Generative AI, along with ChatGPT, has been grabbing attention lately and popularizing AI among the masses. However, AI has been revolutionizing other industries as well silently for quite some time. A recent PWC report estimates AI’s contribution to the global economy at $15.7 trillion by 2035. For example, AI can boost retail sales, prevent fraud, optimize the supply chain, and help retailers save about $340 billion annually.
Before we delve deeper into the AI-powered retail business revolution, let’s explore examples of how AI is quietly transforming our daily lives. Google Maps and Uber use AI to suggest the best routes between two places. Similarly, Netflix and YouTube’s AI engines learn from your watch history and suggest movies, videos, or TV shows to watch next. Examples like these are scattered throughout our daily lives.
Now let’s talk about how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing retail businesses.
Inventory Optimization
Retailers can use AI to study market trends, set prices, and manage inventory more effectively. AI can analyze sales data alongside economic cycles and other factors to predict demand and optimize stock levels and pricing strategies. For instance, H&M has integrated AI into its business operations to identify trends, establish pricing, develop a fast and adaptable supply chain, and enhance inventory management.
Enhance Customer Experience
A recent study from Harvard Business Review found that retailers spend 40% of their time on sales activities such as digital advertising, transaction processing, and customer data collection. These tasks can be delegated to AI, freeing executives to interact with customers and address their queries.
Online retailers can utilize AI-powered chatbots as the initial point of contact with customers, while offline retailers can implement digital dressing rooms with AI mirrors to suggest dress options based on customer preferences. Artificial intelligence solutions can also create unique customer profiles based on their purchase history, expectation, and preferences.
This allows retailers to better recommend its offerings and develop a more tailored shopping experience- leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and retention. Additionally, AI can assist in planning store layouts to maximize visual merchandise appeal, increase customer loyalty, boost retail sales, and revenue per square foot.
Prevent Fraud
Another useful application of artificial intelligence in retail business is the detection and prevention of fraud. AI helps in fast detection of suspicious activities and distinguishing between the true and the false cases of fraud. PayPal for example now uses an AI solution to partner with its team of human fraud detectives to detect fraud early.
Employee Satisfaction
The retail industry is understaffed and overworked. Thus, feeling stressed, unmotivated, and disillusioned is common amongst retailers. A recent survey indicated an increase in stress and burnout amongst 82% of retail employees. However, retailers can now delegate menial or administrative jobs to AI; freeing up more personnel hours to dedicate on more insightful or meaningful tasks.
Removing administrative tasks from a salesperson’s daily schedule will also make him more efficient on the sales front. Artificial intelligence can do necessary research including multiple data sets and give a refined list of qualified leads that sales representatives can connect with. Reducing stress, boredom, and burnout can increase employee motivation, reduce turnover, and boost productivity.
Up Selling and Cross Selling
Retailers try to increase their top and bottom line by selling more products to their existing customers. However, retailers often waste a lot of resources trying to cross sell or up sell product offerings. An easier way to do so is by using AI.
The art of the future, AI can analyze a vast amount of data points to identify the right customer for cross-selling or upselling a product line. AI can populate a list of suitable target customers and predict the probability of successful targeting with high accuracy.
Next Steps
Given the numerous advantages AI offers to retailers, it makes sense for them to incorporate AI into their daily operations. AI can help boost sales, increase operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, and more. However, simply having access to the art of the future, AI is not enough. You also need capable data scientists and AI engineers to maximize its benefits.
However, such specialists can be costly. Therefore, a more viable alternative is to hire remote resources at a fraction of the cost. Remote staffing organizations like Remote Resource can provide access to the top 10% of Indian talent at a fraction of local hiring costs. Moreover, by hiring from Remote Resource, you can avoid hiring expenses and compliance issues.
To engage the services of such an organization and fulfill your hiring needs, start by finding the ideal remote staffing organization. Then, share your requirements with them. The organization will search for suitable candidates from its internal pre-vetted database and schedule an interview within 2 working days at no extra cost. You can conduct the interview to choose your resource and have a one-week free trial before hiring them.
Summing up
The above pages discuss the numerous benefits AI offers to retailers. To thrive successfully, retailers must incorporate AI into their operations and hire data scientists and AI engineers. The most effective approach is to recruit a qualified workforce from a remote staffing organization at a fraction of the cost of local hiring. Interested in learning more? Connect with us now.
