Transforming Retail with AI technology
Vagelis Karalis
Serial Entrepreneur, investor, speaker in all aspects of CRM and customer loyalty Management. Chief Executive Officer at INTELIQUA your AI Marketing Transformation partner
In the age of the customer where consumers are ultra-connected, their needs and expectations are actively growing. In order to win today’s demanding customers and meet their high expectations for a smarter customer experience, businesses are forced to invest more in technology and elevate their strategy, moving to a much more customer-centric approach.
Today, businesses can shorten the distance between what customers want and what they get, by investing in Artificial Intelligence technology (AI). According to Tractica report, the market for enterprise AI systems will increase from $202.5 million in 2015 to $11.1 billion by 2024.
How AI is leading the change
Customers crave for convenience during every interaction with your brand. Especially in their mobile moments, shoppers expect brands to understand their preferences, leverage customer data and offer relevant messages to them.
Advanced marketing technology solutions powered by artificial intelligence is the answer to all the concerns that marketers have today about finding effective ways to affect almost every retail purchase decision that their consumers make. So, brands can offer a personalized experience to customers, exactly when they expect it.
There are countless ways in which Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to help brands improve their business and provide better service to their customers.
Conversational interfaces
Consumers’ expectations about conversations are growing. With billions of people using heavily instant messaging platforms, chatbots are a huge opportunity for both B2C and B2B brands.
A chatbot that depends on machine learning, is smarter than the one that functions based on a set of rules because it keeps learning through the interactions it has with users. By adding these chatbots to the shopping journey, retailers can interact in real-time with сu?tоmеr?, helping them to solve problems, answer ?uе?t?оn? very quickly, lightening up the path to purchase. Chatbots add great value to your customers, offering consistency of experience across customer touchpoints.
Machine learning
Machine learning is the science of how computers make sense of data using algorithms and analytic models and according to eMarketer, it is the second-most widely used AI technology among enterprises.
This technology helps brands create shopping patterns, better understand their customers’ needs and preferences and predict future purchasing behaviors. Today, predictive marketing is key to making shopping across all channels a smarter, more streamlined journey.
These are just a few use cases of Artificial Intelligence that are transforming the retail industry. AI capabilities extend beyond chatbots and data analytics, which include from determining when is the best time to serve someone a targeted ad, to product recognition within images, gesture recognition, virtual assistant, video analytics and more.
Taking Customer Experiences to the next level
By integrating AI into both physical stores and online stores, not only just simplify key business processes, but also help connect with customers in a new, powerful and cost-effective way, delivering a truly personalized shopping experience. In the age of Extreme expectations, only brands that manage to unify the customer experience and create an engaging and loyalty journey will be the winners of the future.
Retailers must be preparing for this future now if they want to survive in the competitive and ever-changing e-commerce market. Remarkable customer experience will help you build a deeper relationship with your customers, drive customer loyalty and keep them coming back to you for more.
Are you considering incorporating Artificial Intelligence into your strategy?