Computer vision is an AI field that uses cameras and images to help computers recognize and process objects, generating real-time data. This data can be analyzed to improve sales and enhance customer experience. 

Retailers can optimize human resources and improve inventory management by implementing computer vision technology. This technology can aid in inventory tracking, prevent misplaced items, and reduce associated costs. Computer vision can also be utilized for inventory auditing and to improve forecasting accuracy, leading to a reduction in overstocking.

RIS’s 29th Annual Retail Study found that more than 40% of retailers plan to adopt computer vision technology in the next two years.

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US retail sales are expected to reach $7.334 trillion this year, reflecting a 3.3% year-over-year growth. However, Zak Stambor, a growth analyst at Business Insider, anticipates a new normal of slower growth.

Although inflation growth is slowing down month over month, it remains high compared to the previous year, with a 5% increase in March 2022 as reported by CNBC.

In addition to inflation, OPEC+ recently announced a cut in oil output, which could lead to higher gas prices and potentially impact consumer spending.

Looking ahead, retail sales growth is expected to range between 3.3% and 3.5% annually until 2027, representing a significant decline from last year’s growth of 8.1% and 17.9% in 2021.

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Despite shoppers returning to physical stores, Amazon has decided to close all of its bookstores, 4-star stores, and pop-ups.

Amazon will continue to expand its grocery stores but is abandoning its roots of selling books in a physical store.  Aside from Whole Foods, including locations opening this month, the company runs 85 grocery-oriented stores: 58 Amazon Fresh in the U.S. and U.K. and 27 Amazon Go convenience stores.

In Q1 of this year, Amazon saw a 3% decline in its online retail sales, yet its physical stores saw a dramatic increase year over year.

So why close all their stores?  Amazon’s business is centered around logistics, technology, advertising, and as of late, less and less retail.

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In January, thousands of retail change-makers from around the world came together at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City to talk about the latest trends and innovations.

As no surprise, artificial intelligence was one of the major talking points of the event. Retailers are turning to AI for churn prediction and product recommendations based on individual preferences, while others have found use-cases for it in their marketing.

Similar to what we discussed in our blog last week, ‘Phygital’ retail or the blend between the two worlds was a major talking point of the event.

Click HERE to learn more customer experience trends from NRF2023.

Tools like ChatGPT have put the possibilities of AI at the fingertips of everyone — and people all over the world are now recognizing that these tools can do incredible (and useless) things.

ChatGPT can answer questions, write poetry, create movie scripts with the tone of specific authors, do translation, and more.

The chat also has the potential to have unique use-cases for retail stores. ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for conducting retail market research. By analyzing customer data, ChatGPT can provide insights into buyer behavior, including which products are most popular, which marketing channels are most effective, and what factors drive customer loyalty.

Click HERE to learn more about all the ways ChatGPT can be used in your store.

While AI was once a far-fetched idea, companies such as Dal-e have proven the power of AI through their text-to-image generator.
 
Automation, data, and technology, like machine learning algorithms, are used in retail AI to give customers highly customized shopping experiences.
 
By 2028, the global AI in retail market size is expected to reach $24.1 billion. The growth comes from the endless amount of possibilities AI brings into the market, such as COVID-19 impact analysis, higher supply chain capabilities, higher efficiency in saving cost and optimizing the experience for customers.
 
While that all sounds amazing, only time will tell how long it will take for AI to meet these insane expectations.

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The term phygital relates to how your organization can leverage the blending of the physical and digital worlds.

Although Big-Box retailers have long thrived in physical selling, during the pandemic, the pendulum swung even further toward digital, as meeting in person became increasingly difficult.

An older but great example of this is the Twizzard. During Black Friday weekend in 2014, Mall of America used hashtags on Twitter to power a snowstorm inside the retail complex.

The more people tweeted with the #twizzard hashtag that weekend, the lower the temperature got on a digital thermometer in the center of the mall. When there were enough tweets and the temperature hit freezing, the skies opened and it started to snow INSIDE the mall.

The attention from the Twizzard increased foot traffic by 10 percent over the previous year.

Click HERE to learn more about how to blend the two worlds.

Well-known retail giants Home Depot and Walmart delivered a grim outlook for the future of retail spending in 2023.

Home Depot’s stock fell after the report, while Walmart’s stock essentially flatlined as investors digested what the news meant for the economy. Although both Home Depot and Walmart sell an assortment of goods, their earnings give us a glimpse of what is to come.

Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer Rainey said, “While the supply-chain issues have largely abated, prices are still high, and there is considerable pressure on the consumer.”

Last quarter, retail shopping showed signs of a slowdown in spending. As more companies release their earnings reports, further insights will be provided into different types of goods that are being impacted.

Walmart said it expects same-store sales for its U.S. business to rise by 2% or 2.5%, excluding fuel, in the fiscal year. Home Depot said it expects sales growth for the fiscal year to be roughly flat.

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