Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the way forward for the retail industry in terms of technology but at the moment, baring a few countries not all are ready for this change in retail and the retailers are also unsure about the introducing AI in their stores like a self-checkout platform is still better than a service robot asking for details.
Stressing on the same and to better understand the standing of AI in retail, Retail Analytics Council (RAC) – the leading body focussed on the study of consumer buying behaviour across retail platforms and the impact of technology – held the first-ever Retail Robotics and AI Conference recently in San Francisco, USA.
Retail and technology industry leaders, C-level executives along with academic leaders discussed various key topics at the event, including the use of AI in retail, understanding of consumer buying patterns, growing execution of robotic applications in retail and the current retail industry trends, at the conference.
At the event, Don Schultz, Director of RAC warned that with the increasing reliance on technology, the retail industry will soon become ‘retail singularity’. Referring to the data released by market intelligence and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Schultz told that before 2020, 40 per cent digital retail transformation steps will get an AI support.
During the ‘Academic Presentation’ session, all the participating companies discussed how the consumer’s behaviour and purchasing patterns are changing where Coresight Research (that provides future-focussed analysis) presented its findings that suggest in the coming time physical stores will just be filling-in the gaps in digital retailing.
Notably, AI-powered chatbots are the fastest adopted AI solution by retailers for benefits such as 24×7 access, improved knowledge base, prompt interactions and real time. A report claims that AI in retail is expected to be US $ 27.2 billion by the year 2025 from US $ 712.6 million in 2016.
At the Retail Robotics and AI Conference, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, Deborah Weinswig said that currently, China is leading in terms of usage of AI in retail. She marked out Alibaba’s AI placement in Global Shopping Festival last year when it maintained 95 per cent chatbot queries, which further resulted in making of 60 billion personalised pages on Tmall and Taobao.
