According to the McKinsey study "The State of AI in Early 2024: Gen AI Adoption Spikes and Starts to Generate Value," by 2024, 72% of corporations worldwide will have adopted the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, the reality in the retail sector is quite different. According to the Gartner report "CIO Agenda Outlook for Industry and Retail," 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 way. In addition to improving the consumer's shopping experience, this technology is capable of revolutionizing how 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 exploring data to identify customer purchasing patterns, understand best-selling products, and predict the need for restocking. This resource helps reduce costs associated with unnecessary inventory, product waste, and prepare for demand peaks due to seasonality.
With an AI-structured database, retailers can develop targeted marketing strategies, segmented promotions, special offers, and personalized recommendations. In this way, in addition to boosting sales, the technology contributes to customer loyalty.
It's a win-win situation; after all, the retailer should see better results, while customers will always have their favorite products and brands available, 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 current inventory, cash on hand, sales forecasts for the coming days or weeks (considering seasonality), and product expiration dates to generate an accurate shopping list. A more assertive purchasing procedure reduces losses and helps the retailer's cash flow, which can be passed on to the consumer in the final product price, making the sales machine run more efficiently.
In summary, AI is available to retailers and can empower 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 highly dynamic and competitive market. 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 not only helps but also radically transforms sales, making them more agile, efficient, and customer-centric.
