How Breuninger uses AI in personalisation and omnichannel retail
Breuninger's data science team built an AI photo retouching tool that became a start-up, and its omnichannel services are well ranked. Public evidence for AI personalisation is thin.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Summary by the editors
- Breuninger's data science team developed Auto Retouch in 2019, an AI tool that edits product photos for online shops; it became an independent company in January 2020 and was taken over by Meero on 1 January 2022.
- According to Textilwirtschaft, Auto Retouch processed a seven-figure number of product images fully automatically in the cloud in 2021.
- A Google and HDE study reported in April 2022 named Breuninger among Germany's top omnichannel retailers, citing click and reserve, click and collect, 24-hour delivery and delivery to Packstations.
- In November 2025, Breuninger launched localised online shops in Switzerland and the Netherlands and the loyalty programme Beyond by Breuninger for Swiss customers, described as data-driven, customer-centric retail.
- None of the sources reviewed describes AI-driven recommendations or personalisation at Breuninger, so such claims are unverified.
Breuninger's best documented AI work is not personalisation but content production: its data science team built an AI photo retouching tool that later became a separate company. Its omnichannel strengths are documented through services and an external ranking. Public sources describe a data-driven, personalised strategy but name no AI personalisation system.
What AI has Breuninger built?
Textilwirtschaft reported on 18 January 2022 that Breuninger had sold the start-up Auto Retouch to the French company Meero, which builds tools for photography services, effective 1 January 2022. Breuninger's data science team developed Auto Retouch in 2019, and it became an independent company in January 2020. The tool uses artificial intelligence to edit product photos for online shops. In 2021 it processed a seven-figure number of product images fully automatically in the cloud.
The case is a useful reminder that AI in fashion retail often delivers value in unglamorous production workflows: retouching, cut-outs and image consistency, which scale with catalogue size. The article reports volume, not cost or time savings.
How does Breuninger approach omnichannel retail?
Internet World reported in April 2022, via the International Association of Department Stores, that a study by Google and the HDE trade association named Breuninger among Germany's top omnichannel retailers, alongside MediaMarkt and Decathlon. The retailer encourages customers to continue shopping offline during their online journey and shows clearly whether products are available online and in stores. Fulfilment options include Click & Reserve, Click & Collect, 24-hour delivery and delivery to Packstations.
The article says nothing about Breuninger's data practices or personalisation, so omnichannel excellence here is a services and inventory-visibility story, not an AI one.
| Date | Initiative | Type | AI mentioned? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 to January 2022 | Auto Retouch (built, spun off, sold to Meero) | Image editing tool | Yes |
| April 2022 | Omnichannel ranking by Google and HDE study | Services, availability visibility | No |
| November 2025 | Localised online shops in Switzerland and the Netherlands, Beyond by Breuninger loyalty programme | Market expansion, loyalty | No |
Does Breuninger use AI for personalisation?
The IADS report on Breuninger's November 2025 expansion describes the strategy as data-driven, customer-centric retail with tailored shopping experiences and a consistent, personalised experience across all touchpoints. Payment and delivery options are adapted to each market and customer journeys are designed around local needs. The article does not mention AI. A search for Breuninger AI recommendation and customer service tools returned no company-specific source.
Readers should therefore avoid concluding that Breuninger operates machine-learning recommendations or AI assistants. It may well do so, but it has not been verified in the sources reviewed.
What can department stores learn from Breuninger?
- Use internal data science for content bottlenecks. Product image editing is repetitive, measurable and suited to automation.
- Make stock visible across channels. Showing availability online and in store is central to the omnichannel ranking reported.
- Tie loyalty to local markets. The 2025 expansion pairs localised shops with a loyalty programme.
- Spin-outs are an option. Auto Retouch shows internally developed AI can become a separate business, though that diverts focus from the core retailer.
What does the Auto Retouch example show about AI in e-commerce operations?
Product photography is a bottleneck for online retailers: every item needs consistent images, and volumes grow with each season. An AI tool that handles repetitive editing can scale with the catalogue. The report of a seven-figure number of images processed in 2021 indicates real production use, though it gives no information on quality control, error rates or the share of images that still needed manual correction.
For a department store with thousands of brands, consistency matters as much as speed, because customers compare items across brands. Tools like this therefore need clear rules on background, crop and colour fidelity, as colour accuracy affects returns.
What would verified AI personalisation at a department store require?
A retailer would need linked customer data across online and store purchases, a loyalty programme that identifies customers in stores, product data rich enough to compute similarity, and a way to test recommendations against a control group. Breuninger's loyalty programme and omnichannel services provide some of the groundwork, but the sources reviewed do not show that recommendation models are in use. Until the company discloses more, the accurate description is a data-driven strategy with documented AI in content production.
The Auto Retouch story also illustrates a wider pattern in the sector. Internal data science teams in fashion retailers frequently start with problems close to production, such as images, product attributes and returns, because the data is available, the benefits are easy to see and the risks to customers are low. Personalisation and forecasting are harder, since they need integrated customer and stock data and carry more risk if wrong. Breuninger's documented path, from image tooling to omnichannel services to market expansion, is consistent with that pattern, although the sources do not describe the company's own priorities.
For readers evaluating similar projects, the useful measures would be images processed per hour, share needing manual correction, time from photo to publication and effect on returns related to colour. The sources report only volume. A fair summary is that Breuninger has demonstrated technical capability in applied AI, and that its omnichannel offer is recognised externally, while the link between the two is not documented.
One further caution concerns the Swiss and Dutch launches. Localised shops and a loyalty programme typically generate new first-party customer data, which could later support personalisation, but the November 2025 report describes the aims in general terms. It names no tools, vendors or timelines, and it should not be read as evidence of an AI programme.
Frequently asked questions
Does Breuninger use AI?
Yes, at least in one documented case: its data science team developed Auto Retouch, an AI tool that edits product photos for online shops. It became an independent company in 2020 and was taken over by Meero in January 2022.
What was Auto Retouch?
Auto Retouch was an AI photo retouching tool developed by Breuninger's data science team in 2019. According to Textilwirtschaft, it processed a seven-figure number of product images fully automatically in the cloud in 2021.
Is Breuninger good at omnichannel retail?
A study by Google and the HDE association named Breuninger among Germany's top omnichannel retailers in 2022, citing Click & Reserve, Click & Collect, 24-hour delivery and clear online and in-store availability.
Does Breuninger use AI recommendations?
No source reviewed confirms it. Breuninger describes its strategy as data-driven and personalised, but the sources do not name AI recommendation or assistant tools, so none is claimed here.
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