How AI is helping brick and mortar retailers conquer this weekend

A big event is coming up for retailers. Black Friday – the unofficial opening of the holiday shopping season, is one of (if not the most) lucrative days of the year. However, as it goes with most major events, something usually goes wrong, no matter how one prepares for it. And sometimes, these hurdles can leave lasting impressions on consumers. Your Black Friday event will certainly affect loyalty, growth and revenue – in a great way, or possibly (hate to say it) in a bad way.

Positive customer experiences are vital for your bottom line, more than ever before.

To compete with the seamless experience offered by digital-first retailers, artificial intelligence (AI) is stepping in this year as a major power tool for brick and mortar retailers. Is your store prepared for Black Friday 2019? Have you considered integrating AI in your retail space? Experts believe that it will be core to retail in the coming years.

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Reduces friction within operations: Consolidated data helps execute and optimize the logistic and operations process in real-time. During a high stakes event such as Black Friday, don’t assume what’s going wrong, know right away, and fix it.

2. Refines staff roles: Free staff to focus on specific roles and actions for which the business needs humans to fulfill. Many people avoid brick and mortar retail during the Black Friday weekend because of the in-store chaos. With AI safeguarding many aspects of your behind-the-scenes operations, you can encourage staff to better host your customers. Work smarter, not harder!

3. Enhances the customer experience: Executing your Black Friday event is not only important for the day of; a memorable, seamless shopping experience will bring people back in the future. How does AI help? Perhaps with technologies such as personalized shopping assistants, virtual fitting rooms, and interactive displays. Or, at the point of sale, offering immediate gratification for customers’ loyalty. Based on past buying behaviors, AI can also push customized engagement post trip. Integrating personalization at every touchpoint will not only increase sales, but also retention. Mark our words, return on experience will be the focus of 2020.

At Loop, we connect and enhance your data, turning it into a goldmine. However, we understand that artificial intelligence is an overwhelming term for many independent retailers, and that’s why we have made our service easy to integrate into your existing tools.

If you’d to hear more (or see Loop in action!), call us at: 1-877-754-5336.