Smart Retail 2.0: Exploring Generative AI Frontier For Sustainable Growth
Generative AI has gained massive popularity in recent months. One of the prime examples of this is Open AI’s ChatGPT, which has chiseled its name as the marvel in the generative AI industry. With powerful AI capabilities, ChatGPT has been successful in engaging around 180.5 million users so far. But chatbots are not the ultimate borderline of generative AIs like ChatGPT.
Generative AI has been successful in assisting and transforming businesses like communication, IT, supply chain, e-commerce, and more. And retail is a business that generative AI has significantly mutated previously. By streamlining customer engagement, personalizing marketing, and speeding up demand forecasting, retail businesses have turned smart with AI.
When it comes down to customers, brands tend to take any required action to acquire and retain them. As around 73% of customers expect brands to know their preferences, more retail businesses are turning towards AI, leading to massive AI adoption.
Let’s read ahead and find out how Generative AI in retail can be a game changer!
What is Smart Retail 2.0?
Smart Retail 2.0 is just an improvement of Smart Retail 1.0. The use of state-of-the-art technologies to further streamline store operations and improve overall customer experience comes under Smart Retail 2.0.
Unlike Smart Retail 1.0, Smart Retail 2.0 focuses on the use of IoT, predictive modeling, generative AI, computer vision, etc., to get better insights into customer behavior, optimize inventory, and personalize marketing strategies.
A perfect practical example of smart retail implementation is Walmart. Walmart integrated its 70 Canadian stores with AI-based systems using computer vision cameras to scan the store shelves at regular intervals automatically.
The solution provided real-time inventory management, faster restocking, and better product availability.
This is just one example of smart retail 2.0 and its implementation. The use of generative AI further adds more practical applications to it, such as
- Automated checkouts: Eliminates the traditional long queues for checkouts.
- Smart shelves: Automatically alert staff for restocking.
- Smart fitting rooms: Smart mirrors offer complementary items along with more colors and sizes of the dresses.
- Robotic assistance: Guiding customers to the right product shelves.
- Personalized Offer: Automated offer messages on products nearby.
And the list goes on!
What is Generative AI?
It is an excellent type of AI technology that can seamlessly generate several types of content. With AI models trained over massive datasets, generative AIs can produce original images, videos, text, music, video games, and whatnot.
Complex neural network techniques, such as transformers, GANs, and VAEs, back some of the best generative AIs on the market. These neural network techniques help in identifying patterns and relationships between data elements and produce relevant outputs.
The market of generative AI is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032, which is massive. Hence, around 82% of the organizations who are considering or using generative AI believe that it will transform the industry.
How can Smart Retail 2.0 and Generative AI go hand in hand?
Now that we know the power of generative AI and how smart retail works, let’s understand how these two can go hand in hand in the future. Here are some of the potential use cases of generative AI in e-commerce and retail.
Store Layout Optimization
A crowded store can significantly affect your customer experience sometimes. Besides, unable to locate an item in the store can add to it. Therefore, with the help of generative AI, you can optimize your store layout and boost visits and sales.
Generative AI can analyze previous customer traffic patterns to improve flow and prevent congestion. Further, generative AI algorithms, such as Variational Autoencoders and Generative Adversarial Networks, can be used to analyze the efficacy of present space utilization. Based on that, several optimization steps can be taken, such as store space reallocation, aisle length modification, and product display reorganization.
Automating Content Creation
For a retail business owner, cutting-edge marketing content is the key to success. As per stats, 85% of marketers employ AI to personalize content. With generative AI, businesses can greatly attract customers to their business.
Custom emails based on each customer can be curated with the help of generative AI. Besides, appealing product descriptions can be generated based on past responses and demographics. Lastly, generative AI can also generate social media posts, ads, etc., to lure customers.
Virtual Shopping Assistant
A virtual shopping assistant is software that can help customers get the exact product they are looking for. With a generative AI virtual assistant, customers can ask questions and get the top product suggestions from the virtual assistant instantly.
It saves a lot of the customer’s time as they don’t have to select multiple filters on the website. Moreover, backed by past customer data like search history, preferences, ad interactions, etc., a virtual shopping assistant can predict the ideal choices for the users, streamlining the entire shopping journey.
Generative Design for In-Store Displays
The visual aspects of your store, such as in-store displays, lights, etc., play an indispensable role in gaining customers and sales. As per stats, 64% of shoppers have walked out of a store without purchasing anything due to poor physical appearance.
With powerful generative AI software at their disposal, retail store owners can create super interactive and trendy product displays to engage and glue users to their retail stores. Adding the right lighting to the store also enhances its ambiance and elevates user experience.
Visual Merchandising
Visual Merchandising is a way to keep your customers updated and engaged with the latest trends and offers. It involves several retail store elements like window displays, product arrangements, floor plans, etc.
With generative AI, retailers can design more optimized floor plans, product arrangements, and window displays. With the use of AI and other technologies like data analytics, the store displays can also be automated.
Predictive Inventory Management
Inventory management can be time-consuming when there are thousands of products in your retail store. In such a scenario, generative AI can come in handy. With access to the right data, including historical sales data, seasonal trends, shelf stock data, etc., it can help you plan your inventory orders accurately in terms of time and quantity.
Thereby preventing overstocking and outstocking.
Bonus Point | Dynamic Pricing
Keeping up with the competitors is significantly influenced by the pricing of a product. To ensure that you gain a profit margin while satisfying your customers and keeping the competitors at bay, generative AI can be useful.
Generative AI algorithms can undertake real-time and predictive analytics of factors like demand, competitor’s price, and market trends to adjust pricing based on the required business goals.
Sustainable Growth With Generative AI!
As data is the centerpiece of every industry in today’s digital world, Generative AI is a catalyzer. No matter if it is the retail sector, IT, or any other, generative AI, can be of best utility.
As elaborated comprehensively in the blog, it can be of use in several utilitarian aspects. The combination of all these smart retail applications delivers the best results to a smart retail store owner, including sustainable growth. As per McKinsey’s analysis, generative AI can contribute around $310 billion in additional value to the retail industry.
Some of the top brands that use generative AI in retail are Walmart, ThredUp, Uniqlo, West Elm, etc.
Conclusion
In light of the growth of generative AI, it has become critical for retail businesses to invest in it. Though not entirely, the data generated by the customers should at least be collected and analyzed to gain insights. Based on that, required retail store as well as e-commerce website changes should be made. At the core of it, generative AI software is paramount.
If you are up for taking on your competitors with the best generative AI software, Intuz can be your perfect partner. Backed by professional staff and state-of-the-art technological tools, Intuz can cater to you with the ultimate AI smart retail solution.
