Artificial Intelligence (AI) has dramatically changed the retail industry. Still, the progress and advancements brought about by AI are just a trailer of its true potential. Online stores have started outnumbering the traditional brick and mortar stores. Covid-19 pandemic has further catalyzed the situation. AI can help both online and physical stores retain and regain their identities. With tons of data at the disposal of companies, they can dynamize the retail industry. The points mentioned below will inform you how AI can benefit the retail industry.
Keeping up with ever-changing customer expectations
The likes and dislikes of a customer are transient. Their expectations and demands are evolving. A successful businessman is one who keeps up with these ever-changing customer expectations.
To make a unique identity, you should be able to understand the mindset of a customer. The business should be able to understand a customer’s future needs way before he understands them. But it’s easier said than done! For businesses, to think so deeply about every individual customer seems quite impractical. Don’t worry! AI is there to help you out.
From customer segmentation to product recommendation, AI can handle it all. On your behalf, your AI-enabled system can target each customer of yours. And the customers will believe it to be the power of your 6th sense. Targeting the right set of customers with the right modus operandi can bring unmatched benefits to your organization. Based on the digital footprint of a customer, viz. the customer’s search history and his preferences, AI can detect significant patterns. These patterns help in serving the customer needs precisely.
Store Efficiency
There are several factors that determine the success of an enterprise. They range from optimizing the share of different brands and different products in the store to even the location of the store. This requires expertise in the sales forecast.
Sales forecast helps in determining the product & the brand that is most desirable. It also demonstrates which ones have average demand, and which have the lowest demand. These minute details can add as milestones for the company. They can plan better like understanding which products should be stocked and related stuff. The location of stores is pivotal to the success of any business.
Case in point – beginning an ice-cream store in the vicinity of a school or a residential area rather than on the city outskirts, since the inflow of children (targeted audience) is more over there. Hence, AI can also help in choosing the location for a store. This is achieved by analyzing the concentration of the target audience at different locations.
Pricing Optimization
Hit and trial, or point-pricing policy are not something which you can always rely upon. To retain customers for long, you need to intelligently chalk out the pricing policies. For this, you must keep an eye on the pricing policies of other competitors too.
Well calculated and informed decisions, considering the stock market levels, business trends, & sales forecast must be taken. AI helps in calculating these risks and choosing the price best suited to the needs of the organization. You must adjust the price in such a way that it attracts the customers due to its affordability and at the same time boosts your sales and profit. This requires the application of statistics. Data Visualization can help in comprehending these trends in the most user-friendly manner. There are a wide range of charts available, which aid in the presentation of complex details in simpler ways. All these applications like Data Analysis and Data Visualization are the constituents of AI.
Omni Channel Supply Chain Distribution Network
There should be a single channel of information. Having multiple channels introduces ambiguity. More the number of people involved, the more opinions, more the variations.
Be it online or offline, customers should get the same service so that they stick to the brand. The introduction of AI to the supply chain can ensure that the entire process is streamlined. The distribution and other things can be automated via AI, so that the officials can focus on other major things. The face of the company should be in accordance with the mission and vision of the organization. It should be ONE and UNANIMOUS.
AI has become the prerequisite for sustenance in the 21st century. Adopt it as soon as possible, so that you can be the dazzling star among the constellation of companies.