Data And AI For Retailers

It is a bizarre time for consumers. The pandemic may have eased off, but the possibility of inflation and recession keeps economic uncertainty around. Repercussions on consumer behaviour remain to be seen.

Activewear company Solfire is one example² that places the utmost importance on customer experience. It aims to build a community comprising customers and maintain lasting relationships. Its stores have smoothie bars and dedicated areas where fitness clubs can socialize and work out. During checkout, it asks customers to fill out their information in an iPad point of sale (POS) system. According to Solfire, most customers do it willingly to stay updated on community events.

Delivering memorable customer experiences is a failsafe path to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, which drives repeat rates and sales. Analysis³ by Harvard Business Review shows that customers with the best experiences spend 140% more than those with the poorest experiences.

Retailers can take customer relationship management strategies to new heights by leveraging the right mix of technologies. This includes:

Let’s explore each of these in detail.

Consider the convenience of a cashier-less store with a self-checkout option. A surreal space where there is no interaction yet an interconnectedness between the shoppers, suppliers, and partners. This happens through person detection, object recognition, activity analysis, and pose detection, among other aspects. This concept took off through Amazon Go stores, where customers must download the Amazon Go mobile app to enjoy the convenience of skipping the checkout process4 entirely. Retailers like Aldi, Carrefour, Sainsbury’s and 7-Eleven also experiment⁵ with this technology. AI-driven video analytics solutions – that allow real-time monitoring of transactions – help retailers reduce inventory loss caused by theft in a self-checkout environment that lacks staff supervision. In other scenarios, streaming video feed analysis in real time provides retailers visibility on customer traffic congestion areas and lets them redirect staff to packed areas.

The Infosys Extended Store Solution⁶ is an end-customer mobile application that enables customers to scan an item in the store, build a cart, and make contactless payments. This lightweight, noninvasive system provides scan and pays & go capabilities for a contactless checkout experience on consumer smartphones.

Analysis⁷ by financial services advisory firm iBe shows that online marketplaces could be worth as much as $7 trillion in sales by 2024. Online marketplaces are ideal platforms for retailers to connect third-party sellers with customers and reap profits. Vendors, especially small businesses, get visibility for their products without setting up an e-commerce platform alone or incurring heavy expenses.

For example, a leading sports fashion retailer uses a connected eco-system of suppliers, contract manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers to improve performance across the supply chain. This holds benefits for all parties involved, enhances customer service and boosts loyalty to the brand. Linking multiple roles across a cloud-based platform leads each partner to do its work better.

Some retailers have created a ‘one inventory’ model. The capability to fulfil demand from anywhere reduces inventory holding and enables fast response to changes in demand. Promotions can now precisely target micro-markets and zip codes.

Climate and geopolitical factors have disturbed supply chain operations globally. The issues caused include a need for more visibility regarding demand prediction, product availability, pricing strategy, transportation costs, delivery tracking, last mile optimization, asset visibility and utilization, and carbon footprint.

Automating tedious tasks in a supply chain saves time and effort, reduces errors, and resolves labour shortage issues. According to the Lucas Systems Voice of the Warehouse Worker Insights⁸, technology drives⁹ employee attraction and retention. Of the respondents surveyed, 90% believe that investment in new technology will attract and retain workers instead of creating a fear of being replaced. Automation is sometimes the bad guy, and perception is changing in its favour.

This provides a sophisticated option for retailers, wholesalers, and distributors to assess and track their inventory while saving time and reducing human error. Especially where the business is scaling – introducing new challenges such as managing multiple warehouses – it offers quick real-time visibility into warehouse stocks and the ability to act on any shortages or excesses. It allows them to set notifications for when their stocks decrease and automate the reordering to fulfil the shortfall.

This streamlines the entire process – from receipt to order fulfilment – and manages customer order deliveries flawlessly.

Infosys Simplified Supply Planning¹⁰ is an advanced supply chain inventory planning solution that offers time-phased replenishment with warehouse and store-level order smoothening. The answer is designed to provide multiple replenishment methods for producing a flexible buy plan for the entire chain.

Clearly, technology trends combined with data and AI can reinvigorate retail. However, this involves challenges that businesses must understand and know to tackle.

To read the challenges associated with Data and AI and how to overcome them, head to How Data and AI are Helping Retailers Get Trendy | Infosys Knowledge Institute

Disclaimer Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the respective institutions or funding agencies

1. https://www.forrester.com/predictions/predictions-2023/?utm_source=forbes&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=predictions_2023
2. https://www.vendhq.com/blog/retail-examples-to-inspire-you-to-run-a-better-business/
3. https://hbr.org/2014/08/the-value-of-customer-experience-quantified
4. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/12/amazon-go-cashierless-store-of-the-future-has-some-new-competition.html
5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/09/29/cashierless-stores-are-getting-a-mind-of-their-own/?sh=622f00e52a8f
6. https://www.infosys.com/oracle/case-studies/documents/contactless-in-store-shopping-experience.pdf
7. https://www.uktech.news/news/new-analysis-shows-online-marketplaces-set-to-exceed-%247-trillion-by-2024-20190929
8. https://www.supplychain247.com/papers/lucas_systems_voice_of_the_warehouse_worker_insights/lucas_systems
9. https://www.supplychain247.com/papers/labor_shortages_and_workplace_safety_how_automation_can_help/wms
10. https://www.infosys.com/oracle/insights/documents/infosys-simplified-supply-planning.pdf