David's Bridal Revolutionizes Wedding Industry with AI-Powered Omnichannel Experience

David's Bridal Unveils Next-Gen Omni-Channel Retail & E-Commerce Experience on Shopify, Transforming Bridal Shopping From 'Aisle to Algorithm'

The Leading Bridal Retailer Taps Shopify to Fuse Physical & Online Retail, Delivering Real-Time Inventory Access, 'Endless Aisle' Shopping & a Reimagined Point-of-Sale Journey, Taking the Next Step in David's Tech-Powered Evolution KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., June 17, 2025 (Newswire.com) - David's Bridal, Inc. ("David's"), the nation's leading bridal and special occasion authority, today announces its integration with Shopify, the leading global commerce company, to power the next era of its digital transformation. As part of its recently announced strategic pivot to a tech-driven, asset-lite retail model, David's is integrating with Shopify to revolutionize the bridal industry by unifying its e-commerce and in-store operations, unlocking new efficiencies, elevating the customer journey and propelling the brand into the future of bridal retail. This radical innovation streamlines David's distribution, its marketplace for all things wedding, "endless aisle" interactive experience with shoppable screens and more, all enabled by Shopify's technology. This move underscores David's commitment to innovation as it reimagines the modern bridal experience, leveraging data, technology, and personalization to better serve today's consumers. This move comes at a pivotal moment as 57% of consumers today want to see, touch and feel items before they buy, and 38% buy items online and then collect them in-store, according to research commissioned by Shopify and published by EY, which requires a seamless shopping experience across physical and digital channels. David closed that gap, setting a new standard for the $70 billion global bridal market by transforming its 190+ stores into tech-enabled retail hubs. By enhancing its shopping experiences through technology, specifically with Shopify, David's creates a more flexible, dynamic omnichannel and in-store point of sale experience. For the first time, among other bridal retailers or boutiques, guests can shop David's full inventory through Shopify-powered full-scale digital touchscreens, in select stores, and deliver it to the home. David's selected Deloitte Digital to provide implementation, consulting and strategy work to power the digital transformation journey. By leveraging Deloitte Digital's global delivery network, the team implemented Shopify's next-generation POS system in David's "store of the future" Diamonds & Pearls by David's, an immersive retail environment featuring interactive touchscreens that bring the brand's entire inventory to life for real-time exploration of dresses, accessories, and shoes. By optimizing both the in-store and online journeys, Deloitte Digital helped establish a robust, scalable foundation for David's omnichannel growth, setting a new standard for tech-powered, hospitality-infused bridal retail. With Shopify's industry-leading platform, David's will: "At David's, we're not just evolving - we're reimagining the entire bridal journey from inspiration to purchase, all through an AI, digital, asset-lite lens," said Kelly Cook, Chief Executive Officer of David's Bridal. "By integrating with Shopify, we're delivering unmatched, real-time access to our full selection of bridal and special occasion offerings through true commerce fluidity, resulting in a more seamless customer shopping experience. This isn't just digital transformation - it's shopping redefined." "Shopify gives brands the tools to build the future of commerce on their own terms. David's Bridal is using our technology and a deep understanding of their customer to reimagine the bridal shopping experience - whether online, in-store or anywhere in between. That's what excites us: helping iconic brands deliver for real people, at real moments, in ways that were never possible before," said Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. With Shopify as its e-commerce technology backbone, David's continues to lead innovation in the category. It delivers an experience that reflects the evolving expectations of modern brides, whether they're clicking, swiping or saying "yes" in person. With over 70 years of experience dressing people for all of life's special occasions, David's Bridal is built on the ethos of making dreams happen. David's Bridal is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that serve wedding and special occasion consumers and the industry at large. David's boasts the industry's only loyalty program, the Diamond Loyalty Program. This program, with almost three million members, provides perks and deals from partners like Generation Tux, Shutterfly, Little Tuxedos and much more, including the opportunity to win a free honeymoon. Additionally, Pearl by David's offers consumers a wedding website, universal wedding registry, robust wedding checklist, and a new vendor marketplace that beautifully pairs brides with their perfect vendor partners. Pearl Media Network allows advertisers to tap into David's Bridal unmatched market reach to authentically connect with consumers through content across the web, social, podcast, streaming, video, in-store and more. Under the Pearl Media umbrella is Love Stories by David's, the top wedding media brand taking a digital-first approach to wedding content and inspiration with over 20 million viewers per month across content platforms, including the wedding industry's sole podcast network, streaming TV and Snap Discover channels, and largest YouTube and TikTok channels, and a library of over 30,000 real wedding videos. Each video comes equipped with wedding data and details, contributing to a marketplace of over 60,000 wedding professionals to help couples better dream about, research and plan their big day. With more than 190 stores across the U.S., Canada, and franchise locations in Mexico, David's Bridal offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for every magical event in her life, including weddings, Quinceañeras, graduations, proms, communions, or simply making the world her runway and beyond. To learn more about David's Bridal, visit www.DavidsBridal.com, download the Planning App, and connect on social media through Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

AI Meets 'I Do': David's Bridal Shakes Up $70B Wedding Industry With Launch of Pearl Planner - the First-Ever End-to-End AI Wedding Planning Platform Built for the Entire Wedding Economy

Now in Closed Beta, Pearl Planner is a Next-Gen, Intelligent Planning Platform Redefining How $70B Worth of Weddings Get Planned for Every Couple and Vendor Across the Wedding Ecosystem KING OF PRUSSIA, PA, June 24, 2025 (Newswire.com) - David's Bridal, Inc. ("David's"), the iconic name synonymous with all things weddings and life's biggest moments from shopping to inspiration and planning, is flipping the wedding industry on its head with the launch of Pearl Planner; an industry-first, all-in-one planning dual-sided platform and marketplace that transforms wedding planning into a personalized journey, curated for each couple and their unique wedding vision, while matching vendors directly with brides and grooms. This marks a tentpole moment for David's "Aisle to Algorithm" strategy, solidifying its transformation from a beloved bridal retailer into a category-defining leader in the $70B wedding ecosystem. Unlike any other planning tool on the market, Pearl Planner is not just a digital checklist or formatted spreadsheet - it's an agentic, AI-native operating system for the modern wedding journey. Available for free, Pearl Planner connects the dots for couples planning the biggest day of their life and provides real-time, first-party data to wedding vendors - in one singular platform. As the first-of-its-kind, proprietary full-stack wedding planning platform equipped with AI trained on decades of experience, Pearl Planner isn't just helping couples plan a wedding, but redefines the planning process. What makes Pearl Planner unique is that it combines AI-powered intelligence with a deep understanding of wedding workflows; built from proprietary IP trained on 75 years of wedding expertise and fueled by real-time data, the platform offers a hyper-personalized experience that continuously improves by learning from new trends, planning behaviors, evolving preferences, and more. "With Pearl Planner, we're delivering something the industry has never seen: a deeply personalized, AI-powered partner guiding couples through every detail of their day - on their terms - and completely for free," said Kelly Cook, Chief Executive Officer of David's Bridal." Pearl Planner is your 24/7 wedding concierge that doesn't just plan with you, it 'thinks' for you. Your mother-in-law invited 10 more guests?! No problem. Pearl AI automatically adjusts seating charts. Changing the venue from Iceland to Aruba? Gotcha. Pearl AI updates checklist items from snow boots to flip flops. The platform's dual-sided structure also allows us to empower millions of incredible wedding professionals. Pearl Planner is a cornerstone of our 'Aisle to Algorithm' strategy, further strengthening our pivot from retailer into a tech-powered multihyphenate." Pearl Planner seamlessly turns a couple's vision into a manageable plan, with features such as customizable timelines, registry integration and an assistant that responds and adapts as your wedding comes to life. Additionally, with Pearl AI, couples have a wedding planning assistant at their fingertips 24/7, designed to simplify the entire process and take on as little or as much of the planning as you need. Even if you don't know where to begin or what to ask, Pearl AI is ready to walk you through it all. The platform integrates everything a couple needs - from analyzing your wedding vision to milestone creation and task list management based on how and when you're celebrating, to budgeting tools, registry and vendor research - all in one seamless experience with an AI-powered concierge to support and answer questions along the way. During the closed beta, users can test: Pearl AI: Chat directly with Pearl, manage tasks, reorganize milestones and get real-time expert help. Style Quiz & Vision Board: Pearl's proprietary quiz instantly identifies your wedding aesthetic, personalizes your experience from dashboard to wedding website, and builds tailored recommendations. Task Board: Break planning into manageable tasks with clear progress tracking and easy-to-complete steps. Dynamic Timeline: Automatically generate a planning timeline that will update based on your wedding date and progress. Curated Recommendations: Receive AI-powered recommendations based on style, budget, and location for vendors, dresses, content and more. Diamond Loyalty Program Perks: Earn points for every milestone you complete with Pearl Planner through David's industry-leading wedding loyalty rewards program. Pearl Planner is designed as a two-sided platform to support and accelerate growth for wedding vendors and SMBs across the industry. Wedding pros, venues, and service providers can sign up today to gain early access to: AI-Powered Lead Generation: Driven by first-party data and planning intent. Profile Optimization and Smart Recommendation: For visibility and front-of-the-line connections to high-fit potential clients. Real-Time First-Party Data and Insights: Into planning trends, user behaviors and localized demand. A Simplified, Intelligent Dashboard: Reduces admin time and increases bookings. "Planning your wedding should be just as magical as your wedding day itself - Pearl Planner is turning a fragmented, overwhelming process filled with chaotic spreadsheets and never-ending checklists into a streamlined, personalized, intelligent, joy-filled journey," added Elina Vilk, President and Chief Business Officer of David's Bridal. "Through David's proprietary AI and strategic integrations, Pearl AI acts like a wedding planner, best friend, and operations manager all in one. It intimately understands couples' needs, anticipates next steps and empowers them to make wedding planning decisions with confidence. For vendors, we're unlocking a trove of unprecedented first-party data and lead generation to amplify their pipeline. We're not just improving the experience for users and vendors, we're building the infrastructure for a new era in wedding planning." During the closed beta period, couples can sign up for early access to Pearl Planner, with the public platform launch coming early this summer, including updates on new features and integrations with partners such as MyRegistry, Dynadot, Shutterfly, Google and local wedding vendors across the nation. Wedding vendors can join Pearl Planner during the beta period to be "first in line" to an intelligent, lead-generating platform while offering couples a simpler, smarter planning journey. Pearl is the first platform to serve couples, planners, and vendors all at once, creating a smarter, faster, and more joyful way to plan. This Fall, David's will launch Pearl Planner Pro, enabling professional wedding planners to leverage Pearl Planner's proprietary AI and integrations to better serve their customers and streamline their own tasks. This will create an AI-first tool not just for brides and grooms but for the entire wedding industry. To learn more about Pearl Planner and sign up for early access, visit PearlPlanner.davidsbridal.com and follow @PearlByDavids. Vendors can sign up during the beta period for front of the line at https://pearl.davidsbridal.com/join. With over 70 years of experience dressing people for all of life's special occasions, David's Bridal exists for magical moments. Since its "Aisle to Algorithm" strategic pivot, David's has evolved from iconic bridal retailer to wedding technology company, media powerhouse, and marketplace platform transforming how people plan, shop, and celebrate life's biggest moments. At the center of David's technological and retail evolution is Pearl by David's, Pearl Planner and Pearl Media Network - the all-in-one digital wedding destination connecting consumers with everything from AI-powered planning tools, inspiration and vendor directories, expanded retail categories and leading content, while enabling brands to tap into David's unmatched market reach to authentically connect with consumers through media across the web, social, podcast, streaming, video, in-store and more. Under the Pearl Media umbrella is Love Stories by David's, the top wedding media brand taking a digital-first approach to wedding content and inspiration with over 20 million viewers per month across content platforms, including the wedding industry's sole podcast network, streaming TV and Snap Discover channels, and largest YouTube and TikTok channels, and a library of over 30,000 real wedding videos. Each video comes equipped with wedding data and details, contributing to a marketplace of over 60,000 wedding professionals to help couples better dream about, research and plan their big day. With more than 190 stores across the U.S., Canada, and franchise locations in Mexico, David's Bridal offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for every magical event in her life, including weddings, Quinceañeras, graduations, proms, communions or simply making the world her runway and beyond. To learn more about David's Bridal, visit www.DavidsBridal.com, download the Planning App, and connect on social media through Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

David's Bridal CEO Courts AI to Change How Brides Say Yes to the Dress | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. It would even be easy to write a feel-good story about its business progress, fighting through a pandemic and its lockdowns and then innovating its way out of bankruptcy in 2023. But the real story of David's Bridal is one of outcome-focused digital transformation and a complete refusal to accept the limitations of current macroeconomic and retailing market conditions. While other retailers have done the bare minimum to react to the present and forecast the future, David's is an example of resisting the inertia that has kept other companies stuck in neutral when the situation calls for overdrive. "This business gets in your blood," CEO Kelly Cook told Karen Webster recently. "The desire to serve someone when it's such a happy occasion is unprecedented. Our employee tenure is high, our training for stylists keeps improving and we feel like we do a pretty good job because our Net Promoter score is over 80. We keep evolving because the customer keeps evolving." Cook's interview with Webster comes on the heels of a flurry of major announcements, brand repositioning and product expansion. It started in early March, when Cook was promoted to CEO and David's launched its "aisle to algorithm" initiative. That initiative integrates retail, media, and wedding planning to reshape how brides and wedding vendors interact across digital and physical touchpoints. At its core, the initiative leverages generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to personalize the wedding experience, using David's first-party data from over 300 million digital visits annually. Central to this strategy is the recently launched Pearl Retail Media Network, an AI-powered platform enabling highly targeted advertising for wedding vendors and related brands. This initiative was bolstered by the acquisition of Love Stories TV, now branded Love Stories by David's, expanding the company's digital media and content reach. Under this new approach, David's Bridal will expand into additional retail categories, such as menswear, swimwear, luxury gowns and couture. But Cook said it will not detract from maintaining its established strengths in wedding dresses, a category in which it sells nearly one-third of all dresses in the U.S. The company counts 190 retail locations in North America. The company is also enhancing its personalized planning services, introducing a AI-powered platform designed to simplify wedding task management and vendor discovery. By combining tailored customer journeys with data-driven matchmaking tools, Cook said David's aims to cement its position as a dominant technology, media and retail presence in the wedding industry, supported by recently secured growth capital intended to accelerate its digital transformation. "One-hundred percent of our emails are all AI generated now," Cook told Webster. "We have so much information between that and machine learning that I think we need to expand the talent base that is actually looking at it and learning from it, because you still need humans." But just as the company has reacted to AI by putting a unique stamp on it, David's has reacted to other disruptions with similar innovations and no-nonsense business sense. Tariffs from China causing uncertainty? Cook says the company has already moved its manufacturing to less-vulnerable countries. It has also made bold moves to address competition, distribution and even its product mix. Case in point: In December, the company made headlines with its announcement to deliver on-demand dresses via DoorDash, a move that Cook says is emblematic of its "anywhere commerce" strategy. "Our number one city is Las Vegas," Cook noted, adding that the company's goal is to meet brides wherever they choose to transact. But DoorDash is only the beginning. David's Bridal is set to make a series of announcements in Q3 that will exponentially expand its digital distribution and will debut a "shop-in-shop" at one of the largest retailers outside the United States. The company is also preparing to join a major international marketplace in August and will move into wholesaling, supplying boutiques in the third quarter. "We own our supply chain from end to end ... so we can give a wholesale price to a boutique that is way less than what they're paying in the open market, because we sell 2 million units a year," Cook said. This scale allows David's Bridal to extend its reach while passing on cost savings to smaller retailers. David's Bridal faces a fragmented competitive landscape. "We are by far the largest share of bridal in the United States. The second highest share is a collection of 7,000 boutiques that are all independently owned," Cook said, describing the market as having a "very long tail." Rather than viewing these boutiques as adversaries, Cook sees partnership opportunities. "We aren't looking at boutiques with fire and brimstone, pitchforks going, 'We're gonna kill the boutiques.' That's not really our strategy," she told Webster. "Our strategy is, How do we partner with these boutiques to serve brides?" Cook also emphasized the enduring importance of physical retail in the bridal segment. "Ninety percent of all brides want to go into a physical store ... because fit is everything. And that's what David's is known for," she said, suggesting that the tactile, emotional nature of wedding dress shopping makes the sector "Amazon-resistant" -- at least for now. David's Bridal has evolved its product mix to reflect the changing demographics and preferences of brides and their families. The average age of a first-time bride is now 28, with second-time brides averaging 40. "We've got this massive range of options for brides, because it's not just their age. Age can be just a number," Cook said. The company's offerings have expanded to serve everyone from mothers of the bride, who range in age from 38 to 70, to grandmothers and guests. A surprising data point led to a strategic shift. "Over 20% of our prom dresses were being bought as mother-of-the-bride dresses," Cook said. This insight prompted David's Bridal to diversify its designs for mothers, offering everything from youthful, sparkly dresses to more traditional pantsuits. "If a grandmother wants to wear a sequined dress, we have that as well," Cook said, highlighting the brand's commitment to inclusivity and personalization. The company also recognizes that weddings are now multievent affairs, with brides and guests seeking distinct outfits for rehearsal dinners, after parties, receptions and brunches. "It's about her dream. If she wants to rip off her gown after she's kissed and go down in a mini skirt, great. Let's go. More power to you, baby," Cook said, underscoring the brand's flexibility. Historically, bridal retail has been a one-and-done business, but David's is leveraging data and loyalty to drive repeat engagement. Cook described the company's Diamond Loyalty program, which was inspired by two pandemic-era insights: 62% of women attending a wedding as a guest buy something new to wear, and financial anxiety is a major concern for brides. "If a bride is inviting 200 people to her wedding, a hundred of them are women, and 62 of those women are buying a new dress, and we sell those dresses, why don't we give the bride the credit for a dress that's being purchased by a guest from David's going to her wedding?" she asked. This crowdsourced loyalty program allows brides to earn points when their guests buy dresses for the wedding, with rewards such as a free honeymoon. "We launched that at the end of 2021. We've got 3 million plus members. We've given away a thousand honeymoons," Cook said. Notably, about 20% of brides remain in the David's Bridal purchase funnel for multiple years -- a significant increase in customer retention for the category. As economic headwinds gather, Cook remains pragmatic. She acknowledges the financial anxiety facing brides and their families, noting that the average wedding now costs around $37,500. David's Bridal's scale and supply chain control allow it to offer competitive pricing, both to end consumers and wholesale partners, which Cook sees as a buffer against economic softness. "We learned that financial anxiety was their number one problem for 18 months. How the heck am I going to have my dream at this price?" Cook said. The company's strategy is to "put ourselves into that moment to serve her," whether through affordability, accessibility or emotional support.