AI-Powered Retail Stores Are Popping Up Everywhere. Should You Start Building Your Own To Keep Up?
AI is an important part of the post-pandemic business solutions conversation. What does this mean for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
As retailers look toward post-pandemic business, AI is a big part of the conversation. Stores are popping up across the globe that can operate without a cashier or even a traditional retail space, using AI-powered hardware and software to lower overhead and capture new customers. As these stores become more common, should traditional brick-and-mortar locations adapt?
The short answer is yes. But understanding the landscape and available technology is crucial to remaining competitive. The CPG and grocery sectors are poised to gain the most from autonomous technology — many brands were already piloting cashierless, contactless stores before COVID and are now doubling down on their investments. Some are testing delivery robots, others self-serve mobile kiosks, and some are simply retrofitting flagship, high-traffic locations with AI cameras and sensors.
You can look to existing examples of intelligent, flexible omni-channel shopping experiences being tested and launched today for ideas on where to begin.
Innovative Retail Experiences Across The Globe
In the US and Europe large, traditional retailers are rolling out innovations to multiple locations. Walmart’s Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL) is a project based in Levittown, New York that gathers data on inventory and shopping behaviors using array of sensors, cameras, and processors. The company uses this space and a handful of others to test AI-driven technology before deploying its new checkout and customer service experiences at a larger scale.
China, a region hit hard and early by COVID-19, is another country leading the charge. AiFi recently made headlines with a 4,000 square foot autonomous store in Shanghai that stocks over 6,000 SKUs, with products ranging from fresh meat to snacks and the option for both cashierless and autonomous checkout experiences. Cheetah Mobile recently launched the FANBOT, a vending robot that identifies potential customers and approaches them in places like malls, gyms, and theaters — while mobile kiosks like this don’t help retailers transform their existing stores, they’re a good example of how brands are branching out and testing autonomous technologies.
On the Amazon front, the retail giant is opening new Go stores across the country. The company announced a near tripling of profits in its Q3 2020 report and has 27 checkout-free stores in the United States today. This trend could be good for competing retailers — on one hand, Amazon is using their large cash reserves to get the average consumer acclimated to cashierless shopping. On the other, it puts pressure on nearby competitors to provide the same easy, safe experience for people who like shopping at Amazon Go.
What does all of this mean for retailers with traditional footprints? The biggest implication is that physical stores need to operate more intelligently, based on more data, without spending millions more on overhead to compete.
Physical stores must operate more intelligently, based on more data, to stay on pace with their AI-enabled competitors.
Where To Start: Computer Vision + Integrated Data?
The foundation of AI retail stores is composed of computer vision-enabled cameras and applications that can process and disseminate the data those cameras collect. A great example of this is AiFi’s OASIS platform, which helps retailers learn more about their customers and start rolling out checkout-free stores.
Deploying this store technology opens up a realm of possibilities in locations that previously might not have been profitable. Instead of scheduling cashier shifts, store managers can allocate staff to whatever function drives the most value for the location, from inventory management to customer service. Learnings from shopping patterns at each store can be applied to other stores, reducing wasted inventory and optimizing planograms.
The below white paper is a good resource to learn more on this topic, download it here.
