THG Holdings PLC

UK toy retailer The Entertainer has selected THG Commerce as its digital commerce partner under a multi-year contract to overhaul its online and in-store customer experience. THG Commerce, part of THG Ingenuity, will design, build and power The Entertainer's next-generation digital platform, part of the retailer's wider push to build an omnichannel offer combining in-store curation with digital convenience and personalisation. The new platform will include AI-driven shopping support, conversational discovery and intent-based search tools, drawing on THG Ingenuity's partnership with Google Cloud using Vertex AI Commerce Search and Gemini. The partnership also covers a redesigned web and mobile experience and an upgraded Click & Collect process, and the updated platform is scheduled to go live in early 2027, built with future expansion in mind across loyalty programmes, retail media and social commerce. The Entertainer digital and marketing director Malcolm Carter said the ambition is to redefine the experience for anyone looking to discover and buy toys, while THG Ingenuity chief revenue officer Darren Rajanah said the retailer gets AI-enabled shopping assistance and CRM-integrated enhanced personalisation at launch, then a roadmap into loyalty, retail media and social commerce.

Britain is approaching a tipping point in artificial intelligence adoption as companies move from testing to deploying the technology and seeing returns, according to Google Cloud vice president Maureen Costello. Costello said organizations that were experimenting a year ago are now using AI in more complex operations to improve productivity, with the shift evident across sectors including retail and government. She cited AI-powered shopping tools developed by British e-commerce firm THG that have boosted customer spending, as well as public-sector applications designed to speed up planning decisions. Costello said Britain is leading in this space, pointing to research capabilities and institutions such as Google DeepMind in London, and noted Google research suggesting AI could increase productivity by about 20%, effectively giving business owners a day back each week. The pace of future adoption will depend on investment in skills, leadership engagement, and trust in areas such as security and data sovereignty, she added.