Of all the ways artificial intelligence (AI) can improve retailer performance, the one that perhaps offers retailers the greatest promise is putting the power of AI as a personal shopping assistant in their own hands.

However, according to a study by Colliers US Research, retailers are prioritizing backend operations over the front-end customer-facing side when it comes to implementing AI.

Looking to the next five years, some 63% of retailers say AI will have the biggest impact behind the scenes, while only 24% believe the front-end will deliver the biggest benefit and just 12% think the impact will be felt on both. sides.

Even though many retailers have been slow to realize the benefits of AI on the front end, consumers are still finding solutions. A recent survey of 1,000 US shoppers by Future Commerce in partnership with Bloomreach found that 42% have incorporated ChatGPT into their shopping process.

“The real value of AI-powered shopping assistants lies not in the convenience they provide, but in the power to curate experiences that feel deeply personal,” Raj De Datta, CEO of Bloomreach, told me, although he solved the “paradox of choice”. is a great convenience.

“These assistants can engage in conversation about your style and needs, learning and adapting with each interaction. This level of personalization has real consequences. It brings the shopping experience online and ultimately redefines what it means to shop,” he continued.

These resulting benefits have not gone unnoticed by the country’s number one and two largest retailers – Walmart and Amazon, respectively. Both are using AI shopping assistants this holiday season to improve the shopping experience for their customers.

Once the holiday retail results are added together, the entire retail industry will learn from the results of these two retailers how impactful AI can be as a shopping assistant.

With modest 2.5% to 3.5% growth forecast by the National Retail Federation for retail sales from November to December this year and five fewer prime shopping days to boot, Walmart and Amazon are ahead the competition in using AI for the benefit of their customers. ultimately benefit their sales and profits in a holiday shopping season that promises to be challenging.

Walmart opens GenAI online shopping assistant

Earlier this year, Walmart announced a beta test for its GenAI-powered shopping assistant on its mobile app. Now the beta test is expanding further on both Walmart.com and the app to make holiday shopping faster and easier.”

AI is enabled when customers enter the platform to anticipate their preferences, predict the type of products they are 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 search functionality. For example, a search for “gift ideas for 10 year old boys” returned a list of selections marked “Generated by AI” and continued learning, so a search for “better gift ideas for 10 year old boys” returned refined gift selections .

“A standard search bar is no longer the fastest path to purchase,” said Suresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology and Development Officer, in a statement. “Instead, we must use technology to adapt to customers’ individual 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 customize the home pages for each customer, promising to provide a more personalized shopping experience for each customer.

Described as a virtual “store designed exclusively for each customer,” Walmart expects to launch custom homepages in the U.S. late next year.

Walmart leans into holidays online

Walmart has filled its holiday shopping calendar with multiple events to engage more customers online to try out the new AI features and drive them into the store. Big discounts are offered on items from leading brands including Apple, Samsung, Xbox, Beats, Barbie, LEGO, Dyson, Reebok and Levi Strauss.

Online shoppers will get a head start on Black Friday with deals starting on November 11, Veterans Day, with similar pre-Black Friday deals in store on November 15.

There will then be a second Black Friday event online on Monday 25 November, with offers in stores on Friday 29 November. Cyber ​​Monday, December 1, will be exclusively dedicated to special online deals.

Walmart is clearly favoring online shoppers this season to maximize the learnings from its AI initiatives.

Amazon introduces ‘Rufus’ shopping assistant

Amazon may be behind Walmart in size, but it is leading the way in implementing AI features for its customers. Like Walmart, it released its AI shopping assistant in beta mode earlier this year to select customers on its mobile app.

The store assistant is named ‘Rufus’ in honor of Amazon’s beloved Welsh corgi, who passed away in 2009. Rufus is now being rolled out to all online and mobile app customers in time for the holidays.

Customers can access it by clicking the Rufus button on the homepage banner. A chat window opens on the left side of the screen where customers can start a conversation with Rufus.

Rufus is more ChatGPT-like

Unlike Walmart’s AI feature, which activates the search bar with a small note telling customers their selections were generated via AI, it’s clear to customers that they’re interacting with Amazon’s AI shopping assistant. Dealing with Rufus is familiar to those who have used ChatGPT. Amazon’s search bar still functions as it always has.

Rufus is more than a tool to facilitate product selection by occasion or product category, although it does that very well. It answers questions: “What should I consider when buying XYZ product?” or “How do I get started with the ABC project?”

After the answer, alternative questions are presented to delve into more specific information or explore related topics. Customers can also ask follow-up questions themselves. Product selections are offered at the end of each step in the process.

And once you refine your search and click on one or two products, Rufus will continue to provide detailed product answers based on the product list, customer reviews, and community Q&As.

I tried Rufus for a number of searches and found it “tacky,” the highest compliment you can give to an online experience. It takes online shopping to a whole new level of engagement that goes beyond finding products and completing transactions.

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

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

Online shoppers need more help

Constructor, an e-commerce consultancy that provides AI solutions to improve product search and discovery, recently conducted a survey of nearly 900 online shoppers in the US and UK and found that more than two-thirds believe that search on retail websites need an upgrade.

More than four in ten shoppers (42%) give retailers’ search function a grade of C or lower. Only 14% rated retailers’ searches and product discovery as an ‘A’.

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

Based on the survey results, shoppers are open to retailers implementing AI capabilities to improve their experiences, including 42% who want an AI-based search bar, as Walmart has implemented, or go further, like Amazon’s Rufus, to to guide them in their online activities. shopping trip.

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

“So, retailers who get search and product discovery right have the opportunity to capture both their mindshare and their wallet share, creating sticky experiences that make their brand a destination of choice.”

See also:

ForbesHow five fewer holiday shopping days will impact retail in 2024By means of