Retailers are leading the charge when it comes to innovation with AI and machine learning. In fact, a recent 451 Research report, “Retailers stock up on the benefits of machine learning,” discusses many ways that retailers are applying machine learning to business use case today.
The report states that retailers are currently using AI and machine learning for the following use cases:
- Back-end optimization, to improve supply chain management and manufacturing, including logistics and quality assurance.
- In-store operations, to optimize product placement and floorplanning, automate the checkout process, and predict product sales cycles for lean inventory management.
- Marketing, to personalize customer relationships according to actual behavior, moving marketing far beyond demographic profiling.
- Customer engagement. 451 notes that retailers are “using machine-learning supported technologies that improve the overall buying experience, whether online, mobile, or in-store.”
- Anti-Fraud and Counterfeiting, to automate the identification of suspicious behavior, reducing the need for manual reviews, as well as mitigate the counterfeiting of luxury items.
Notably, Yellowbrick customer Symphony RetailAI, which 451 cites as a key vendor in the AI space, is using the Yellowbrick Data Warehouse to accelerate response times and reduce the number of platforms they have to maintain.
451 Research notes that, “Widespread use of machine learning in retail is in its early stages, although in pockets the sector has been using the technology for many years. The market will likely go through several changes as the technology matures.”
No matter how the retail industry’s use of machine learning evolves, one thing is certain: the importance of fast, cost-effective analytics will be key.
