AI in Retail: Moving Beyond Amazing Toys to Game-Changing Solutions

In today's artificial intelligence-driven era, AI has become the go-to buzzword across industries. Retail is no exception, with a growing list of AI-based applications promising to revolutionize the way retailers operate.

ShopMate, for example, uses AI to generate customizable shopping suggestions for e-commerce, personalizing the shopping experience for each customer. Branchbob.ai, an AI-powered platform, enables merchants to swiftly and seamlessly create fully functional online stores, making the transition to online retail smoother. In terms of sales, tools like RevFit AI provide sophisticated sales forecasting and qualification, aiding businesses in their strategic planning. Additionally, SalesMind AI tailors marketing strategies for each client, leveraging AI to ensure that marketing efforts are as effective as possible.

Credit: CB Insights

Tech giants are also getting involved in AI retail. Google announced just weeks ago that its new AI shopping feature will let users virtually try on clothes.

The retail landscape is challenging, with shrinking margins and mounting operational complexities. When implementing groundbreaking technologies like AI, retailers rightfully expect significant breakthroughs in customer service and bottom-line results. However, many generative AI applications still fall short of delivering the profound impact desired, leaving them relegated to the realm of amazing toys.

Within the intricate world of retail, there are numerous touchpoints, including store management, e-commerce, merchandise planning, supply chain operations, seasonal promotions and more. Each domain requires its own set of rules and expertise and an unfathomable number of daily choices. The real challenge lies in synchronizing these various facets daily to create the best possible outcomes.

Today, AI integration within existing workflows and tools has become common practice. Advanced analytics tools now incorporate AI to generate reports, enhancing accuracy and efficiency. Retailers leverage sophisticated statistical models and AI capabilities for improved pre-season planning, personalized recommendations, and optimized discounts on slow-moving items. These AI-enhanced tools undoubtedly positively contribute to retailers' bottom line.

However, it's crucial to acknowledge that this integration represents the current mainstream adoption of AI in retail. These AI-powered tools offer incremental improvements, but they're not yet at the stage of fully autonomous AI-driven systems. It's essential to envision a future where AI has a more profound impact, transforming retail operations from their core with little to no human intervention. This is where the real game changer emerges.

Credit: Yishai Ashlag, Midjourney

Inertia often dictates the development of existing tools, as exemplified by word processing software. Originally designed with a focus on printing, they were limited to text and images. However, the rise of web-based interaction has brought about a shift in the fundamentals, allowing for the support of multimedia documents. Yet the word page format is still following the standard printing paper. Similarly, the integration of AI into retail workflows has the potential to revolutionize the industry beyond incremental enhancements.

As retail domain experts and visionaries, we must recognize the immense potential of AI integration to reshape the way we manage inventory. By embracing AI's capabilities and breaking free from the limitations of existing systems, we can create a future where inventory management is fully controlled by AI.

This notion may seem like a distant dream, but let's consider the example of Voyager, NVIDIA’s Minecraft model. In a remarkable feat of AI advancement, NVIDIA embarked on a project to train a model to play the popular game Minecraft. The project showcased the ability of the AI model to learn and improve its gameplay skills without human intervention. During the training process, the AI model learned to navigate the Minecraft world, gather resources, and accomplish various tasks. It exhibited a remarkable understanding of the game's mechanics and was able to adapt its strategies to different scenarios. The results were truly impressive. The AI model outperformed previous state-of-the-art techniques, achieving milestones and unlocking key elements of the game at a significantly faster pace.

By giving AI agents like Voyager access to relevant data and teaching them the logistics constraints of retail, we can envision a future where they autonomously make decisions and optimize inventory management. This represents a groundbreaking shift, where AI becomes a truly independent and invaluable asset in the retail industry.

In conclusion, the integration of AI into retail workflows holds tremendous potential for transforming inventory management. By breaking free from the limitations of traditional methods and embracing the vision of a future where AI takes the reins, we can unlock new levels of efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction. As retail continues to evolve in the AI-driven era, it's crucial for industry leaders to recognize the transformative power of AI and seize the opportunity to redefine how inventory is managed.

Avrumy Schreiber is vice president of product at Onebeat, an AI-driven retail technology that uses short-term predictions to translate customer behavior into real-time day-to-day actions that maximize sell-through and overall sales.