Unveiling the Potential: A Glimpse into Chatbots

Chatbots, the virtual avatars of AI, have proven their mettle in revolutionizing customer interactions. These digital assistants have transcended mere automation and have become a cornerstone of personalized customer experiences. By simulating human conversations, chatbots effectively bridge the gap between customers and businesses, providing real-time assistance, information, and solutions.

Enhancing Customer Experience through Personalization

In the pursuit of customer-centricity, businesses are harnessing the power of chatbots to create tailored experiences. Chatbots possess the ability to accumulate vast amounts of user data, enabling businesses to glean deep insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and pain points. Armed with this knowledge, companies can orchestrate personalized offers, recommendations, and solutions, thereby amplifying customer satisfaction and fostering brand loyalty.

Moreover, chatbots are proficient in identifying and anticipating customer needs through their conversational history. This proactive approach not only enhances the customer experience but also positions businesses as attentive and responsive partners in their customers’ journeys. By leveraging these insights, companies can curate interactions that resonate with customers, building a lasting emotional connection.

Empowering the Customer and Business Nexus

A pivotal hallmark of chatbots lies in their dexterity to empower both customers and businesses. For customers, chatbots are the epitome of convenience. They provide swift access to information, troubleshoot problems, and even aid in purchasing decisions, all without the limitations of business hours. On the other side of the spectru, businesses can utilize Chatbot services to engage with customers on a 24/7 basis, thereby optimizing resources and ensuring a seamless and consistent customer experience.

Additionally, Chatbot services contribute to streamlined customer journeys by reducing wait times and expediting issue resolution. Customers no longer need to navigate complex IVR systems or wait for an available agent. Instead, they can engage with a chatbot that understands their queries and guides them through solutions with unmatched efficiency.

The Unbreakable Duo: AI and NLP

As we gaze into the horizon of Chatbot services evolution, one trend that emerges prominently is the integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP). This AI subfield empowers chatbots to comprehend and generate human language naturally. The goal is to bridge the gap between customers and AI, fostering an environment where complex queries can be comprehended and responded to accurately. This shift not only augments the efficacy of customer interactions but also liberates human agents to focus on more intricate tasks.

NLP-equipped chatbots are rewriting the script of customer engagement. They can understand context, interpret nuances, and provide contextually relevant responses. For instance, a customer seeking assistance for a technical issue can engage in a detailed conversation with the Chatbot services, which not only diagnoses the problem but also offers step-by-step solutions. This level of sophistication enhances user satisfaction and paints chatbots as trusted companions rather than automated scripts.

Chatbots in the Corporate Ecosystem

Beyond customer interactions, chatbots are rapidly carving a niche within internal business communications. From assisting employees in navigating company protocols to aiding in HR-related tasks, chatbots are becoming indispensable components of modern workplaces. By automating mundane tasks and guiding employees through processes, chatbots contribute to increased productivity and streamlined operations.

For instance, chatbots can serve as knowledge repositories, answering employee queries about company policies, benefits, and procedures. They can even facilitate onboarding processes, guiding new hires through paperwork and familiarizing them with company culture. By serving as digital mentors, chatbots foster an environment of self-sufficiency and continuous learning within organizations.

The Melody of Voice-Bots

In an era where speed and efficiency reign supreme, voice-bots are orchestrating a symphony of convenience. As customers demand swifter ways of accessing information, voice search and text-based messaging platforms are becoming the choicest mediums for connecting with businesses. These voice-bots are transforming the way customers seek information, allowing for hands-free interactions and expediting the customer journey.

The integration of voice technology with chatbots is revolutionizing customer engagement. Customers can initiate conversations through voice commands, eliminating the need for manual text input. This seamless interaction fosters a sense of natural dialogue and expedites information retrieval. As customers increasingly gravitate towards voice assistants in their daily lives, businesses are adapting their chatbots to resonate with this preference, ensuring a harmonious and user-friendly experience.

A Human Touch through Live Chatbots

The trajectory of chatbots is poised to ascend higher, embracing a more human touch. Live chatbots are exemplars of this evolution, engaging with customers through natural and flowing conversations. These virtual agents are seamlessly integrated into sectors such as customer service and retail, simulating human interactions and fostering authentic connections.

Live chatbots possess the ability to interact with users in a conversational manner, mirroring the way humans communicate. They can understand nuances, express empathy, and adapt their responses based on the user’s tone and sentiment. This evolution bridges the gap between human agents and AI, providing customers with a holistic and personalized experience.

Embracing Tomorrow: The Way Forward

As businesses stand at the cusp of a new era, the future of chatbots gleams with promise. These AI marvels are not just tools; they are transformative companions in the journey towards customer-centricity, efficiency, and innovation. Through the amalgamation of AI, NLP, and evolving capabilities, chatbots are set to redefine customer engagement, empower internal operations, and herald a future where every interaction, be it customer or employee, is enhanced by their virtual presence.

In this digital epoch where the symbiotic alliance of technology and human experience reigns supreme, chatbots stand as emissaries of this synergy. The path forward is illuminated by the convergence of AI brilliance and the human desire for seamless and meaningful interactions. As businesses continue to embrace the potential of chatbots, the future is destined to be a realm where customer engagement transcends expectations, and the possibilities are as boundless as the capabilities of AI-driven chatbots themselves.

The post The Future of Chatbots: Drawbacks and Trends to Watch appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

There are two main types of AI: specific or weak AI and strong/general AI. For example, speech recognition, image processing, or language translation are examples of narrow AI tasks. However, general AI is capable of carrying out any cognitive task that a human can, including problem-solving, learning, reasoning, and decision-making.

Artificial intelligence is built on machine learning algorithms, which enable computers to learn from data and advance without explicit programming continuously. Machine learning’s deep learning subfield processes data and renders judgments using neural networks with architectures inspired by the human brain.

AI has the potential to revolutionize a number of industries and aspects of daily life, including healthcare, transportation, education, and entertainment. However, serious moral and social questions about how machines will affect employment, privacy, and human autonomy are raised.

How Can AI Help Organizations Accelerate Digital Transformation?

AI can play a significant role in accelerating digital transformation for organizations. Here are the ways in which AI can help Accelerate Digital Transformation:

Automating routine tasks: AI-powered automation can help organizations save time and reduce errors by automating routine tasks like data entry and document processing. Automating routine tasks with AI can be a game-changer for organizations, allowing them to save time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. 

Here is how AI can be used to automate routine tasks:

• Data entry: AI-powered tools can automatically extract data from documents, such as invoices or forms, and enter it into a database or other system. This reduces the possibility of errors and eliminates the need for manual data entry.
• Email Management: Using AI-powered email management tools that can sort and prioritize emails based on their content, sender, and other aspects can reduce the time and work needed to manage many emails.
• Social media management: AI can automatically post content, monitor social media channels for mentions or comments, and respond to customer inquiries.
• Financial management: AI can help automate financial tasks such as accounts payable and accounts receivable, invoicing, and budgeting.
• Human resources: AI can automate HR tasks such as resume screening, scheduling interviews, and onboarding new employees.
• Sales and marketing: AI can be used to automate lead generation, lead scoring, and lead nurturing, as well as to personalize marketing campaigns based on customer data.

Enhancing customer experience: AI can significantly enhance the customer experience by providing personalized and instant support, improving customer engagement and satisfaction. 

Here are a few ways AI can improve the user experience.

• Chatbots and virtual assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide instant customer support, answering common questions and resolving issues without human intervention. They can also offer personalized recommendations based on customer behavior and preferences.
• Personalization: AI can analyze customer data to create personalized recommendations and experiences, such as product recommendations and targeted marketing messages.
• Natural language processing: AI-powered natural language processing can help organizations understand customer feedback and sentiment in real-time, enabling them to respond quickly to customer needs.
• Voice assistants: AI-powered voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, can help customers navigate websites, purchase, and perform other tasks using voice commands.
• Predictive analytics: Organizations can provide proactive and individually tailored service by anticipating the needs and preferences of their customers with the aid of AI-powered predictive analytics.
• Visual search: AI-powered visual search can help customers find products and services by analyzing images and matching them to similar products or services.
• Customer sentiment analysis: AI can analyze customer feedback across different channels, social media, email, and chat, to identify patterns and improve customer satisfaction.

Optimizing operations: AI can optimize operations by analyzing vast amounts of data to identify patterns, trends, and insights humans may miss. See below on how AI can optimize operations:

1. Supply chain management: AI can analyze data from suppliers, logistics providers, and other sources for optimize inventory levels, lessen lead times, and improve delivery performance.
2. Quality control: AI can analyze data from sensors, cameras, and other sources to identify product defects and ensure they meet quality standards.
3. Demand forecasting: AI can analyze historical data and other sources of information to predict demand for products and services, enabling organizations to optimize production and reduce waste.
4. Energy management: AI can analyze data from smart meters, sensors, and other sources to optimize energy usage, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact.
5. Risk management: AI can identify potential risks and create backup plans by analyzing data from various sources, including social media and weather forecasts.

Enabling data-driven decision-making: AI can help data-driven decision-making by providing real-time insights, predictive analytics, and automated decision-making capabilities. The following are a few ways that AI can support data-driven decision-making:

1. Predictive analytics: AI can analyze large volumes of data to predict future trends, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions based on accurate forecasts.
2. Real-time insights: AI can analyze data in real time, enabling organizations to make decisions quickly based on up-to-date information.
3. Automated decision-making: AI can automate decision-making processes based on predefined rules and algorithms, such as approving loans or processing insurance claims.
4. Data visualization: AI-powered data visualization tools can help organizations interpret data and identify patterns and insights.
5. Fraud detection: AI can analyze transaction data and other sources of information to detect and prevent fraud, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions based on accurate information.
6. Risk management: AI has the ability to analyze data from various sources, including social media and weather forecasts, to identify potential risks and create backup plans.

Improving product development: AI can improve product development by streamlining the development process, improving product quality, and accelerating time-to-market. Here is how AI can improve product development

• Design optimization: AI can help optimize product design by analyzing data from previous designs and simulations, enabling engineers to develop better products more efficiently.
• Predictive maintenance: AI can analyze sensor data and other sources of information to predict when equipment is likely to fail, enabling organizations to perform preventive maintenance and reduce downtime during product development.
• Quality control: AI can analyze data from sensors, cameras, and other sources to identify product defects and ensure they meet quality standards during product development.
• Simulation: AI can be used to simulate product performance under different conditions, enabling engineers to test products in a virtual environment before physical prototypes are built.
• Voice of the customer: AI can analyze customer reviews and other information sources to ascertain a customer’s needs and preferences, enabling organizations to develop products that better meet customer needs.
• Supply chain optimization: AI can optimize the supply chain by analyzing data from suppliers and logistics providers, enabling organizations to develop products more efficiently and reduce costs.

Enhancing cybersecurity: AI can enhance cybersecurity by automating threat detection, improving incident response, and strengthening overall security measures. Let’s see how AI can enhance cybersecurity

• Threat detection: AI can analyze large volumes of data and detect anomalies and patterns that indicate potential threats, enabling organizations to detect and respond to security breaches.
• Fraud detection: AI can analyze transaction data and other sources of information to detect and prevent fraud, reducing losses and improving security.
• User behavior analysis: AI can analyze user behavior patterns and identify anomalies that may indicate security breaches, enabling organizations to take action to prevent further damage.
• Network security: AI can monitor network traffic and identify suspicious activity, enabling organizations to quickly detect and respond to security breaches.
• Vulnerability scanning: AI can scan systems for vulnerabilities and identify potential security risks, enabling organizations to address these issues before attackers exploit them.
• Password management: AI can manage passwords and user authentication, enabling organizations to ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive data and applications.
• Incident response: AI can automate incident response processes, such as isolating infected systems and mitigating damage, enabling organizations to respond more quickly and effectively to security breaches.

Facilitating employee training: AI can provide personalized and interactive learning experiences, enabling organizations to deliver training more efficiently and effectively. Here are some methods in which AI can facilitate employee training:

• Personalized learning: AI can analyze employee data, such as job roles, learning styles, and performance data, to provide personalized training experiences that meet the specific needs of each employee.
• Adaptive learning: AI can manage the difficulty level and pace of learning content based on the employee’s progress, enabling them to learn at their own pace and improve their skills more efficiently.
• Virtual assistants: AI-powered virtual assistants can provide employees with instant answers to their questions, enabling them to access training resources more quickly and easily.
• Interactive simulations: AI can create interactive simulations that enable employees to practice their skills and apply their knowledge in realistic scenarios, improving retention and application of learning.
• Gamification: AI can gamify learning experiences, making training more engaging and motivating for employees.
• Language translation: AI-powered language translation tools can provide training content in multiple languages, enabling organizations to provide training to employees who speak different languages.
• Performance analytics: AI can analyze employee performance data to identify areas where additional training is required, enabling organizations to provide targeted training to address specific skills gaps.

Summary

AI can help organizations accelerate digital transformation by automating routine tasks, enhancing customer experience, optimizing operations, enabling data-driven decision-making, improving product development, enhancing cybersecurity, and facilitating employee training.

The post What is the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Transformation?  appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

In this review, we focus on how AI is being used in a variety of pharmaceutical industry fields, such as drug discovery and development, drug repurposing, increasing pharmaceutical productivity, and clinical trials, among others.

This use of AI lessens the workload of human workers while also achieving goals quickly. We also talk about how various AI tools and methodologies interact, current problems and solutions, and the potential applications of AI in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Fundamentals of AI in Drug Development

AI encompasses a number of approach fields, including machine learning as its core paradigm as well as reasoning, knowledge representation, and solution search (ML). In machine learning (ML), algorithms are used to find patterns in a set of data that has been further categorized.

Deep learning (DL), is a branch of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks (ANNs). These are a group of intricately connected computing components called “perceptons” that resemble biological human neurons in their ability to transmit electrical impulses.

ANNs are made up of a collection of nodes that each process a distinct input before combining them into outputs that may be used singularly or in a network to solve issues. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks are a few examples of the several types of ANNs that are used in either supervised or unsupervised training procedures.

The MLP network can be used for a variety of purposes, such as pattern recognition, optimization aids, process identification, and controls. It is often taught using supervised training processes that operate in a single direction only.

RNNs, which include Hopfield networks and Boltzmann constants, are closed-loop networks with the ability to memorize and store information. CNNs are a group of dynamic systems with local connections that are distinguished by their topology and are used for a variety of tasks, including the processing of images and videos, the modeling of biological systems, the analysis of complex brain functions, pattern recognition, and sophisticated signal processing.

Among the more complicated types are ADALINE networks, RBF networks, LVQ networks, Kohonen networks, and LVQ networks.

Given that AI can help with rational drug design, support decision-making, identify the best course of treatment for a patient, including personalized medicines, manage the clinical data generated, and use it for future drug development, it is reasonable to assume that it will play a role in the development of pharmaceutical products from the bench to the bedside.

Marketing executives can allocate resources for maximum market share gain, reverse poor sales, and anticipate where to make investments with the aid of AI platforms that use ML algorithms and an intuitive user interface to create analytical roadmaps based on competitors, key stakeholders, and currently held market share.

molecules make up the enormous chemical space, which encourages the creation of many different pharmacological compounds. However, the drug development process is constrained by a lack of cutting-edge technologies, making it a time-consuming and expensive endeavor that can be resolved by applying AI.

It can distinguish between hit and lead compounds, validate the drug target more quickly, and optimize the design of the medicine.

The research and drug development process can take over a decade and cost an average of US$2.8 billion. Even then, nine out of ten pharmaceutical compounds are not able to complete Phase II clinical trials and receive regulatory approval. Algorithms like Nearest-Neighbor classifiers (RF), extreme learning machines (SVMs), and deep neural networks (DNNs) are used for VS and may also predict in vivo activity and toxicity based on synthesis feasibility.

In collaboration with IT companies, a number of biopharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Roche, and Pfizer, have developed a platform for the identification of medicines for ailments like immuno-oncology and cardiovascular ailments.

Several AI-based techniques can be used to predict physicochemical properties. For instance, machine learning (ML) trains the software utilizing enormous data sets produced during earlier compound optimization.

Drug design algorithms use molecular descriptors to create viable molecules using DNN and then predict their properties. These molecular descriptors include SMILES strings, potential energy measurements, electron density around the molecule, and coordinates of atoms in 3D.

AI drug development companies are currently finding over 150 small-molecule medications, and more than 15 of these are already in clinical trials. It would be unable to accomplish this great achievement in the absence of intelligent systems.

As part of artificial intelligence (AI) in the drug development process, automation is employed in the research and development of innovative medications. It involves using technology to foresee how new treatments will behave in the body and to understand how they work. This speeds up the creation of new medications and improves forecast accuracy.

Data processing capabilities also assist organizations using data science and AI in making such waves in the pharmaceutical industry. Machine learning algorithms are capable of quickly learning from enormous amounts of data and making extremely accurate predictions.

It means that computers are now able to uncover promising therapeutic possibilities by sifting through an endless stream of data.

Benefits of AI drug development

The pharmaceutical sector has faced difficulties as a result of a data overabundance. The industry is unavoidably facing challenges as it progressively transitions to digital. Data processing, inspection, and analysis are important but difficult activities for drug researchers.

The following is a list of the main benefits of artificial intelligence for healthcare in general, with a focus on drug development.

Speed of Analysis time

A brand-new anticancer drug is currently undergoing a clinical trial, which was launched by the German biotechnology company Evotec in 2021. The candidate discovery procedure took 8 months, despite the fact that it seemed routine. Systems with artificial intelligence were directly responsible for these previously unheard-of speeds.

The many characteristics of millions of possible tiny molecules may be automatically compared thanks to advanced technologies. The development and analysis timeframes are shortened since it appears that a significant piece of the analysis process is managed by AI.

Savings

$2.168 billion is the average cost per medicine during the R&D process. The drug discovery phase is where the biggest portion of this money is going. Up to $26 billion in annual resources could be saved on medication screening and synthesizing thanks to AI-based drug development.

Avant-garde algorithms for drug discovery

In order to incorporate the most recent technology into the algorithms, machine learning solution suppliers typically keep on the cutting edge of innovation. AI for drug development offers a distinctive combination of health data and technology when combined with powerful computing capacity. The benefits described above are further enhanced by this combinations

Improved Success Rate

90% of medication candidates drop out of clinical trials during the first phase, according to statistics. This percentage will appear even more intimidating if the failure rate during the preclinical stages is taken into account. By evaluating biomarkers that indicate the efficacy of the treatment, intelligent algorithms can reverse the figures.

Big data for healthcare and artificial intelligence also create a single data layer. Advanced machine-learning algorithms can evaluate a wide range of insights, which helps to classify diseases, with the use of vast volumes of medical data.

When all the information is combined, researchers will have a clearer understanding of the condition and viable therapeutic possibilities for each unique situation.

Summary

The process of developing new drugs is challenging. A medicine must undergo extensive development before it is ready for commercialization, which typically takes a further eight years after FDA approval.

However, AI has the potential to significantly shorten this period while lowering costs and increasing the precision of drug discovery.

Additionally, researchers can avoid developing medications that are harmful or have unintended consequences on people by using AI tools to forecast how molecules will interact.

Despite current challenges, AI-developed drugs are gradually entering the pharmaceutical market. The untapped potential of AI will probably start to take off in the next years as a result of the explosion in data.

The post AI in Drug Development Algorithms Make a Difference appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

AI is empowering retail systems to collaborate to improve consumer interactions, forecasting, inventory management, and other functions. AI technology such as computer vision offers near-real-time intelligence to physical establishments. When evaluated in the cloud, the same data can yield additional business insights.

If you want an example of AI, evolving consumer experience look no further than your Spotify or Netflix suggestions. While browsing these suggestions, you’re certain to discover at least a few things that strike your curiosity. Suggestions like these are generated by computers based on what people listen to and watch online. Its suggestions are likely to be more relevant to your preferences than those of your own family and friends. Millions of individuals are already reaping the benefits of AI (artificial intelligence) in action.

If you’ve ever used Amazon’s product recommendations, you’re probably familiar with its machine learning-driven method. When AI-generated recommendations are both accurate and helpful, we as customers have grown to expect a certain level of “personalization” in the retail experience. A growing number of these machine-learning tools are available to smaller businesses, and some may simply be added as a plug-in to their current technology.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to revolutionize retail customer service, but it is still in the early stages. Customers’ shopping habits will be drastically altered by machine learning in the next few years. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping retail.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of how machine learning will have an immediate impact on the retail customer experience in order to better grasp AI’s application.

The ability to forecast customer attrition is one of the most potent AI applications in online retail. It is rare for a customer’s enthusiasm in purchasing from a shop to wane suddenly. There are a number of indicators to watch out for, including:

1. Time Reduction in Browsing

Customers with a high churn potential can be identified through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that track customer activities. It’s an opportunity for the business to take charge of its consumer interactions. Incentives don’t have to be confined to the most obvious choices, such as discounts and deals that are tailored to each customer. For example, the future generation of AI will have the ability to analyze these consumers’ buying history and uncover more subtle problems—slow shipment times or a scarcity of clothing in the right size—that may be contributing to their high churn potential. Automated techniques can then be used to resolve these issues on an individual basis.

2. Extraordinary Customization

A certain amount of customization is now expected by modern customers while shopping for goods and services online. In spite of today’s relatively modest machine learning algorithms, AI-driven tailored shopping recommendations can be surprisingly precise. A more advanced version of this technology will be able to generate more specific, targeted recommendations that are tailored to each particular customer’s tastes, interests, and budget.

For retail, the next generation of these personalization tools will also have practical applications. In the near future, a client could walk into a physical store and be directed to things of interest by an app on their smartphone. Customer purchase habits can be used to provide personalized discounts and coupons. In fact, these things can be purchased immediately, without the need for a checkout line. You don’t have to be a sci-fi fan to understand this. For years, Amazon has been experimenting with different iterations of this idea in their boutique stores.

3. AI-Powered Support

It can be easy to overlook the fact that most individuals are already dealing with an AI on a daily basis. Machine learning is used by large online merchants like Amazon to generate their personalized suggestions, as we’ve already covered. If you’ve ever asked Siri or Alexa a question, you’ve used AI. These AI virtual assistants are becoming a fully regular aspect of everyday life. It’s become so commonplace that many people aren’t aware that they are conversing with an AI in other contexts.

Let’s say you’re in charge of customer service. The sophistication of chatbots driven by artificial intelligence (AI) has already reached new heights. Customers can get answers to the most common questions they have by using these services. This lets the actual humans working in the customer care teams to focus on the more difficult assistance issues that are beyond the scope of the AI’s abilities. AIs will be able to handle more sophisticated client interactions as machine learning methods improve. Online merchants and other firms stand to gain greatly from this. It allows them to deliver truly comprehensive support to their consumers while keeping their personnel costs consistent.

4. Identify Outstanding Target Prospects

New AI technology provides e-commerce enterprises with the real-time intelligence they need to tackle business difficulties like lead creation. AI solutions for marketing, sales, and CRM systems are provided by predictive marketing companies such as Mintigo. Getty Photos has successfully produced large new leads using Mintigo’s software by capturing data indicating which firms have websites showcasing images from Getty’s competitors.

Conclusion

This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of AI’s retail applications. By using these tools, businesses may improve client retention, tailor their marketing, and provide top-notch customer support without significantly increasing costs. In fact, AI-powered technologies may typically save expenses by automating a wide array of processes. AI offers numerous opportunities in retail to connect the gaps in the online and offline experience. The retailers get to build a digitally connected workspace for online and offline stores in one integrated system.

Are you a Start-Up or an SMB in the retail sector, and want to explore the massive potential of AI  in your business and how it can improve your customers’ shopping experience? Reach our experts today!

The post How AI is Making Retail Shopping Experience Impactful appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

Retail is not a standard commercial transaction-based activity, rather involves multiple layers to it.

The retail business is undergoing continuous development, while retailers are struggling to stay afloat in the face of severe market rivalry and rapidly changing client buying patterns, which can turn out to be difficult to determine.

Retailers are putting money into cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI), robots, data analytics, and logistics automation to become more customer-centric and responsive to industry trends.

 It has evolved into a multi-layered activity that now includes technology to refine its operations and the experiences for the customers. The way retail is structured and run has altered as a result of technological advancements, particularly with the introduction of AI in the value chain.

For years, the retail business has been undergoing a digital change. It has improved speed, efficiency, and accuracy across the board, in an extensive way to enhance data and predictive analytics technologies that enable businesses to make data-driven business choices.

Without the internet of things (IoT) and, most significantly, artificial intelligence, the insights that help businesses make well-informed decisions would not be possible. AI in retail has given firms access to high-level data and information, which they can use to enhance retail operations and create increased business prospects.

AI in the Retail Industry

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the way business operations unfold daily. Countries are attempting to make smart investments so that operations on a global level may benefit from this transition.

Artificial Intelligence is only the beginning of the trends and their successful integration with retail. Along with Artificial Intelligence, the retail industry continues to reap the rewards of Data Analytics and Machine Learning.

AI Technologies Implemented in the Retail Industry

Despite the widespread mention of artificial intelligence in industries worldwide, many firms don’t completely understand what it entails. When we say artificial intelligence, we’re referring to a set of technologies, such as machine learning and predictive analytics, that can collect, process, and analyze massive amounts of data and use that data to predict, forecast, inform, and assist retailers in making accurate, data-driven business decisions.

These technologies may even function independently, converting raw data acquired from IoT and other sources into meaningful insights utilizing powerful AI analytical capabilities. Behavioral analytics and consumer intelligence are also used by AI in retail to get important insights into distinct market demographics, enhance a variety of customer care touchpoints and predict the behavior of consumers.

How AI has been able to Enhance Operations for the Retail Industry

The initial and the most common thoughts about artificial intelligence may still be robots and science fiction. AI, on the other hand, has progressed significantly. AI is both a subject of research and a blend of technologies in today’s environment that help individuals as well as firms to make better and more well-informed decisions. It’s based on the human brain, which perceives, interprets, and responds to data, learning and adapting over time, mostly through data pattern recognition.

The strength of AI in retail comes from the capacity to leverage this intelligent technology across the customer’s purchasing cycle as well as within your business, allowing you to tap into even more potential and change what’s possible.

Chatbots, cognitive and machine learning, sophisticated analytics, and blockchain, when integrated with connected devices like machines and headsets, can infuse data and insights wherever they’re required. This eventually results in personalized, contextual, and relevant digital engagements based on purchase history, demographic data, location, time of day, and other data sources.

Apart from the business insight and sheer speed that these technologies may bring, the digital revolution in retail is simply drawing the line between the thriving firms and the still-developing firms. There are several advantages of Artificial Intelligence in the Retail Industry, we have listed them below –

1. Create an Engaging Experience for the Users

Retailers must distinguish their product or service and provide consumers with experiences that appeal to the customers to maintain their attention. Retailers may lead with innovation rather than react to change by incorporating predictive analytics to acquire more market knowledge.

When it comes to the most important retail developments of the recent decade, the personalized shopping experience stands out. Businesses have been able to significantly improve customer experience because of the continuously expanding AI technology. The trend has further been refined with smart chatbots and voice assistants driven by natural language processing algorithms.

Some of the most substantial AI advantages will be found in the shops too. Store staff may assist with sales using AI-enabled mobile devices, resulting in improved conversion rates and a better experience for the customers. 

2. Better In-Store Experiences

Brick-and-mortar retailers were forced to downsize their on-ground staff and minimize consumer interactions as the COVID-19 infection swelled and lulled. Physical retail businesses can now provide the same level of service that customers have come to expect thanks to conversational AI-powered chatbots.

Customers may use interactive chatbots to get real-time answers to their questions, automate check-out counters with cashless payment options, and streamline the processes and inventory using Real-Time Monitoring.

3. Demand Forecasting

The capacity to pivot and make amends is what distinguishes the successful market players. Organizations are yet to hit the bullseye with the evolving market as trends and attitudes vary every quarter. Retailers can now construct forecast models to assist predict industry trends and making changes throughout their Marketing strategies. This can be done best by mining information from multiple channels such as customer, marketplace, and leveraging the competitor’s data.

4. Create Actionable Insights from Data

Retailers must sift through the noise to translate diverse data sources into consumer-first strategies when confronted with an endless information stream from all elements of their organization.

For years, businesses have attempted to forecast the customer’s next move and determine how the demand curve will shift in reaction to a specific occurrence. With AI algorithms capable of analyzing massive amounts of data, businesses can now not only properly determine which goods a certain client would be most interested in, but also forecast demand for new market entrants.

5. Aligning an Offline and Online Retail Experience

Digital and physical shopping channels often follow different agendas and techniques, but considering them as separate business units creates friction for customers looking for a smooth shopping experience and inefficiencies for retailers.

This further helps the retailers with other factors such as setting realistic timelines, allowing firms to focus on high-value uses and helps to analyze the workforce.

6. Safety and Security

The problem of digital security has become one of the most critical in retail due to the rising percentage of e-commerce sales and the overall trend of digitization. And it is here that AI is utilized by organizations to ensure the security of sensitive data. Neural networks can detect possible weaknesses in a retailer’s environment, prevent money leakage through unsecured payments, and detect procurement fraud, among other things.

7. Customer Service Improvements

Retailers have been able to ensure that interactions with customers do not end at the door thanks to the use of omnichannel marketing.

Building interactive communication channels have increased the quality of consumer engagement activities for retail business owners. For example, Chatbots may ‘speak’ to consumers in a human-like and compassionate manner, assuring a seamless experience. They can also answer frequently asked questions, provide product recommendations, and respond to customer complaints in real-time.

The capacity of a chatbot to capture critical data from client interactions and utilize it to develop meaningful customer profiles remains to be one of the most important aspects. This type of self-learning helps the AI Bot to improve its interactions with consumers, ensuring that businesses do not miss the mark when it comes to human interaction.

Key Takeaways

The AI sector has seen a surge in new entrants throughout the world. These major firms are cooperating with many sectors to provide tailored AI solutions that will help businesses expand at a quicker rate to match the growing demands of the retail industry. The retail business hasn’t been immune to this trend. It has been and continues to use AI-based technologies to handle a variety of tasks.

Explore how AI can improve your retail operations and enhance business prospects and fetch you massive returns. Contact our experts today.

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With the rise of online retail activities, the retail industry is experiencing a wave of business upheaval. However, the COVID pandemic hit the retail industry as well as online retail’s rapid expansion. It is for this reason that merchants throughout the world are striving to implement AI in the retail industry.

Let’s take a look at how retailers are leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as Augmentation, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to stay ahead of their competition today, and what innovations are being pioneered as possible game-changers in retail over the next decade.

1. Recommendations for Products Based on Clients’ Purchasing Habits

Users will be able to create accounts in retail locations by following the same procedures as they do online. Stores have taken some steps to make this easier, such as allowing customers to pick up their purchases, get them delivered, and keep track of their points. This makes it easier for store employees to cater to the unique needs of each customer who enters the store. The types of things you buy, the combinations you buy, the brands you favor, the amount you spend, and how often you buy, all play an important role in determining your purchasing habits. To date, the emphasis has been on making product recommendations. Additionally, this approach can foretell customer demands and predict their arrival to the physical stores and online stores with a specific set of items to purchase, which is a ground-breaking approach.

2. Expansion of the Consumer Base with High-Value Services

Customers create their trust in a brand based on product quality, pricing, delivery, and response services. People are more likely to come into the store if the brand is well-known. Your brand’s ability to retain and attract new customers is a hot topic in the industry. Prompt customer service increases consumer traffic in the business since it demonstrates a company’s commitment to meeting the needs of its clients.

Customers can get answers to their questions through AI-enabled in-store assistants, which create a strong communication channel. There are no better examples of AI innovation in the retail industry than digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

3. Inventory Management and Demand Forecasting

Product profiling can be done in the same way as customer profiling. Which items people choose to buy in what combination and what quantity, as well as the position in the actual store where this product is stored, are all factors in determining how much of this product is accessible at any one time. The goal is to ensure that this product is always sold in conjunction with other products and that the ideal quantity of the product is always available in the store. AI may be used to create efficient models, and the results can then be displayed on a dashboard enabling the store operator to take the proper measures towards the inventory.

4. Product Bundling and Pricing Strategy

Much of the work done in retail centers is on product pricing. For non-urgent items, customers wait for the price to drop before making a purchase. They also wait for things to arrive in combination at an appropriate price. For a short period, this can lead to greater sales and higher income; on the other hand, sales at prices below the procurement price might lead to overall unprofitable sales. In order to get the best price for a certain group of clients, AI can identify the price that will compel them to make an immediate purchase. Another group of clients can benefit from AI’s ability to recommend a product combination at a reasonable price. AI will be able to ensure the strategy’s profitability as it is being developed.

5. Chatbots for Customer Service Assistance

In addition to providing better customer support, AI chatbots also help with the search, send alerts about new collections, and make suggestions for related items. For example, a chatbot can advise an appropriate snapback to go with a black hoodie a consumer has already purchased. AI chatbots are already being used by 80% of global brands or will be in the near future. Chatbots have been deployed by Tommy Hilfiger and Burberry to help customers navigate their collections.

6. Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Retailers throughout the world lose around $1.1 trillion a year as a result of subpar execution in this area. It’s possible to avoid having leftovers or running out of supplies. When it comes to retail supply chain refilling, artificial intelligence (AI) may be utilized by taking into account factors like past sales, location, weather, trends, promotions, and more.

7. Search Visually

Customers can upload photographs and search for similar products based on color, shape, and pattern using visual search engines driven by artificial intelligence. Cortexica’s image recognition system claims a 95% accuracy rate. 90% of customers gave the Discover Similar feature a thumbs up. American Eagle’s infrared technology makes use of Visual Search, which not only directs customers to similar or identical clothing but also suggests complementary items.

8. Virtual Changing Rooms

We can’t forget about this amazing FUNCTION. With virtual fitting rooms, buyers can select the right outfit with all of the elements properly matched in a matter of minutes instead of spending hours searching. AI has developed a virtual fitting kiosk that can scan you in 20 seconds and measure 200,000 points of your body in this time. The installation of these scanners by retailers such as Levi’s, Gap, Brooks Brothers, Old Navy, and others resulted in significant gains in sales.

9. Voice Search

You can also use voice search to find what you’re looking for. Several major retailers utilize Google or Amazon AI technology to make voice search simple and fast for customers. Using Alexa, users can simply ask for the item they’re looking for and its delivery status without having to type anything at all. 27% of the world’s population use the voice service, while 52% prefer the browser search in mobile apps and websites for convenience.

10. Assistance in the Store

For both customers and store employees, retailers are investing in cutting-edge technology. Smart shelf tags, made possible by Kroger Edge technology, have replaced paper price tags in their shops. Video commercials, nutritional data, and promotions can all be portrayed on the displays thanks to this new technology. A robot called Lowebot from Lowe’s helps clients locate what they’re looking for by speaking a variety of different languages. Due to its real-time monitoring capabilities, it also aids in inventory management.

Conclusion

One of the top Artificial Intelligence vendors claims that the implementation of AI in inventory management resulted in a 32% cost reduction across all operations. AI’s ability to improve supply chain management and return on investment is expected to save 80% of the money. According to respondents, chatbots and self-checkout systems will be most advantageous for retailers in terms of customer-facing functions. Over the next five years, the worldwide retail AI market is predicted to reach over $5 million dollars.

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As retail outlets are being replaced by internet buying, AI in retail is taking center stage for businesses. The use of artificial intelligence in retail is enabling merchants to better understand their customers’ needs and expectations in an increasingly digital world. Artificial intelligence is having a significant impact on the retail value chain and is quickly becoming a valuable tool for retailers looking to get an advantage over their rivals. It has been anticipated by Tractica, a marketing research firm, that global AI revenues will rise to over $36.6 Billion in 2025.

If you’re considering implementing AI in your company, it’s important to know how other merchants have done so.

1. Improving the Shopping Experience In-Store

Retailers’ operational costs can be reduced by utilizing artificial intelligence to streamline in-store operations. It can take the position of salespeople to assist customers in the store, eliminate queues by accepting payments without a cashier, restock inventory through real-time stock monitoring, and digitally display products in stores and in trial rooms, among other things. AI is a must-have for merchants looking to save time and provide better service to their customers. Amazon has adopted a technology that responds to every pick-up of a product from a store shelf. Smart shelf tags, instead of paper price tags, have also been introduced by Kroger Edge technology in order to reduce expenses.

2. Chatbots for Customer Service Assistance

Omnichannel retail has ensured that customer connection doesn’t end in a store location. A chat program built using artificial intelligence in retail can easily increase client interaction. The use of chatbots to communicate with clients is a viable option. If necessary, they can transfer the call to a telesales representative who can provide answers to frequently asked questions, make product recommendations, deal with customer complaints, and gather useful data from your clients. The chatbots can be trained to learn from their previous encounters and use that information to improve and personalize their interactions with customers in the future. H&M’s Kik chatbot, which lets customers choose from recommendations, filters, and personal style preferences, put the clothing retailer ahead of the pack in 2016 even before the rest of the industry caught up.

3. Effective Supply Chain Management and Logistics are Necessary for the Success

Every year, retailers throughout the world lose money as a result of poor inventory management. AI-enabled logistics management can estimate demand for products by analyzing previous sales, location, purchasing tendencies, etc. Many organizations have just created AI-powered drones for warehouse management that can access hard-to-reach areas and automatically update a central database with real-time inventory availability. Retail supply chains, including inventory, staffing, distribution, and delivery can be fully automated using artificial intelligence.

4. Personalization and Understanding of the Client Base

Customers may enjoy a more personalized shopping experience thanks to AI technologies in retail. These technologies, such as biometric and face recognition, are able to recognize retaining clients and retain their preferences. Accordingly, they can recommend products and design promotional materials for them. Using advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, it is possible to decipher customers’ preferences by looking at their demographic information, social media impressions, and digital footprints online. Boston Consulting Group research found that “Brands who develop tailored experiences by combining advanced digital technology and proprietary data for customers are seeing revenue increase by 6% to 10% – two to three times quicker than those who do not.”

5. Prices can be Adjusted Depending on Market Conditions

A price-sensitive business like retail can benefit from the use of artificial intelligence solutions. Many different pricing models can be compared using these programs, and then the best price for a product can be determined. Seasonal fluctuations, competing items, and customer demand can all influence how much retailers charge. If we take into account the long-term revenue it will bring in, it is a worthwhile investment.

6. Intuitive Product Searches are Sixth

Automated product discovery is another benefit of AI in retail. It’s now easier than ever for customers to take a picture of a product they want and then use the picture to look for a merchant selling the thing on the web. As a result of machine learning retail software, buyers can search for and compare products more quickly and easily than ever before.

7. Improving the Efficiency of Retail Operations

The operation of retail stores has become more difficult due to the proliferation of multichannel retail. In a warehouse, store personnel must take care of several different duties. It’s no longer enough for them to just receive things, store them, and keep track of inventories. They are responsible for providing product information, tracking promotional offers, and merchandising. Automating back-office tasks and employing robots to do quality checks are two ways in which AI in retail can help a store manager’s work be done more efficiently. The saved time can be put to better use in the warehouse, saving a significant amount of time.

Artificial Intelligence As the Future

AI has the potential to revolutionize retail enterprises in every way. It replaces intuition with intelligence and provides retailers with a long-term perspective on the market. When it comes to deploying AI, business executives must take a realistic approach. They must realize that this is a high-risk, high-reward investment that will pay off in the long run. To be successful with AI, a business must have a long-term goal in mind. Small projects should be the starting point, and subsequently larger ones should be geared toward developing long-term AI capabilities.

Are you a Start-Up or an SMB in the retail sector and want to leverage AI for your business returns? Contact Us.

The post 7 ways AI is Disrupting Growing Retailers appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

AI or Artificial Intelligence has major applications in the manufacturing industry. Right from developing OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) to FPY (First Pass Yield) production, AI is transcending levels. In manufacturing operations, AI is transforming machinery maintenance, AI-ML-powered analytics based on data predicts how often hulls of ships should be cleaned for maximum efficiency leading to huge cost savings in transportation, etc. For example, some companies use AI for evaluating component images during ongoing production lines that help to spot deviations from the standard in real-time.AI innovations are helping to expand uptime while focussing on quality, and efficient production, process, and the overall output. Let’s see the top 10 AI innovations in the manufacturing industry that are attracting manufacturing companies across the globe.

1. Robotic Plasma Cutters

The AI-driven robotic arm is assisting in the plasma cutting process and eliminates the requirement of the human labor force. Plasma cutting is a significant part of the manufacturing process and it was considered as one of the biggest technology wonders at the time of the industrial revolution. Traditionally it involves huge human labor but AI innovation is allowing to replace this with the cutting-edge robot arm simplifying cutting and assembling processes. It is considered now a remarkable AI innovation in the manufacturing segment.

2. MV Error Detection

AI-driven  MV (Machine Vision)is helping manufacturing with error detection. The technology of Machine Vision frameworks allows manufacturers to digitalize quality control processes in the front & back finish of creation lines. Machine Vision mistake location further allows to recognizing error while expanding a value-based creation of the products concerned.

3. AI-IoT Sensors

AI-IoT-based sensors are a leading AI innovation in the manufacturing sector. IoT (Internet-of-Things)sensors help to assemble information throughout the manufacturing processes at varied phases. All this information serves for continuous advancements and prescient support to manufacturers across levels. IoT sensors backed by Artificial Intelligence are an innovative name, too, in the manufacturing industry.

4. 5G Digital Connectivity

Though 5G (just like IoT) is not a complete AI-based manufacturing technology, it is helping the industry alongside AI for smart Connectivity. Companies offering 5G connectivity have not yet reached the farthest connectivity levels for buyers but proving to be a great support for assembling offices.5G  facilitates a high-speed data transmission bringing in more connectivity potential where AI-powered tools capture those data and process, analyze them helping manufacturing owners with better decision-making ability.

5. 3D Printing

 3D Printing has come out as one of the latest AI innovations in the manufacturing sector. Also referred to as an added substance fabricating,3 D printing is a notable digital device for specialists. The technology is helping manufacturers to create just specific parts or items in a singular form, as solitary pieces. This is allowing for a better arrangement and efficiency in the ecosystem. This is also considered one of the major AI-powered digital innovations in manufacturing the world over.

6. Video Surveillance Cameras

AI-powered video surveillance cameras are considered a boon towards managing security in the manufacturing industry. The very technology helps to manufacture businesses to cope with the higher costs involved for live security personnel ensuring safety and security. Workplaces, factories, logistics, and several areas that need constant vigilance and monitoring are not possible to be done manually. So, AI innovation in the form of advanced video surveillance technology, cameras, is helping organizations to carry out security features in a seamless manner.

7. E-Tail Supply Chain Model

AI-based automation at varied points, warehouses, procurement facilities, is helping the logistics in the manufacturing sector for efficient and productive ­­­­­­­­­­­­­ end-to-end processes and deliveries. This has created a new model, the e-tail supply chain model that connects, integrates inventory, and varied other logistics stakeholders ensuring improved supply-chain management overall.

8. Visual Inspection Tool

AI-enabled automated visual inspection tool is another landmark AI innovation in the manufacturing sector. Businesses are leveraging this AI capability to a great extent as it can detect flaws that are too small which humans cannot see with the naked eye. Products with microscopic flaws can be detected by AI-enabled cameras that are highly powered and sensitive than human eyes. The overall system can recognize even the smallest defects, flaws in products, mark them and send timely alerts to the concerned department.

9. AI-ML Inventory Management Solutions

Manufacturing businesses take into cognizance this aspect of AI intervention in the sector. Inefficient inventory management leads to greater overhead costs that are detrimental to any business involved. AI-ML-powered inventory management digital solutions help to manage the entire process effectively increasing productivity and efficiency. Manufacturers can manage inventories seamlessly based on demand and supply meters.

10. AI-Enabled Robots

 AI-enabled robots are replacing humans for risky transactions and lifting heavy equipment required frequently. Thus, AI is more than just a digital method to optimize automated processes. Remotely controlled  AI-enabled robots can do varied tasks that are beyond human capacity.   It enhances the traceability, flexibility aspects enabling successful operations in the ecosystem.

Wrapping Note

Want to know what is the future of AI in the manufacturing industry? As per Fortune Business Insights, AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the manufacturing market is geared for a massive USD 9.89 Billion by the year 2027! This is self-explanatory of the beneficial use cases of AI and how the technology is transforming the industry with magnificent innovations and inventions bringing positive outcomes!

We know during the entire manufacturing process, you deal with several challenges, right from raw materials to the process of production, from testing to marketing, and then for delivery. AI can help you in eliminating mundane tasks and bring productivity in multiple areas – Connect to our experts to know more.

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Data is the most important asset of the retail industry. Data is useless if it does not help companies to make smarter decisions for business growth. As consumer behavior is evolving with time, it depends on how data are helping retail companies to get relevant business insights, improving customer experience leading to enhanced business outcomes. Predictive Analytics is the AI /ML digital tool that works on data to derive valuable insights and predictions, forecasting sales thereby helping retailers to plan ‘What Next’ moves. How Predictive Analytics can boost the retail industry? How is it helping retailers to generate sales and have a competitive edge in the market? We will discuss all these points in this blog today.

1. Product Demand Forecast

As a retailer, you want your business to expand and products to connect with your target audience. If you know what does your target audience demand and their preferences, your products will never be out of stock or understock, right? To keep your business running smoothly, predictive analytics helps to forecast the demand for exact products your target audience wants. The technology helps to ensure that you have enough items stocked to sell and can meet demands adequately and can predict your profitable months as well as sales deficit. It means predictive analytics helps retailers to assess demand and sales performances. Product performance can be gauged by indicators such as sales margins, the number of units sold besides other metrics. It helps to improve consumer engagement and satisfaction.

2. Pricing Forecast

Pricing forecasts is a major functionality of predictive analytics that uses real-time capabilities of machine learning, and data science technology, to bring out adequate answers to questions that as a retailer you’d like to know in advance. Few sample questions that predictive analytics can forecast regarding pricing elements are:

• For maximizing sales what’s the right price point?
• What should be the frequency for running price-based promotional activities?
• What should be the optimal attainable price of a customer?
• How the competitive pricing will impact sales?

Apart from the above factors, weather forecasting, real-time sales data also help to alter as well as induce the most perfect pricing part (best pricing ).

 3. Managing Inventory

As we have mentioned earlier, too, how predictive analytics helps in estimating product demand and what your target audience wants, it also helps towards managing your inventory properly and up to the mark. A poorly maintained inventory leads to a loss in sales. As a retailer, you will never like to hold on to those products that are not yielding sales. Moreover, you will always want to replenish stocks that your consumers want to buy. Predictive analytics helps to predict demand for products that help you to manage your inventory.

4.  Marketing Campaigns

As a retail business, you need to prioritize marketing campaigns from time to time.  Your business needs a powerful marketing plan that helps to boost your business potentials driving the best ROI. An inefficient marketing campaign management leads to a poor ROI because you cannot estimate the right budget and varied inaccurate calculations done on your part.AI-ML digital capabilities of predictive analytics help you to gain actionable marketing insights, and suggest you adopt individual campaigning for a specific target audience and be more budget efficient leading to maximum conversion of leads.

5.  In-Store Optimization

Predictive analytics helps in online monitoring of shopping activities, as well as in-store data analysis. Varied digital tools & technologies, IoT sensors, and surveillance cameras that are installed in retail stores, on product shelves, help to monitor the shopping activities of varied consumers. The technology helps you in the following ways:

• You can identify your shoppers’ favorite routes throughout the retail floor
• You can identify and distinguish popular, most searched products on varied shelves
• You can count the total number  of visitors  in your shopping zone at different times per day
• You can adequately calculate the average visit time of customers
• You can genuinely monitor queues

Predictive analytics helps you to gather these valuable insights. Using these insights, you can configure store layouts, plan the schedules of your staff, can distinguish the ideal opening hours of your retail stores, reduce customers’ waiting time in queues, and increase the high level of security.

6.  Shopping Cart

 If you own an e-commerce retail store, you can leverage the massive capabilities of AI-ML-powered predictive analytics to optimize your online store, product categories as per existing online shopping carts of consumers. For instance, your customers while browsing your online shopping stores may come across products they like so much. They save them, add them to their shopping carts. When they don’t buy them,  predictive analytics tracks them and lets you know why they didn’t buy and how you should respond to this kind of situation in the future.

7. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing, online advertising are important segments of retail marketing. As a retailer, you’d think social media marketing involves greater expenditure than offline advertising. But using predictive analytics, you can manage these upfront costs and invest in social channels where you gain the maximum outreach and visibility. Predictive analytics can help you maintain a strong social media presence. You don’t have to stress regarding unreasonable expenses because the digital tool helps you to invest smartly on those social channels where you get the maximum ROI and prospect of acquiring new customers.

Conclusion

Predictive Analytics can help to predict the future of your retail business. Whether you are an online retailer sharing an online marketplace with bigwigs or small start-ups in the offline retail space, predictive analytics helps you to extract valuable actionable insights for your business outcomes in the right direction. The aforementioned AI-ML-powered digital capabilities of predictive analytics are just a few significant use cases in the retail industry. There are many more benefits yet to unfold. Stay tuned to this space and we will have further elaboration on this topic with detailed analysis.

Are you a retailer in the e-commerce industry or a physical retail store and changing consumer behavior bothering you? Want to know how predictive analytics can help you solve this challenge and grow your retail business?? Reach us.

The post How Predictive Analytics can Generate More Sales for Retailers? appeared first on AI, ML and IoT application development company | Fusion Informatics.

When was the last time you did online shopping for your favorite product? Did you make online searches in search engines or search bars on varied e-commerce websites? Did you opt for Voice Search in your search process? Your answer lies in your action – adopting voice search technology like Google Next(previouslyGoogle Home) or Amazon’s Alexa. Typically voice commerce technology incorporates an AI-compatible physical device that supports a voice virtual assistant to carry commands by users. Voice is the input command. For example, Amazon’s Echo, Plus, Echo Dot are a few smart speakers that act as a platform for Alexa to run. Due to the recent trends and challenges in the retail industry, voice commerce has been gaining momentum. In this blog, we will discuss the basics of Voice Commerce and its varied applications towards e-commerce in the retai­­­l industry.

What is Voice Commerce

Voice commerce means a smart virtual assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI)that allows people, businesses to multitask, i.e. searching, categorizing, purchasing, trading, etc.  It is finely integrated with portable smart devices just like  Apple’s Siri, Google’s Next, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana. Using voice-commerce technology, customers can now purchase products merely by giving their voice commands to smart devices. Not just that, it also allows you to perform complicated functions such as solving your queries, carry out simple orders. Voice commerce technology is changing the way brands do communicate with their target audience. It is also changing the way consumers do shopping, the overall consumption habits of people. So, you see, how voice commerce is increasingly making the market more competitive at varied levels. A massive $40B voice-commerce sales are projected in the US by the year 2022.

Impact

Many e-commerce brands have started adopting voice-controlled virtual assistants (voice-commerce) in their digital strategies. Undoubtedly, voice commerce technology has created a significant impact on the e-commerce sector. You consider your example, how often do you use voice commands for search as well as placing your orders? How many times do you use Alexa or Google Assistant? If you are a business owner, enterprise, and ask Alexa/Siri, etc. to give comparative results of your competitors, competing e-commerce brands, you will be amazed at seeing the accurate results that flash before you.AS a consumer, voice-controlled virtual assistants or Conversational AI is not just limited to your shopping activity. It can do much more than searching for your queries or information, listening to your favorite music, or ordering food. Voice Commerce technology allows its virtual assistants to help you with recommendations, too. It can check your order history, search history, and based on that will come up with recommended products, or a good suggestion. So, this way voice commerce is helping the e­­­-commerce and the entire retail industry to a new level.

Benefits

The Voice Commerce technology is facilitating e-commerce stores or e-retailing businesses to leverage the evolving trend of voice-activated online shopping behavior of consumers. The following reasons can explain to you how voice-enabled search technology/ voice commerce can be beneficial for your e-commerce business:

1. Enhanced Customer Experience

Voice commerce is changing the way your customers interact with your e-commerce business. It facilitates a seamless experience for your customers and there’s no need to imply certain resources to complete the process successfully. As an e-commerce store owner or proprietor of an e-store, you can expect varied kinds of innovative solutions into the loop of your business. Indeed, the e-commerce business landscape is transforming and voice commerce technology is empowering it. Take, for example, H&M, a popular retail brand, has adopted a virtual stylist that recommends customers their most matching outfits. Helping customers in their shopping journey is enhancing their satisfaction level. If customers are satisfied, your business is automatically elevated to the next level. Thus, AI-enabled Voice Commerce technology is seamlessly integrating with customers’ shopping experience, and you should leverage this capability for your business gains!

2. Arousing Brand Connection

When your customers purchase products from your e-commerce store, they automatically get connected with your brand. When they start using your products, they develop a sense of belonging towards that product, considering it a major part of their life. This journey is greatly motivated by AI-enabled virtual assistants that give them the power to search and buy and connect ultimately with the brand they choose! The plus point is the fondness for voice search assistants by the younger generation. This generation is too keen on trying out newer technologies and leveraging the best of them. And this gives ample scope to your business growth. Since voice commerce technology follows the recommendation process, voice search brings out results that match with customers’ preferences and product descriptions. This is the positive business development for new e-commerce businesses. How? The search results based on preferences are not biased against brand presence but their relativity with the product search. New e-commerce businesses can easily get noticed now over the maps! Voice-Commerce or AI-based virtual assistants allow consumers to connect with the brands they love and seamlessly integrating with their shopping experiences.

3. Improved Search Engine Results

You can use keyword research in Google and other search engines to find out what people are buying and their current preferences for a product, brand, pricing, etc. This way, you can optimize keywords as per search volumes and related aspects. With the ever-changing demands of customers that are greatly influenced by shifting market trends, voice commerce-powered keyword research, search optimization does help online businesses to adapt accordingly. As per sources, if you give voice search commands over Google devices, the results that come out have certain correlations with Google’s featured snippets also. You can leverage this potential and optimize content that can feature you in the organic search results. If you give a significant effort to the SEO aspect, chances are more that you stand alongside top e-commerce brands in the search engines.

Helping Brands via Voice Shopping

There are two types of voice shopping that e-commerce businesses can leverage for Pre-Purchase and Order Placement activities. They are :

1. Voice Assisted Shopping- Voice commerce facilitates shopping beyond just placing an order. It helps customers in the pre-transaction phase of shopping with a comparison of pricing, quality, brand, etc. The technology helps to identify products to buy while comparing alternatives.is about more than simply placing orders. Shopping includes awareness and consideration phases in the path-to-purchase and these pre-transaction steps are already seeing increased voice engagement.
2. Voice Assisted Purchases – Digital tools & technologies, mobile apps, websites are helping customers with voice-assisted purchases and find their favorite brands, products. They are seamlessly led to the payment phase for order confirmation. For example, Alexa has this capability for ordering through Amazon.com while Google Assistant through Google Express.

On-Premise or Cloud for your E-Commerce Business

So, if you are an online retailer, e-commerce business, you can opt for voice commerce technology to enhance your business returns. You need to check your business requirement while adopting a specific deployment model. While Cloud-based solutions offer simple integrations with varied channels, On-Premise solutions allow your business to customize the workflow. Whatever model you choose, voice commerce technology gives your customers a natural interface. You cannot imagine shopping now without virtual shopping assistants. You can contact a mobile & web app development company to find the right voice-technology solution for your business.

If you are looking to build a modern e-commerce application along with integrated voice commerce capability – Contact us today!

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