PARIS — Alibaba, a partner of the Olympics since 2017, is used to being behind the scenes, supporting the sporting event with cloud technology and media digitization. But for the Paris Games, the company installed a four-room pavilion on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées that received between 1,600 and 2,000 visitors a day.
Titled “Wonder Avenue,” the Alibaba space highlighted the group’s use of AI and what it predicts will be the future of e-commerce. The sleek, open-air pavilion showcased how the technology can be used in the beauty and fashion categories, all powered by Alibaba’s proprietary Qwen LLM. Guests were invited to take a photo to create an avatar, then walk through to try on virtual looks and receive personalized recommendations based on a series of questions, before being able to hit a real-life runway alongside their projected avatar.
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“[It’s] like a time machine, bringing the future of shopping to us today,” Chris Tung, Alibaba Group’s president of strategic development, told WWD. The Chinese firm tied the tech to 2034, and what it believes will be available through e-commerce in the next decade.
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“It showcases how AI can benefit customers who want to shop online in both physical and virtual environments. We envision a future where AI can enable merchants to create personalized items for consumers, such as fragrances and cosmetics,” he said.
The activation allowed guests to virtually test various eye shadow or lipstick colors, and adjust the degree and heaviness, or tweak and personalize the style of application. Guests had access to a series of scent notes they could mix and match to create a personalized fragrance.
Using the AI, guests could design outfits for their avatars, pulling from a library of elements, including historical garments or anime style.
The company also debuted its Smart Virtual Boxing project at Wonder Avenue, using the Qwen AI to analyze moves and performances of each contestant in a virtual boxing match, providing real-time commentary and predicting future performance. While the focus of the Olympics is on athletic performance, the company sees its technology growing in virtual sports.
“Virtual sports are increasingly popular worldwide, enhancing accessibility and encouraging more diverse participation in sports,” said Selina Yuan, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence president of international business. “We are committed to expanding the benefits driven by innovative technologies to both traditional sports and e-sports disciplines.”
The activation holds the prime spot just across from the official Olympics memorabilia store and will open its doors again for the Paralympics, which will take place Aug. 28 to Sept. 8. The group will remain an Olympic partner for both the Milan Winter Games in 2026 and the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028.