Originally published in: NewDigitalAge

by Amber Hovious, VP of Marketing & Partnerships at Teamwork Commerce

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the retail industry by storm, empowering retailers to enhance their operations and performance across several sections of their retail ecosystem, from warehouse to in-store. According to Statista, retailers using AI and machine learning (ML) performed better than their competitors between 2023 and 2024, with an average revenue growth of 8.1%, compared to only 5.1% for retailers who did not use AI or ML solutions.

While AI is proving to be a game-changer in a number of areas within retail, its impact on customer experience is one of the key drivers of its adoption in the industry. In addition to helping retailers create highly personalised experiences, AI also plays a critical role in predictive analytics. 

Predicting trends with AI

Consumer needs are ever-changing as technology develops, and retailers must adapt to stay ahead of the game. Amidst these evolving consumer demands, there are often common patterns that emerge, which can allow retailers to predict what trend will come next. The challenge for retailers lies in being able to spot these patterns. For example, analysing historical data helps retailers anticipate the demand for products at a specific time, enabling them to optimise their inventory levels. However, manual processes for analysis are time-consuming and do not guarantee accuracy. As a result, retailers fall at risk of missing sales opportunities. 

To address this challenge, retailers have started to lean on AI. As per Statista, 60% of professionals stated that the most popular reason for using AI is to improve customer experience and predict customer behaviour and needs. By integrating AI-powered tools with their customer relationship management (CRM) systems, retailers can quickly and more accurately analyse historical data – such as customers’ purchasing habits, buying frequency, and preferences. As a result, they can predict trends and demand more efficiently and effectively, ensuring they have the right products at the right time to cash in on maximum sales opportunities.

The role of AI in personalising customer interactions

It is nearly impossible to provide tailored customer experiences to thousands of customers without the right technology. AI not only makes it possible but also does so seamlessly. AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots are transforming the quality of customer service by answering queries or solving problems swiftly, tailoring each interaction in real-time. While AI is a game-changer in online customer service, its impact on the in-store customer experience is significantly valuable too.

Using AI-powered solutions, store associates can personalise their interactions with customers. If a customer often purchases items of a specific colour, AI will identify this pattern quickly and notify store associates, enabling them to make informed and personalised suggestions. This also enhances cross-selling opportunities for retailers, giving them extra knowledge of what their customers prefer.  

AI-powered solutions can also alert associates about restocked items that were previously sought after by a customer, enabling them to deliver proactive assistance. This not only increases sales opportunities for retailers but also positively impacts the overall customer experience. Associates can create personalised interactions, making customers feel valued. 

AI: what’s next?

Whether virtual assistants capable of personalising recommendations or chatbots offering real-time customer support, AI-powered solutions have redefined how retailers engage with their customers across online and physical stores. Over the next few years, the technology will become an integral part of retail operations, with 91% of retail IT leaders prioritising AI as the top technology to implement by 2026. As a result, AI-powered solutions are likely to dominate several areas of retail. 

As AI becomes more sophisticated, its integration into retail operations will only deepen, facilitating seamless, efficient, and tailored shopping experiences for customers and empowering retailers to drive efficiency and accuracy alike. 

While AI’s integration in retail is critical, the role of human value in the customer experience cannot be overlooked. Retailers must ensure they do not eliminate the human aspect of their customer experience. Those who can strike the right balance between humans and machines will pave the way for long-term success.

While the recent launch of England’s European Championship 2024 kit has stirred up some debate among the general English public, it is expected to be a hit in terms of sales. From home shirts to away shirts, hats to scarves, and jackets, any international football tournament featuring the Three Lions presents a significant opportunity for retailers to boost merchandise sales.

Sporting the right look has always been a key mark of support for any sports team around the world, and international tournaments seem to be one of the few events nowadays that will unite the English population. The summer of 2018 proved just how impactful sports can be on retail when Marks & Spencer sold out their waistcoat stock during the Russia World Cup, simply so that fans could emulate Gareth Southgate, the England manager.

As anticipation builds ahead of Euro 2024, kicking off in Germany, in June, retailers should be cognizant of the opportunities that the upcoming tournament will present over the next few months. In our latest blog, we explore how retail brands can make the most of Euros hype…

Stocking the Right Merch in Retail

Merchandise plays an important role in the build-up to any international tournament, but this doesn’t necessarily mean retailers must stock official shirts. Similar to the genius of M&S’ waistcoat push, brands can leverage Euros interest by simply finding the right products that land with their customer base. The trick lies in being able to find that niche.

Outside context plays an important role. Bucket hats, as well as retro t-shirts and shorts pairings typically become highly popular – the heat of the summer clearly influences purchasing choices. Retailers must use this context to cater to their audiences.

By integrating an effective reporting and analytics solution, retailers can gain real-time visibility of their performance, helping them to make better decisions, faster. With historical tracking of a range of factors – such as previous sporting events or last year’s summer sales performance – retailers can analyse trends to understand the type of products that will sell quickly during the Euros period. From here, it is simply a case of stocking the merchandise that suits the retailer’s customer base in the right context and watching it fly off the shelves.

A Short Window of Opportunity

Once the product selection is finalized, retailers must also consider the timeline they are working towards. Now that the official kits – and additional accessories – have been released, the hype will gradually build right up until England’s first game, when they kick off against Serbia on June 16.

This offers retailers a 3-month period, similar to that of the festive shopping season, whereby Christmas shopping begins as early as October. It is during this period that retailers must maximize their sales efforts, slowly ramping up their sales efforts as the Euros draw closer. Once the tournament begins, timing becomes imperative because as soon as England is knocked out, any interest will disappear, and leftover stock will cost retailers in the form of reduced sale prices and storage.

The tournament timings fall as follows:

Inventory is everything in these small periods of opportunity. Being able to find the right balance between under and overstocking products to maximise sales is paramount to optimising performance ahead of the Euros. Again, reporting and analytics will help retailers to better assess their required stock levels during the tournament.

However, Teamwork Commerce’s RFID-Powered Stock Counter Application provides retailers with real-time visibility into inventory status, allowing brands to keep on top of their stock levels with complete accuracy. It empowers users to make informed decisions based on up-to-date stock information.

Don’t Forget the Experience 

While retailers scramble to make the most of the short-term gains available over the next few months, they must also consider the opportunity to turn any quick wins into long-term success.

Merchandise sales introduce the potential of new customers who might have never thought to shop with certain retail brands previously. These are the opportunities that retailers must grab with both hands.

By delivering a seamless, personable in-store experience, retailers can leave customers feeling highly valued and satisfied. Ultimately, this encourages them to return to the retailer for a replicated experience in the future. These experiences can be achieved through a range of tactics.

From a simple, yet effective, greeting as customers enter the store, to personalised interactions through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that tracks data such as purchase history, size and colour preferences, or even the name of a customer’s dog. Small gestures can make a big difference, and personalisation goes a long way to helping store visitors feel appreciated. Combined with additional perks such as personalised discounts, retailers can quickly turn a quick sale into a retained customer.

There is Always an Opportunity

The Euros will bring excitement to the nation, and for retailers, it brings the potential for enhanced sales opportunities and customer growth. These small periods of national hype can appear at any moment. We see it every year with January sales and Black Friday, and international tournaments have a similar impact. The key for retailers is to be ready, prepare effectively, and execute with a long-term view in mind.

To find out more about how Teamwork Commerce can help your retail business ahead of the Euros, book a demo today.

The year 2023 brought its fair share of obstacles for retailers, mainly due to the cost of living crisis that had a ripple effect on global markets. This resulted in reduced consumer spending, increased inflation rates, and a challenging financial environment for the retail sector.

However, with Q1 2024 in the books, and a fresh start still firmly in the minds of UK’s retail brands, PwC’s Retail Outlook for 2024 gives reason to be cheerful as the industry looks to continue the fight against economic downturn. The report cites falling inflation, high employment and wage growth, improved spending intentions and National Insurance and other Budget giveaways as key indicators of upturned fortunes in 2024. And that is before referencing that the worst looks to be over with the cost of living crisis.

Thankfully, this year is expected to bring consumers back towards ‘normal’, with improved consumer confidence and a willingness to spend. This creates an opportunity for retailers not only to increase retail sales and acquire new customers, but also to retain them, promote loyalty, and build long-term relationships. At such a critical point in time, execution must be efficient and effective. And technology can play an important role in facilitating it.

Create Convenience

As spending habits begin to ramp up, retailers must ensure that they can make the purchase process as seamless for their customers as possible. This starts with providing options. Today’s customer wants to shop in their own way: whether online, in-store, or a mix of both. Retailers must cater towards these demands, creating an effective omnichannel operation that facilitates seamless fulfilment between sales channels.

Teamwork Commerce’s powerful Order Management System (OMS) provides retailers with a range of functionality that creates a seamless purchase workflow. Connecting directly to a brand’s eCommerce platform, the OMS provides an automated solution to generate shipments. Orders can be placed from multiple locations and fulfilled anywhere.

This allows customers to shop around their own requirements. Whether they have a quick five minutes to make an online purchase, prefer to browse in-store for the right outfit, or need to pick up a pre-ordered item on their way home from work. Flexibility creates convenience, and convenience drives enhanced customer satisfaction that leaves a lasting positive impression. 

Make it Personal

According to BCG, 72% of luxury consumers have personalisation at the top of their list of things they’d like to see when dealing with brands. Of those consumers, 39% say personalised treatment in-store is the most important aspect of shopping in person. Clearly a personal touch goes a long way in delivering high-quality customer experiences. Combining personalisation with convenient fulfilment options enables retailers to deliver highly bespoke, seamless transactions that make customers feel valued.

With a reliable and secure Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, such as Teamwork Commerce’s Secure CRM solution, retailers can tailor individual interactions for every visitor across all sales channels. Creating a holistic, real-time view of customer information – including purchase history, shopping preferences and sizing.

Armed with the right information, retailers can make tailored recommendations to customers, assisting them in their browsing and creating truly individual interactions.

Speed is Everything

Consumers expect to have their products promptly. In a world of streaming services, super-fast broadband and same day delivery, speed has become an important currency. Convenience and personalisation will make customers feel valued, but creating effortless, speedy transactions will take a retailer’s operations to another level.

Teamwork Commerce’s Mobile Point of Sale (POS) technology allows in-store associates to complete transactions from anywhere on the shop floor in seconds. Armed with a tablet that can also access a range of store information in real-time – from inventory levels to CRM information – associates can provide a fast, personalised service before completing quick transactions.

Not only does this benefit the customer – whose time in-store is minimised while they receive a top-quality service – but the retailer can also conduct more transactions and reduce in-store queueing.

The Time for Tech

2024 promises to offer improved opportunity for retailers compared to last year’s difficulties. As we hurtle towards the summer, retailers must look to leverage the latest technology available in order to capitalise on renewed customer appetite for spending. With the right service, supported by the right platform, retailers can create high-quality experiences that create customer loyalty and long-term business success.

Interested to see how your retail business can benefit from an all-encompassing retail technology solution? Get in touch today.

Originally published on: The Ai Journal 

In a recent report published by Statista, 73% of retailers claimed to currently be using artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations. With this number expected to increase throughout 2024 – 15% of retail brands claim to be planning to implement AI in the next 12 months – we could soon see a significant change within the industry.

AI is designed to increase productivity, efficiency, and revenue for businesses, and the technology is having a big impact on the retail sector. We have watched in anticipation as the technology has developed over the years, and with AI now tied in with machine learning, its current capabilities are taking the world by storm. In 2023, we saw Generative AI capture the attention of consumers, and the technology’s boom over the past 12 months has accelerated adoption rates in B2B settings.

While it makes its way through several industries, AI also has the potential to play a significant role in shaping the future of retail. As advancements in AI become further sophisticated, retailers can use the technology to assist employees in a wide range of internal processes, from delivering personalized shopping experiences to streamlining supply chain operations. Its versatility allows retailers to minimize the time taken to perform tasks through automation and use the technology to scope and analyze market trends to help retailers make better decisions, faster. 

Streamlining Inventory Management Using AI Tools 

AI tools can help retailers streamline a number of their day-to-day operations, particularly when utilized to relieve retailers from labor-intensive processes such as inventory management.

Traditionally, inventory management practices require employees to take manual stock counts in-store, checking which items are running low and re-ordering products based on current levels. The challenge with this traditional method is that it not only takes a significant amount of time for one person to go through every individual item, but it is also prone to human error. In-store associates can take hours to count backroom stock, compromising a retailer’s ability to provide high-quality customer service during the ongoing labor shortage. Furthermore, with the risk of human error, there can be no true visibility of inventory accuracy. As such, the decisions made from manual counts become unreliable. 

AI alone cannot solve this issue. However, when deployed alongside an effective inventory management technology – such as item-level RFID – retailers will not only gain real-time, accurate insight into their stock levels, but AI will leverage the data gathered to make instant stocking decisions for the retailer. When provided with data around sales, orders, and existing inventory, AI can streamline the inventory management process by making recommendations about anticipated inventory requirements. 

This process can be taken another step further. Combining key market trends with customer buying behaviors also allows AI to assist retailers in long-term inventory decisions such as forecasting. Not only will AI recognize stock levels, but it will also use previous sales patterns to predict future consumer demands and react accordingly to ensure retailers are ready for any anticipated trends. This allows retailers to maintain optimal inventory levels and minimize waste. It also helps to maximize customer experiences, with accurate availability and fulfillment information shared with customers in real time.

AI’s Role in Improving Customer Experience

High-quality inventory management practices can play a significant role in enhancing the in-store customer experience. While these developments help reduce customer wait times and improve in-store service, retailers are now also enhancing their efforts through increasing personalization.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools can be used to collect relevant data from customers. The technology allows retailers to gather relevant customer information such as purchase and browsing history to understand their evolving preferences and needs. Retailers can then leverage AI in tandem with their CRM platforms to create truly bespoke experiences.

While CRM on its own is already helping retailers provide in-store personalization, AI can enhance these efforts, combining context with existing consumer data. Using data collected from outside sources, such as upcoming weather predictions to wider national events, AI can expand on basic details such as name, location, and purchase history, by making assumptions about consumers’ lifestyles, analyzing their purchase patterns to gain a deeper understanding of customers, such as the preferred hobbies and sports, or whether they have children or pets. Predictive analytics can then help make accurate suggestions based on the profile the retailer has curated for each individual.

Retailers can use this information to their advantage by providing targeted offers on products their consumers buy regularly or are likely to be interested in. Not only will this push consumers to follow through with their purchases and increase revenue, but it will also increase satisfaction levels. Providing a truly bespoke in-store experience where store associates have access to this information increases the chances of customer retention and loyalty moving forward.

Stepping into the Future

Technology has evolved the way consumers shop today. With same-day delivery and pick-up available, omnichannel fulfillment options, and real-time visibility of stock, today’s shopper is accustomed to speed and convenience. 

AI only enhances a retailer’s capability to deliver this level of efficiency and seamlessness to its customers. With accurate personalization and improved fulfillment, retailers can deliver bespoke in-store experiences that exceed customer expectations. With optimized inventory practices, retailers can avoid overstocking and stockouts, and AI’s capabilities of machine learning to deliver predictive analytics help retailers gain a competitive edge within the market, increasing satisfaction, revenue, and efficiency.

Keep it Human

The possibilities with AI are endless and will likely play a significant role in the transformation of the retail industry. Retailers are acting quickly to invest in AI, with many planning to incorporate it into their operations within the next year. With the wide range of opportunities unlocked by the technology, retail operations, and customer experiences will only continue to improve.

While the potential of the technology promises a huge number of opportunities, retailers must remember that the most important service they can deliver to their customers is a human one. While technology acts as an enabler to improved processes and experiences, it should never be used to replace the human connection within retail. It should simply exist to enhance an in-store associate’s ability to deliver high-quality customer experiences that leave customers feeling valued.

Author: Amber Hovious

With nearly two decades of experience in corporate and channel sales, as well as marketing, Amber Hovious leads Teamwork Commerce’s fast-growing retail software organisation in its global expansion. Hovious joined the company in January 2013, and in her current role, is responsible for developing and managing Teamwork Commerce’s channel programs, partnerships and strategic marketing campaigns.