For those of you who are not aware, here’s what Artificial Intelligence means –To put in very simple terms, artificial intelligence is the technology which has the ability to replicate the activities which were inherently done manually by human beings. Although many anti-technology groups have accused artificial intelligence of being responsible to snatch away people’s jobs and deeming them unemployed – that’s not the complete truth.
Futuristic organizations, especially in the retail sectors have learnt to strike a smart balance between the machine and the human intelligence – and thus delivering far more positive results.
Before we move on to discuss the impact of AI in retail, let’s also shout out to two other hot favourite technologies – namely Help Desk Software and Affiliate Tracking Software which along with human sensitivity and AI have lead to exponential growth in customer satisfaction and subsequent business.
Easing out the task of merchandising
One major activity in the retail business, which AI is taking over is merchandising. This has always been a dreaded job of the merchants due to its massive complexity. It is not humanly possible for any merchant to go through every detail – optimizing all of them is out of question. With the competition getting more severe with every passing day, thus leading to fragmentation across various channels, this has become a serious concern. Apart from scrutinizing the details, there comes the next crucial task of forecasting sales as accurately as possible, followed by managing the shelf.
Here’s where the AI comes to the rescue. Being a leading edge technology, any AI machine is built to be able to efficiently handle large volumes of data and perform pattern identification accurately. With the introduction of these machines in the business structure, employees are enabled to devote time and thought over matters that require a human’s judgement. Looks like the merchants finally get the much-needed break from the repetitive and boring tasks. It wouldn’t be wrong to say, that when human and machine intelligence come together, the outcome turns out to be near flawless.
Pricing and promotions get an all new direction
Retail companies have also started implementing AI to improve the management of their promotion and pricing strategies. A leading MNC has noted that efficient pricing for KVCs, that is key value categories and KVIs, that is, key value items is extremely crucial in the modern times, as customers these days are more tech savvy than ever. They can instantly compare the prices and also extract detailed product information. In order to save themselves from losing out on customers, organizations are using AI to track and keep their prices reasonable with respect to their competitors. If you think, this is an advantage for retailers as well, as there it gives them the flexibility to modify their pricing based on the market statistics.
Most of us have a common first reaction towards any new technology – we are afraid, and we cringe. Only when we know about the gigantic potential it holds for us, we accept it in our lives.
Image Credits: Artificial Intelligence from sdecoret/Shutterstock