Dive Brief:
- Gap Inc. — which owns Old Navy, Athleta and Banana Republic, in addition to its namesake brand — has developed an AI-enabled career guide tool, dubbed “Bridgette,” to assist workers seeking jobs across its subsidiary of brands, the apparel company said in a Friday press release.
- The tool, underpinned by Paradox and Workday Recruiting’s technology, aids job seekers in finding and applying for jobs, answers frequently asked questions, schedules interviews, sends reminders and provides information to job candidates throughout the hiring process.
- Gap Inc. anticipates it will receive around 200,000 seasonal employment applications.
Dive Insight:
Along with a wave of holiday shoppers, Gap Inc. anticipates receiving a flood of applicants during its seasonal hiring period.
Bridgette was developed in part to help free up the company’s store managers from administrative tasks associated with recruiting. Gap Inc. has piloted Bridgette at over 100 stores and six regional distribution centers since June. Nearly 45,000 people have worked with the tool, and Bridgette has scheduled over 7,000 interviews since that time.
Gap Inc. is hiring for seasonal full-time and part-time positions at its stores and distribution centers, per the press release. The company did not immediately respond to questions regarding how many positions it hopes to fill this season.
“Holiday hiring moves quickly, but the experience should still feel personal,” Amy Thompson, chief people officer at Gap Inc., said in a statement. “We’re using AI to remove unnecessary friction for candidates and our teams so they can connect faster. Technology can help manage the repetitive coordination behind hiring, while our people stay focused on the conversations and decisions that build great teams.”
As Gap Inc. braces itself for an influx of applicants, the retail industry overall might hire fewer workers this year than it did the last. An analysis from Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts that U.S. retail seasonal hiring could fall by 2.5% from a year prior to about 450,000 new jobs in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation expects retailers to hire between 325,000 and 375,000 seasonal workers, compared to between 265,000 and 365,000 the previous year.
Besides rolling out AI tools in operations for job seekers and managers, Gap Inc. is also using AI to help shoppers discover products across its portfolio of brands.The company recently introduced Alta Daily, an AI tool that creates outfit suggestions based on customers’ budget, schedule and the weather forecast in their locale. The company also released Daydream, which provides outfit ideas using users’ search queries and products from its namesake and sister brands.
In its most recent quarter, Gap Inc. saw its Q2 net sales fall 2% year over year to $3.7 billion, while comparable sales dipped 1%. Its namesake brand reported a 9% jump in net sales to $844 million and a 10% boost in comps, while Banana Republic’s net sales grew 1% to $478 million and comps were up 3% from a year prior. Old Navy, on the other hand, saw net sales fall 4% to $2.1 billion with comps down 4%, while Athleta’s net sales and comps dropped 12% compared to the year-ago quarter.
