Market research<\/a> has been analyzing customer demographics and behavior for years, allowing companies to improve products and services and target the right customers. So, what is revolutionary?<\/p>\nAI is churning complex\u00a0data to reengineer simpler and more\u00a0streamlined experiences\u00a0for both retailers and customers at every touch point.\u00a0 Predictive models and machine-learning advance company strategy and relieves\u00a0end-user effort. Not every transformation carries the same shock-and-awe as self-driving cars, but the impact is dramatic nonetheless. While AI is not a brand new concept, the technology is optimizing traditional processes in game-changing ways at an ever-increasing rate. AI\u2019s overall market is slated to break $16 billion by 2022.<\/p>\n
Similar to the digital revolution, companies that wait too long to get on board will find that they no longer can compete (i.e. Blockbuster, Kodak).<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s glimpse into how companies are packaging AI through many applications. What are the unique approaches and noteworthy benefits to retailers and customers?<\/p>\n
AI for Retailers<\/h2>\n
AI arms\u00a0retailers with sharper forecasting\u00a0tools to make smarter\u00a0business decisions. Algorithms increase visibility into ROI implications, translating to results,\u00a0such as lower costs and higher sales.<\/p>\n
Product Inventory<\/strong><\/p>\nControlling adequate product availability\u00a0is a challenge as it is affected by everything from the economy, weather and future events. Inaccurate management of inventory is a high risk; too much inventory is costly while\u00a0out-of-stock merchandise leads to lost sales and customer frustration.\u00a0IBM\u2019s Watson\u00a0Commerce Insights\u00a0and\u00a0Order Optimizer\u00a0apps reduce the uncertainty of maintaining stock levels by\u00a0monitoring supply chain\u00a0, market and\u00a0consumer demand variables.<\/p>\n
Customer Service<\/strong><\/p>\nFacebook saves retailers customer service\u00a0operating\u00a0costs\u00a0by introducing chatbots through its\u00a0Facebook Messenger platform. AI takes the traditional\u00a0customer service representative out of the equation to answer questions by responding to text, images and links. Facebook Messenger escalates the chat to a human for more complex issues when necessary. It is important for live customer service to be available at each step of the customer journey, and Facebook Messenger solves that need. According to\u00a0FurstPerson\u2019s\u00a0research, 79% of people prefer live chat over other customer service channels, and 63% say they are more likely to visit a website again if it has live chat. Companies saving human labor on repetitive tasks is a prime example of how retail will continue to evolve.<\/p>\n
With the SMARTASSISTANT Digital Advice Platform, you can transform digital advisors into\u00a0digital advice chatbots\u00a0to assist mobile shoppers with advice on products to purchase.<\/p>\n
Hiring<\/strong><\/p>\nWhile there is a near\u00a0ominous\u00a0buzz about workforce displacement across many\u00a0industries, AI helps retailers\u00a0recruit the right candidates by\u00a0analyzing historical employee performance and attributes to decrease attrition and hiring costs. Companies can extend their HR department even\u00a0further:\u00a0Mya, a virtual assistant\u00a0that\u00a0 \u201cengages with applicants, poses contextual questions based on job requirements,\u00a0and provides personalized updates, feedback, and next-step suggestions\u201d\u00a0using natural language processing technology (Forbes).<\/p>\n
AI for Customers<\/h2>\n
Markedly,\u00a0AI serves more than the interests of retailers. Customers are no longer\u00a0viewed as\u00a0defenseless targets to be manipulated\u00a0into\u00a0purchases (remember\u00a0subliminal advertising?).<\/p>\n
AI resuscitates\u00a0the customer experience in every step of the journey. What more, customers are even\u00a0empowered in many cases\u00a0to make wiser buying\u00a0decisions. Hyper-personalization\u00a0and\u00a0conversational commerce\u00a0are\u00a0hallmarks of customer-facing AI enhancements.<\/p>\n
Decision Support<\/strong><\/p>\nSearching for the right coat online can be daunting \u2013 trying to compare features across is a headache. Outerwear is an investment, so you want to make the right choice that will fit your practical needs in a number of situations without sacrificing style. The amount of choices retailers offer is often overwhelming; a\u00a0tailored experience guides the customer\u00a0to narrow down the final selection with more reassurance. Increased customer confidence means less abandoned carts.<\/p>\n
Gift Selection<\/strong><\/p>\nWe\u2019ve all had trouble finding gifts for the loved ones in our life. Watson to the rescue! 1800-Flowers.com released\u00a0GWYN\u00a0(Gifts When You Need), a virtual concierge which hones in on details of the occasion, sentiment and recipient and blends with data on current trends to pinpoint the ideal gift. Who better to make personalized recommendations than the experts themselves? 1800Flowers.com also gains credibility and trust in the process, and thus, your sale.<\/p>\n
Virtual Dressing Room<\/strong><\/p>\nAlso pushing boundaries to enhance the customer experience, Gap is testing a\u00a0new DressingRoom app\u00a0that allows customers to try clothes on digitally from home utilizing\u00a0augmented reality\u00a0technology. After the customer enters height and weight information, the app shows a 3D model in the selected outfit. The capability lessens the guesswork\u00a0of online shopping, allowing customers to make more educated purchase decisions with added convenience.<\/p>\n
Seamless Ordering<\/strong><\/p>\nStaples also partnered with IBM\u00a0to release the\u00a0Staples\u00a0Easy System\u00a0for Staples Business Advantage customers. The\u00a0\u201cnext generation Easy Button\u201d\u00a0shaves the number of steps involved\u00a0to order and track\u00a0supplies,\u00a0allowing business\u00a0owners and office managers to\u00a0spend more time on their main job duties. Through\u00a0machine learning, the Easy System will understand\u00a0these business customers\u2019 buying habits and\u00a0preferences\u00a0over time and anticipate future requests.<\/p>\n
AI is not a wave that will ride out anytime soon; expect it to surge, stirring up\u00a0the retail industry even more in its wake. The platforms we talked about are only the beginning as AI becomes increasingly integrated into both digital and physical assets, blurring the lines of \u201creality.\u201d Expect innovators to focus on\u00a0refining AI by reducing errors and enhancing\u00a0sophistication.<\/p>\n
Yet,\u00a0Fast Company<\/em>\u00a0cautions that\u00a0people may perceive AI and bots that are too human-like to be creepy.\u00a0As always, keep your eyes and ears on your\u00a0customers. As AI steers\u00a0to new depths, we the humans must continue to\u00a0learn customers\u2019\u00a0boundaries\u00a0to\u00a0ensure Watson doesn\u2019t go overboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meet artificial intelligence (AI). It is advanced technology that automates decisions with machine-learning, in which computers gain more understanding with exposure to new data overtime. Whereas traditional data mining extracts data for humans to analyze, AI draws conclusions on its own. Tapping\u00a0into the data pool is nothing new in the retail arena: think\u00a0product development, advertising, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-9241723.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bill Widmer","author_link":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/author\/bill\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Meet artificial intelligence (AI). 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