Create winning shopping experiences with generative AI

Summary

This engaging talk delves into the transformative power of generative AI in retail, highlighting its potential to enhance customer experiences and drive new product innovation. The speaker, with a rich background in the industry, takes the audience on a historical journey from ancient trade to modern e-commerce, emphasizing the evolving consumer behaviors and the challenges faced by retailers. The script underscores the importance of leveraging first-party data and AI technologies like Google's Vision AI to personalize shopping experiences and foster customer loyalty. It also showcases how generative AI can streamline new product development, offering a glimpse into the future of retail where personalized content and innovative products are the norm.

Takeaways

• 🎉 The speaker is excited about the potential of generative AI in creating winning shopping experiences and has a rich background in retail and CPG industries.
• 🛍️ The retail industry is constantly evolving and faces various challenges such as changing consumer behaviors, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory changes.
• 📈 Generative AI can help retailers by providing better insights, improving customer engagement, and accelerating product innovation.
• 🔍 The importance of first-party data is increasing as third-party cookies are phased out, making it crucial for retailers to leverage their own customer data effectively.
• 📚 The speaker highlights the historical context of retail, from bartering in 9000 BC to the modern online shopping era, emphasizing the enduring human desire to trade goods.
• 💡 Geni (generative AI) can aid in product discovery by creating personalized shopping experiences that adapt to the shopper's needs and behaviors.
• 🤖 Google's Shelf Vision AI technology is an example of how AI can be used to gather data on in-store shopping behaviors, inventory levels, and merchandising to enhance the shopping experience.
• 👥 The speaker emphasizes the importance of human connection in retail, suggesting that AI can help forge stronger bonds with shoppers by personalizing communication and understanding unique needs.
• 🚴‍♂️ An example is given where generative AI helps a shopper find a specialized bike for triathlons and commuting by filtering and consolidating information from various sources.
• 🍔 A case study with McDonald's illustrates how generative AI and edge computing can be used to enhance customer and employee experiences, making operations more efficient and personalizing the service.
• 💡 The speaker suggests that generative AI can transform private label and new product development by leveraging both internal data and collective knowledge from platforms like Google to unlock business value.

Q & A

What is the speaker's background in the retail and CPG industries?

The speaker started early in the retail and CPG industries, with their first job being at the India Coca-Cola headquarters in the late 70s, followed by a job at an Italian retail boutique called United Colors of Benetton. They later worked at L'Oreal, Estee Lauder, and currently hold a role at Accenture, accumulating 27 years of experience in the industry.

What is the significance of the speaker's early job at United Colors of Benetton?

The speaker's early job at United Colors of Benetton involved folding sweaters and helping customers with outfits, which provided them with foundational experience in customer service and product presentation, crucial skills in the retail industry.

What are the challenges the retail industry faces according to the speaker?

The retail industry faces challenges such as changing consumer behaviors, supply chain disruptions, technology obsolescence, cyber attacks, regulatory changes, and global shifts, which make it a dynamic and ever-evolving sector.

What role does generative AI (geni) play in the retail industry as per the speaker?

Generative AI is suggested as a potential solution for the retail industry, helping to connect people to products more efficiently, generate a holistic view of shoppers, and accelerate product development.

Why is first-party data becoming more critical in retail?

First-party data is becoming more critical due to rising customer acquisition costs, changing privacy laws globally, and the phasing out of third-party cookies, making it harder to acquire zero-party data without customer loyalty.

What is the historical context provided by the speaker for the retail industry?

The speaker provides a historical context dating back to 9000 BC, mentioning the earliest recorded trading of goods with sheep and cows, and then fast forwarding to the opening of the Moravian Bookshop in 1745, which was the first retail store in America, and eventually leading to Amazon selling books online.

How does the speaker describe the evolution of the customer purchase journey due to cookies?

The speaker describes a shift in the customer purchase journey due to cookies, which made it easier for customers to find things they didn't know they needed. However, with changing privacy laws and the phasing out of cookies, the journey is becoming more about retailers anticipating customer needs and being thoughtful throughout the shopper journey.

What is the importance of engaging all five human senses in retail experiences according to the speaker?

Engaging all five human senses in retail experiences is important because it helps form bonds with customers. When customers' senses are stimulated, the experience becomes more memorable and personalized.

What is the role of Google's Shelf Vision AI technology in retail as mentioned by the speaker?

Google's Shelf Vision AI technology helps in capturing images from various sources such as robots, fixed cameras, and cell phones, which are then tabulated into data. This data provides insights into shopping behaviors, in-store inventory levels, shelf merchandising, and pricing, helping retailers to better delight their shoppers.

How did McDonald's enhance their customer and employee experience with the help of Accenture and Google?

McDonald's partnered with Accenture and Google to create a more efficient operation by automating mundane tasks and personalizing the customer experience. They introduced outdoor mobile ordering boards for faster service and used data capture to offer personalized offers and ordering experiences.

What is the potential business value that generative AI can bring to new product development according to the speaker?

The speaker mentions that generative AI can bring a projected $30 billion in business value to new product development by accelerating the process and providing insights that can help in creating concepts that are more likely to succeed in the market.

How does the speaker suggest established retailers can reinvent private label products?

The speaker suggests that established retailers can reinvent private label products by focusing on quality and meaningfulness, which can drive more loyalty and profitability. They should leverage their scale and first-party data to bring customers back with more meaningful products.

What is the role of generative AI in new product innovation portfolios?

Generative AI plays a role in new product innovation portfolios by generating concepts at scale, sourcing trends from both external and internal data, and creating a larger set of concepts than a human could in the same amount of time. This allows human teams to refine and develop these concepts further, ensuring they align with consumer trends and preferences.