Retailers are gearing up to invest in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision technologies in the next year. About 60 per cent of retailers plan to adopt these techs to enhance both in-store and online shopping experiences, while also improving their workforce. A Honeywell study surveyed 1,000 retail leaders globally and found 38 per cent use these technologies for specific cases or regions, 35 per cent use them on a larger scale, 24 per cent are testing or discussing their use, only 3 per cent aren’t using these technologies, 48 per cent see AI, ML, and CV as major future impacts.
George Koutsaftes, CEO of Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, explains that these technologies can personalise experiences, boost operations, manage inventory, and prevent fraud for higher satisfaction, sales, and profits. Notably the top reasons for adopting these technologies are: improving customer experience (59 per cent), driving productivity (49 per cent), and achieving cost efficiency (44 per cent). Koutsaftes believes AI’s evolution will lead to higher efficiency, engagement, and retail satisfaction.
Surveyed experts believe AI, ML, and CV will be most valuable for automating tasks, supporting customer service, targeted marketing, and better inventory management. Most retailers view these as tools to enhance their workforce (93 per cent), rather than replace humans. Alternatively, the challenges to adoptions are limited budgets (39 per cent), proving business value (29 per cent), and lack of internal expertise (21 per cent).