Artificial Intelligence has become embedded into our everyday lives – every time we ask Alexa for the weather, or watch a movie recommendation, what’s actually happening behind the scenes is that a vast neural network is analysing millions of datapoints to give us useable information. Retail is no exception with AI transforming the way retailers operate today.
AI is all about analysing data to solve problems – it uses existing data to learn how to spot patterns, understand behaviours, and predict future situations, then applies this learning to new situations.
AI in retail
There is a massive opportunity for retailers to harness the power of AI. The industry lends itself to AI:
Firstly, effective AI depends on having massive amounts of ‘training data’ from which to learn. Retail already captures vast quantities of data, so has the training data that an AI in retail application needs to be effective.
Secondly, much of the value of AI (69%* according to McKinsey) is in the way it can extend the capabilities of traditional analytics. Retailers understand the value of analytics, so moving to AI is a natural step.
Thirdly, in terms of business processes, AI drives the biggest benefits in supply chain management and in sales and marketing – two functions that are at the very core of retail.
These factors combine to offer a potential value of AI in retail of $400-$800bn**, with an opportunity for retailers to improve operational efficiency, and dramatically enhance customer experience.
The future of AI in retail
AI has a host of possibilities for transformational change. Let’s take a look at some AI in retail examples:
The future of AI in retail is exciting, taking the shopping experience to new levels, whilst at the same time helping retailers to operate more effectively and efficiently, streamlining processes and saving costs. And we’re not talking distant future – many of the AI in retail applications are starting now, and are delivering real benefits to retailers and customers alike.
References:-
*https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/artificial%20intelligence/notes%20from%20the%20ai%20frontier%20applications%20and%20value%20of%20deep%20learning/notes-from-the-ai-frontier-insights-from-hundreds-of-use-cases-discussion-paper.ashx
**https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/grocers-can-fuel-growth-with-advanced-analytics
+ https://hbr.org/2018/01/ads-that-dont-overstep?autocomplete=true
++ https://aimagazine.com/articles/visual-search-engines-the-role-of-ai-and-machine-vision
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