures, analyzes, and accumulates dialogue data exchanged with users (customers' real questions and interests). This builds a data flywheel that feeds back into the EC site's overall SEO and AIO (AI Search Optimization) measures.

Comments on this Initiative [Masafumi Kamayama, Executive Officer and Head of Digital Division, Alpen Co., Ltd.] Under our purpose of "Making Sports More Accessible," we are promoting the improvement of customer experience not only in physical stores but also in EC. Through Firework's "Retail Connect," AI provides customer service in a supportive manner based on information provided by brands, enabling customers to complete their purchasing decisions with satisfaction on Alpen Online without needing to navigate to other sites for information gathering. We plan to further expand the scope of products and initiatives, and we look forward to the evolution of digital customer service into a new dimension through updates to this tool.

[Kazuki Tajima, Country Manager, Firework Japan Inc.] We are extremely proud to have achieved the social implementation of "Retail Connect" for the first time in Japan with Alpen, a leading sports retailer in Japan, targeting Adidas products. This platform brings added value and improved conversion rates for retailers, and for brands, it provides control over brand experience beyond their own channels. We will continue to expand this new form of commerce, which fuses video and AI, into many more industries.

About Firework Firework is a video commerce platform adopted by over 1,000 brands and retailers in 37 countries worldwide. By integrating vertical short videos, live streaming, and cutting-edge AI technology into websites, it supports the enhancement of customer experience and business growth.

[Company Overview] Company Name: Firework Japan Inc. Location: 7F CIRCLES with Shimazuyama, 2-5-9 Higashi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Representative: Country Manager Kazuki Tajima URL: https://firework.com/jp

[Contact for Inquiries Regarding This Matter] Firework Japan Inc. Public Relations E-mail: [email protected] *Company names, product names, and service names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Keywords: