TALKING business
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The COVID-19 pandemic has given way to challenges across industries and has brought some businesses to a standstill . Each industry is taking time to adjust and return to business and operate within new dynamics . The retail industry is one of the hardest hit sectors with physical outlets , shopping centres and malls closed to public or reopened with a string of constraints has taken its toll on revenues .
Retailers were not prepared to make the sudden and swift changes for various reasons and had ill-prepared IT environments .
Many were not equipped with online and e-commerce platforms which would be the most appropriate way to conduct business during a lockdown . It was e-commerce giants and local online platforms that upped their game and utilised the situation to their advantage . Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) was incorporated into these online platforms . Understanding behavioural patterns and playing it out accordingly . Going forward , AI will play a vital role in many areas within retail .
According to a recent survey by ResearchandMarkets . com , Artificial Intelligence in the retail market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35.9 % from 2019 to 2025 to reach US $ 15.3 billion by 2025 .
The market by itself is divided into software and services . It covers a variety of retail aspects including , supply chain and logistics , predictive maintenance on the manufacturing floor , product design , inventory and in-store management , customer behaviour and relationship management , and others . What is evident is that AI will help retailers think and plan more strategically instead of following a reactionary trend to meet customer demands .
AI algorithms
While AI algorithms are put into use to predict fashion trends , be it colour or style , retailers can now have a more analytical approach to product design and forecasting .
It can be suitably used to ensure that the manufacturing unit is up and running with a minimum downtime by predicting any emerging production faults or abnormalities in machine behaviour . Inventory can be a deterrent for retailers where huge amounts
Ranjith Kaippada , Director , Cloud Box Technologies
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THE RETAIL INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE HARDEST HIT SECTORS WITH PHYSICAL OUTLETS , SHOPPING CENTRES AND MALLS CLOSED TO PUBLIC OR REOPENED WITH A STRING OF CONSTRAINTS .
can be trapped in inventory capital . AI helps in controlling this by analytical forecasting and can definitely enable waste reduction . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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