Imagine if you could walk into a supermarket, grab whatever you need, and just walk out. No that isn’t stealing. Your account would automatically be charged and an itemized bill will be sent your way.

Well, that’s no dream. Amazon Go stores are living examples of such a utopian dream. You can learn more about Amazon Go from the video below.

And that reality is being powered by artificial intelligence. Hands down that is the hitherto best possible use of AI for revolutionizing the retail business.

Now, Amazon isn’t the only business using AI to revamp the retail space.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the use of AI in the retail market in North America alone will reach USD 31.18 billion by 2028. And between the 2021 to 2028 period, the CAGR for the market will be 30.5%.

Source

But AI implementation is expensive. 

How can my small/medium-sized business afford it?

Well, you don’t have to go all out and start with an AI-powered, automated retail shop. There are various affordable, yet impactful ways in which you can leverage AI to boost your retail business.

And you don’t have to have pockets as deep as Amazon to be able to do that.

Below you will find 5 ways small and medium businesses can use AI to boost their retail business. 

Gone are the days when the supply chain and logistics domain was predominantly manually operated. The future of supply chain and logistics is smart, connected, and efficient. 

Supply chain automation is a niche that has a lot of potential. And AI is best suited for bringing about that automation.

According to a study, AI in the supply chain market is expected to grow by 20.5% between 2022 to 2028 and hit $20,196.6 million by the end of the forecast period.

With an AI-enabled supply chain and logistics solution, retailers can better predict demand trends, inventory stock, and supply potential, as well as fast and slow-moving goods.

These insights can ultimately help in:

1. Avoiding waste of resources
2. Better productivity
3. A demand-focused approach
4. Better revenues and higher profits

With insights from AI in the supply chain and logistics domain, retailers can also reduce freight costs, minimize risks, and optimize delivery performance.

Did you know that 36% of customers say that retailers should do more to offer personalized solutions?

Also, according to SmarterhHQ, 79% of retailers invest in personalization. That’s more than in any other industry. 

So now that you know that you are peers are doing it. And your customers want to do it. So you should explore the avenues that AI offers for ensuring a customized user experience. 

By offering unique and customized experiences to your users you can ensure customer loyalty and keep them coming back for more.

If you leverage AI and machine learning to analyze transactional data, understand past purchases, and customer behavior and blend it with loyalty cards that offer customized offers, you can definitely ensure better outcomes for your retail brand.

You might want to take cues from the makeup brand Sephora’s Color IQ. It is an AI-driven solution that offers makeup products based on the user’s skin color, in the retail store setting. 

Knowing who your customers are is the first step to making them your life-long partners. 

While you’d definitely have some idea about who your customers are and what their needs are, AI can take things a step ahead. 

With AI analysis, you can crunch information from a wider data pool. The insights that you can gather can range from:

1. A detailed user persona/personas.
2. Reasons that stop your customers from making repeat purchases.
3. Factors that encourage sales.
4. The ever-evolving customer wants. 
5. The customer’s perception of your retail business and brand. 

Once you have this information on hand, you can use it to run targeted market campaigns, update your services, and fine-tune your branding strategies. 

The supply-demand gap is one of the biggest causes of concern for retail business owners. It often happens that you miss out on vital hints about upcoming customer demand. 

This leads to a dead stock on your physical or virtual shelf and customers who go away empty-handed. 

With AI integration for your retail business, you can engage in accurate demand forecasting. Powered by that data analysis you can make accurate predictions about the change in the demand for various products. 

This will ensure you are ready to meet customer demands, aren’t left with dead stock, and have the right strategies in place to make the most of the market conditions. 

Customer service is a vital aspect of any business. And with businesses that increasingly become online, chatbots are the new salesmen. 

But you don’t need to invest in a lot of expensive manpower to ensure 24/7 chat access for your customers. 

Smart AI-powered chatbots can do what’s needed. At a significantly lower cost.

And you’d be surprised to know that chatbots can handle complete conversations around 69% of the time.

Also, by 2023, chatbots will have generated over $100 billion in eCommerce revenue.

Powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, AI chatbots (and even virtual assistants) can help your customers find what they are looking for. And for your retail business, it means better conversion rates and higher revenues. 

SynergyTop is a reliable one-stop solution for all your artificial intelligence implementation needs. 

Why can you trust SynergyTop for AI development and implementation?

1. We offer customized solutions for your unique retail business needs.
2. We have a heightened focus on the safety and security of business ideas and information which ensures no data leaks and absolutely no pitfalls.
3. Use of complementing cutting-edge technologies like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning. This ensures beyond-basic results for your business. 

Explore our in-depth artificial intelligence services and get ready to boost your retail business in 2023.