Of all the ways artificial intelligence (AI) can improve retailer performance, perhaps the one that offers the greatest promise to retailers is putting the power of AI into the hands of shoppers as an assistant personal purchasing.

However, retailers are prioritizing back-end operations over the customer-facing front-end side when it comes to implementing AI, according to a study by Search Necklaces in the United States.

Over the next five years, around 63% of retailers said AI will have the biggest impact behind the scenes, while only 24% see the front end bringing the biggest benefit and only 12% think the impacts will be felt on both. sides.

Although many retailers are slow to understand the benefits of AI up front, shoppers are finding workarounds. A recent survey of 1,000 American shoppers by Commerce of the future in partnership with Bloomreach, 42% of respondents have integrated ChatGPT into their purchasing process.

“The real value of AI-powered sales assistants lies not in the convenience they provide, but in the power to curate deeply personal experiences,” Raj De Datta, CEO of Bloomreach, told me while solving the “paradox of choice” problem. is of great convenience.

“These assistants can engage in conversation about your style and needs, learning and adapting with every interaction. This level of customization is truly significant. It’s about bringing the in-store experience online and ultimately redefining what it means to shop,” he continued.

These significant benefits have not gone unnoticed by the country’s largest retailers, Walmart and Amazon respectively. Both are deploying AI shopping assistants this holiday season to improve their customers’ shopping experience.

Once the holiday season results are tallied, the entire retail industry will learn how impactful AI can be as a shopping assistant, based on the results of these two retailers.

With modest growth of 2.5% to 3.5% projected by the National Retail Federation for retail sales from November to December of this year and five fewer days of shopping Additionally, Walmart and Amazon are ahead of the competition in deploying AI for the benefit of their customers, which will ultimately benefit their bottom lines and bottom lines in what is expected to be a challenging holiday shopping season.

Walmart opens GenAI online shopping assistant

Earlier this year, Walmart announced a beta test for its GenAI-powered shopping assistant on its mobile app. It’s now rolling out to both Walmart.com and the app to make it faster and more convenient to use. holiday shopping.

AI is activated when customers enter the platform to anticipate their preferences, predict the type of products they would be most interested in, and present them with gift items and special offers based on those preferences.

Additionally, the search bar now supports natural language processing to improve the search function. For example, a search for “gift ideas for 10-year-old boys” presented a list of selections rated as “AI-generated” and continued to learn, so a search for “best gift ideas for 10-year-old boys” 10 years” gave refined gift selections.

“A standard search bar is no longer the quickest path to purchase,” said Suresh Kumarglobal director of technology and development, in a press release. “Instead, we must use technology to adapt to individual customer preferences and needs. »

Walmart also offers GenAI-powered product reviews, product summaries and comparisons to improve customers’ ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

In the future, Walmart plans to personalize home pages for each customer, which promises to provide a more personalized shopping experience for everyone.

Described as a “virtual store designed exclusively for each customer,” Walmart plans to launch personalized home pages in the United States by the end of next year.

Walmart launches into e-commerce for the holidays

Walmart has packed its holiday shopping calendar with several events to attract more online customers to try the new AI features, as well as attract them to the store. Deep discounts will be offered on items from top brands including Apple, Samsung, Xbox, Beats, Barbie, LEGO, Dyson, Reebok and Levi Strauss.

Online customers get an advantage on Black Friday with deals starting on Veterans Day, November 11, with similar deals leading up to Black Friday in-store on November 15.

Then, a second Black Friday event will launch online on Monday, November 25, followed by in-store deals on Friday, November 29. Cyber ​​Monday, December 1, will be dedicated exclusively to special online offers.

Walmart is obviously prioritizing online customers this season to maximize learnings from its AI initiatives.

Amazon launches “Rufus” shopping assistant

Amazon may be behind Walmart in size, but it’s ahead in implementing AI capabilities for its customers. Like Walmart, it released its AI shopping assistant in beta mode earlier this year to screen customers on its mobile app.

The sales assistant is named “Rufus” in honor of Amazon’s beloved Welsh corgi, who died in 2009. Rufus is currently deploying to all online and mobile app customers in time for the holiday season.

Customers access it by clicking the Rufus button on the homepage banner and a chat window opens on the left side of the screen to allow customers to start a chat with Rufus.

Rufus is more like ChatGPT

Unlike Walmart’s AI feature which activates in the search bar with a small note telling customers that their selections were generated via AI, it is clear to customers that they are interacting with the search assistant. Amazon AI purchasing. Engaging with Rufus will be familiar to those who have used ChatGPT. Amazon’s search bar still works as usual.

Rufus is more than a tool to help select products by occasion or product category, although it does that very well. It answers the questions: “What should I consider when purchasing a product of type XYZ?” » or “How do I start doing an ABC project?”

After the answer, it presents alternative questions to delve into details or explore related topics. Customers can also ask their own follow-up questions. Product selections are offered at the end of each step of the process.

And once you narrow down your search and click on one or two products, Rufus will continue to engage by providing detailed product answers from the product listing, customer reviews, and customer Q&As. community.

I tried Rufus for a number of searches and found it “sticky”, the highest compliment to be paid to an online experience. This takes online shopping to a whole new level of engagement beyond researching products and completing transactions.

Bloomreach’s De Datta sees Amazon Rufus as paving the way for the future of AI in online retail.

“Amazon has long served as a model for what e-commerce looks like for consumers,” he said. “As shoppers become more familiar with Rufus, we can expect them to look for the same type of experience wherever they shop. »

Online shoppers need more help

Builderan e-commerce consultancy providing AI solutions to improve search and product discovery, recently conducted a survey of nearly 900 online shoppers in the US and UK and found that more Two-thirds of them think the search function on retail websites needs an upgrade.

More than four in ten (42%) shoppers give retailers’ search functionality a grade of “C” or lower. Only 14% of retailers gave retailers’ research and product discovery activities an “A” grade.

“Shoppers are clear about what ‘best’ looks like when it comes to product search and discovery,” write the authors of the Constructor report. Better includes “personalized journeys, search results that match intent, and the ability for shoppers to search like they speak – in natural language and full sentences.”

According to the survey results, shoppers are open to retailers implementing AI capabilities to improve their experiences, including 42% who want an AI-powered search bar, like Walmart implemented it, or who want to go further, like Rufus from Amazon, to guide them throughout their online journey. shopping trip.

The manufacturer concluded: “For consumers, the time and money they spend shopping online has not decreased over the past year; in fact, the data shows they are spending more.

“So retailers who are good at product search and discovery have the opportunity to capture both mind share and wallet share, creating impactful experiences that make their brand a destination of choice.”

See also:

ForbesHow 5 Fewer Holiday Shopping Days Will Impact Retailers in 2024By Pamela N. Danziger