How does AI help professionals in all aspects of retail on a daily basis?
The rise of online commerce has had a significant impact on retail. Online merchants, like Amazon and Cdiscount, who frequently provide lower pricing and a larger assortment of products, have forced shops to adjust to their growing competition. Many shops have started to offer online sales choices, enhance customer service, and provide distinctive shopping experiences to draw customers in-store in order to remain competitive. Several shops have also embraced the use of technology like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics to improve the in-store shopping experience and set themselves apart from online rivals.
AI in the corporate world
What is an AI ?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field of technology that aims to create machines capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, translation or decision making. There are several types of AI depending on the type of learning they use such as: supervised learning, where the ia follows specific rules to accomplish tasks, unsupervised learning or deep learning, whose algorithms will become more refined each time they process data and improve their performance over time. AI tends to be democratized and becomes more accessible to any type of company, regardless of its size.
Uses in the business world
AI has many applications in business, including demand forecasting, product recommendations, fraud detection and supply chain management. It can also be used to improve customer experience by offering personalized products or providing online messaging via AI chatbots. More broadly, AI can be used to optimize and automate internal business processes, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
AI in the retail sector
Point of sale management tools
Retail tracking tools are used to track the performance of retail businesses on a global scale and help improve sales and marketing strategy. There are many types of retail tracking tools, including point-of-sale (POS) management systems. These are software programs used by retail companies to record in-store sales transactions. They allow employees to capture items purchased by customers and process payments, usually using a cash register or electronic payment terminal.
POS systems also offer a variety of tracking capabilities, such as inventory management and sales analysis. They can be used to track sales at the store, store group, or enterprise level overall, which can help companies better understand their performance and make strategic decisions accordingly.
For supply management, these software applications help companies track the end-to-end movement of products from supplier to store and can be used to improve overall chain efficiency.
Human resources management also benefits from automation technologies thanks to AI: employee file management, leave management or absence management, the applications are numerous and tend to evolve to integrate into the daily life of companies.
Demand forecasting tools
In addition to enabling continuous observation and management of the day-to-day operations of a retail outlet, the technological advances in these software products allow companies to collect and analyze data on sales, consumer trends and customer behavior in real time.
Globally, customer relationship management (CRM) tools are the most widely used, helping companies to track and manage customer interactions, from prospecting to after-sales service. They allow traceability and relieve sales departments, freeing up more time for sales prospecting and performance improvement.
With the development of artificial intelligence and advances in data analysis, retail tracking tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated and help companies make strategic decisions in real time.
Retail professionals can now analyze large amounts of data, such as sales or customer behavior data. This can help them identify trends and growth opportunities, as well as optimize their marketing and sales strategy.
When it comes to stores and their layout, AI can be used to analyze customer behavior in stores and optimize product layouts accordingly. This can help retailers draw customers’ attention to the most relevant products and drive purchases.
In short, AI can be used to improve the efficiency of retail operations, meet customer needs more quickly and efficiently, and optimize company sales and marketing strategies.
A tracking solution made for retail
Customer journey analysis and people counting solutions
There are many point-of-sale management tools and it is necessary to understand the ins and outs of their uses. You may be interested in the article “What analytics and counting solutions for retail in 2023 ?“ to learn more about the solutions available to you.
If you want to learn more about your customers’ behavior from the front door to the back door by being able to trace their journeys, you will need to use a comprehensive customer journey capture and analytic tool as well as a complete counting solution.
With the information available, you can make changes to your merchandising and customer journey to boost store performance and customer loyalty.
The IVSteps customer journey analysis tool
We have developed a tool that will allow you to anonimously analyze the path and behavior of your customers in store in real time.
We collect data thanks to sensors that anonymously analyze the trajectories and behavior of your customers. You can then:
- Visualize heat maps, walkthroughs and stops;
- Measure the audience, attractiveness and transformation rate of each department or zone;
- Understand the routes and directions of traffic;
- Highlight malfunctions (waiting at checkout, fitting rooms, etc.).
- Discover the areas of interest, the direction of travel and the fluidity of your points of sale.
Find and compare all the data concerning your points of sale in a few clicks, directly in your space, on your dashboard on computer or in your mobile application.
The IVScount people counting solution
We have developed a counting solution that allows you to measure and analyze the incoming traffic streams in your stores in real time.
The data is created by sensors that anonymously analyze the entries in the store as well as the passages in front of your shop window.
This allows you to :
- Measure the impact of marketing campaigns;
- Evaluate the performance of shop windows and product choices;
- Understand the attractiveness between stores;
- Measure occupancy rates and time spent in store;
- Understand increases or decreases in foot traffic by comparing pedestrian flows in front of the store;
- Detect good and bad performances.
Find and compare all the data of your store or your network in a few clicks, directly in your space, on your dashboard on computer or in the mobile application.