According to the survey "The State of AI in Early 2024: Gen AI Adoption Spikes and Starts to Generate Value," conducted by McKinsey, in 2024, 72% of corporations worldwide have already adopted the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, the reality in the retail sector is quite different. As the report "CIO Agenda Outlook for Industry and Retail," prepared by Gartner, reveals, currently less than 5% of companies in this segment use AI solutions to create synthetic customer data that simulates real data.
In this context, it is encouraging to know that, according to the Gartner report, by the end of 2025, nine out of ten retailers plan to implement AI to transform the customer journey in a more personalized and efficient manner. In addition to enhancing the consumer shopping experience, the technology in question is capable of revolutionizing the way retail operations are managed, enabling precise and strategic analyses.
Among the many benefits that AI can bring to retail, we can highlight the possibility of collecting, storing, and exploiting data for the identification of customer purchasing patterns, understanding of products with the highest turnover, and forecasting the need for restocking goods. Such a feature helps in reducing costs associated with unnecessary inventory, product waste, and preparation for demand spikes due to seasonality.
With an AI-structured database, retailers can develop targeted marketing strategies, segmented promotions, special offers, and individualized recommendations. In this way, in addition to boosting sales, technology contributes to customer loyalty.
It's a win-win relationship, after all, the retailer should see better results, while customers will have their favorite products and brands always available and, often, with promotions.
AI also promises to greatly assist retailers in the operational and financial management of their stores, helping to better control inventory and avoid losses. An example of this is the "pick list," which would be the retailer's "inventory shopping list" for that moment. AI would already consider the current inventory, cash on hand, sales forecast for the next few days or weeks (considering seasonality), and product expiration dates to generate an accurate shopping list. A more assertive purchasing procedure reduces losses and assists in the retailer's cash flow, which can pass this gain on to the final product price for the consumer, making the sales machine run more and better.
In summary, AI is available to retailers and can enable them to make more informed decisions, optimize their operations, and provide a more personalized experience for consumers. By adopting this technology, entrepreneurs can compete more effectively in a market that is highly dynamic and competitive. In this scenario, the global market for AI tools in retail is expected to grow exponentially, reaching, according to Statista projections, US$31 billion by 2028. With these innovations, AI is not only here to help but also to radically transform your sales, making them more agile, efficient, and customer-centric.
