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How AI can save the retail business

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venkat k
How AI can save the retail business

The future of retail looks dire, as more brick-and-mortar stores close their doors. U.S. retailers have announced 8,558 store closures so far this year, with total U.S. store closures reaching 12,000 by the end of 2019, Cordite Research reported Friday.

While the Internet and automation are usually responsible for these closures, the same technology could be a solution for physical store locations, said Paul Winsor, general manager at Data Robot.

“If retailers want to stay open at the current stores they operate in, my recommendation to them is: Do they understand the changing habits of those customers, and how are they shopping with them, in those places?” Said Winsor.

“To survive in a tough, tough retail market, you have to start your business and make predictions based on learning from your historical data,” he says. “It’s all about learning from your historical data.”

After being in the retail industry for more than 30 years, Winsor said that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are tools retailers must use to get ahead — and to stay open.

How businesses have been open in the past
“Data-driven retail is not new. Technology is around to help companies understand their business from a data perspective,” says Winsor. “Data is not as personal and accurate as machine learning can help you.”

To make predictions in the past, retailers look at daily and weekly transaction data and draw conclusions from it, Winsor said.

As technology has evolved and convenience has become a priority, online stores have become the primary way to shop. As technology has captured the shopping experience, it has also taken the approach of retailers to draw conclusions and expectations about their services. If retailers refuse to grow and adapt to emerging retail infrastructure, they will inevitably fall behind.

AI helps retailers in three ways
“With AI, we are dealing with machines that can simulate intelligent behavior or simulate intelligent human behavior, that is, sense, reason, action, and adaptation,” said Altimeter lead analyst Brian Solis. “One of the most popular ways that leading brands use AI today is machine learning.”

“The difference is that with machine learning, systems can differentiate models from pure data sets, and with the right management, learn from those data to predict and predict results and improve performance over time,” Solis says. “It helps retailers learn how to personalize engagement, offers, and the next best move, as well as guide product and service development.”

1. Understanding the customer

Machine learning helps retailers understand their customers and predict future behaviors, Winsor said.

“We want to be more comfortable with the way we shop and we want to be, we want more convenience, and we want to shop across multiple channels,” Winsor said. “As consumers, we are constantly changing our habits, so we know what machine learning and AI are doing in this space.”

2. Estimate

“The really effective part is around the assessment,” Winsor said. “We are now seeing retailers using AI and automated machine learning to manage their demand forecasting to understand the real volume that is needed today based on demand from customers.”

This not only increases accuracy but also increases operational efficiency, saving both time and money for the organization.

“It really increases your accuracy because you’re taking over, you’re learning from the past, and you’re predicting what that size will be in the future,” Winsor said. “Operational efficiency is definitely key because we’re talking about an industry that runs its business at very low operating margins.”

3. Regulating product supply and development

Machine learning and AI play an important role in determining retail supply and development plans.
Machine learning can answer a few questions, according to Winsor: Are retailers selling the right products today based on the customer’s demands and expectations? And are they priced right? And are they the right products — in the right place, in the right assortment in the right stores.

The future of AI in the retail sector
The future of retail is more automated and more personalized, Solis said. “Consumers’ choice becomes less confusing and stressful.”

“Screens, connected dressing rooms, and virtual racks are the most promising and realistic future scenarios for me based on my personal, data-defined personality,” Solis says. “It only shares things that I consider based on past history and connected to personal preferences. You can play that scene in the retail sector, ie automotive, accessories, etc.”

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