The age of Artificial Intelligence is here and automation technology is already being used across the globe by companies in every industry. From farming and warehouse operations to robots that assist customers in finding what they want, the evolution of robotics is game-changing. Particularly within retail and B2C industries where customer experience and customer journey is important.
A revolution is upon us and here are four ways that A.I is going to change the retail landscape forever:
Shift in Workforce Structure
With modern advancements often comes some sacrifice, and for the retail world, jobs could be at risk when automation becomes commonplace. It is believed that in some sectors, as many as half of the jobs could be replaced by robots. And two industries with the biggest risk factors are manufacturing and retail.
But as Gartner predicts, the introduction of A.I could help to create more jobs in the future. Their forecast outlines: By 2020, A.I will generate 2.3 million jobs, exceeding the 1.8 million that it will remove .
Improved Customer Experience
The addition of robots in retail could help to boost customer experience and satisfaction dramatically. The journey of shoppers is incredibly important today as consumers want more from retailers; the modern day shopper wants convenience, speed, quality and the best customer service. With the Internet of Things, staying connected to shops and brands will be easier than it’s ever been, and customers will be able to get instant responses from agents about their order through multiple platforms (including social media or WhatsApp).
Not only will robots help to eliminate long response time in customer care departments, but they will also be able to collect intelligent data on target demographics, helping to improve products/services.
Offline Meets Online
It’s not just online retail that will be revolutionised by AI and automation. In store will also benefit from new technology to improve the shop floor journey. The store of the future may have facial recognition to help shoppers tailor their shopping experience, robot assistants to fetch and carry products for efficiency, and touch screen payments to eradicate problems with queuing at checkout desks.
Through Artificial Intelligence, the offline and digital world can come together for seamless and convenient shopping.
Environmental Responsibility
Imagine a retail world where paper waste is completely reduced. Receipts are sent electronically to you after you pay in store, and customer invoices are all stored via effective document management systems. The use of automation and robots can help to digitise everything that we do; not only does this reduce the need for paper at a customer-facing level, but it can also help with back-office operations, including warehousing paperwork and other departments that spend a lot of time printing and filing.
With the Internet of Things, customers and brands will constantly be connected and data can be easily shared without the need for paper. Other automation environmental benefits include fuel efficiency for courier networks, effective recycling systems for waste packaging, as well as co-generation processes that utilise a waste stream to create energy.
