How Google Cloud Platform's AI capabilities benefit the Retail sector?
Retailers can leverage the powerful solutions of Google Cloud for Retail to swiftly tap into cloud capabilities tailored to their specific business needs, keeping them ahead in the constantly changing retail industry.
Gone are the days when shopping for the perfect dress involved spending a whole day walking in and out of a dozen shops. Today, all you need to do is browse online. The minute you let the search engine know your intent, you get a personalized recommendation that exactly fits your expectations. And it doesn’t stop there. Once you buy the dress from the online store, you get emails with personalized recommendations for other dresses, shoes, and accessories that match your style and preferences.
What makes this possible? The e-commerce sites we shop from use AI capabilities from modern technology infrastructure like Google Cloud Platform to analyze our browsing and purchase history and our demographic information, to create personalized product recommendations.
To thrive in an increasingly digital, intensely competitive, and rapidly changing market, retailers today, must leverage the power of AI. According to a study by Accenture, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the retail industry is expected to drive a 60% increase in net revenue by 2035. By using AI to analyze customer data and behavior, retailers can not only create personalized experiences that drive business growth they can also optimize their inventory, forecast demand, detect fraud, and deliver exceptional customer service.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides a suite of AI tools and services that can help retailers transform their businesses and gain a competitive edge.
In this blog, let’s explore the Google Cloud for retail - AI capabilities.
1) AI for Personalized Search and Browsing
Google’s AI expertise enables the personalization of customers’ searches and browsing on e-commerce sites. Adding to advanced query understanding and personalization, the enhanced capabilities of Google cloud help to create a more seamless and intuitive online shopping experience.
Google’s AI capability identifies customer preferences through behavior analysis and uses the information to modify search results to prioritize products specific to the retailer’s website to deliver a more personalized experience.
2) Enhanced Product Discovery
Google cloud’s new AI-powered tool helps e-commerce sites to improve the browsing and product discovery experience. It uses machine learning to optimize product discovery on a retailer’s site.
Google’s AI-driven system has a new strategy developed to improve the sorting of products using historical data. Compared to the traditional product sorting based on manual creations on eCommerce sites, AI-powered sorting can increase relevancy, accuracy, and selling chances.
3) Optimized Product Recommendations
The updated Google cloud’s AI recommendations make eCommerce sites more personalized, dynamic, and helpful for individuals. The new page-level optimization feature determines product recommendations and dynamically displays them to the shoppers. This reduces the need for user experience testing is time-consuming and leads to higher user engagement and sales.
Additionally, the machine learning-aided feature for revenue optimization offers more effective product recommendations, increasing revenue per user session potentially.
4) Inventory Optimization
Inventory management is a critical aspect of any retail business. Retailers must find the right balance between keeping enough inventory on hand to meet customer demand while avoiding overstocking, which can tie up capital and lead to waste. GCP's AI capabilities can help retailers optimize their inventory levels and avoid stockouts or overstocking.
GCP's AI tools can analyze sales and inventory data to identify trends and patterns. This information can be used to forecast demand for products and adjust inventory levels accordingly. By using AI to optimize their inventory, retailers can improve their operational efficiency and reduce costs.
5) Demand Forecasting
Demand forecasting is a crucial aspect of inventory management. By accurately forecasting demand for products, retailers can ensure that they have the right amount of inventory on hand to meet customer demand without overstocking. GCP's AI tools can be used to analyze historical sales data and external factors such as weather and events to forecast demand for products.
By using GCP's AI capabilities for demand forecasting, retailers can make better inventory and staffing decisions. They can also identify trends and patterns that can help them make more informed business decisions.
6) Fraud Detection
Fraud is a major concern for retailers, and it can lead to significant losses. GCP's AI capabilities can be used to analyze transaction data to identify potentially fraudulent activity. By using AI to detect fraud, retailers can reduce losses and improve customer trust.
GCP's AI tools can analyze transaction data to identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent activity. Retailers can use this information to take action to prevent fraud, such as canceling orders or flagging suspicious activity.
7) Customer Service
Customer service is a critical aspect of any retail business. By providing exceptional customer service, retailers can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. GCP's AI capabilities can be used to create chatbots and virtual assistants that can handle customer inquiries and provide support 24/7. By using AI to handle customer inquiries, retailers can reduce support costs and improve efficiency. Customers can get the help they need quickly and easily, and consequently, are more satisfied and more likely to remain loyal.
This list is by no means, exhaustive. The benefits Google cloud for retail are constantly increasing, as evidenced by a report from Grand View Research, which indicates that the global AI in the retail market is expected to reach USD 23.6 billion by 2025. As retailers continue to adopt AI, we can expect to see more advancements, innovations, and exciting use cases in the years to come. If you are in the retail sector and have yet to explore the possibilities of AI, there is no better time to do so. As a Google Cloud partner with certified expertise in AI and specialization in application development, Sensiple's GCP experts can assist you in unlocking new opportunities and taking your business to the next level. Get in touch with us today to know more.
