Harnessing AI to Break Down Data Silos and Elevate the Omnichannel Experience

AI is revolutionizing the omnichannel experience by enabling a more seamless and cohesive interaction between online and offline customer touchpoints. AI helps retailers unify their customer data across various channels through advanced data analytics and machine learning, providing a holistic view of customer behavior and preferences. This integration allows for a more personalized and consistent experience, regardless of whether customers interact with the brand online or in-store.

AI-driven solutions facilitate real-time data synchronization, instantly updating customer interactions and transactions across all platforms. For example, if a customer browses products online and then visits a physical store, AI can help the in-store staff access the customer's online activity and preferences, allowing for tailored recommendations and a more personalized shopping experience. Similarly, AI can track in-store purchases and reflect this information in the customer's online profile, enabling consistent cross-channel promotions and communications.

Retailers face several challenges in integrating online and offline data, such as disparate systems, data silos, and varying data formats. AI addresses these challenges by automating data integration processes, standardizing data formats, and providing powerful analytics tools to harmonize information from different sources. This integration helps create a unified customer profile, leading to more accurate insights and effective marketing strategies.

Moreover, AI aids in identifying and resolving inconsistencies in customer data, ensuring a smooth and accurate omnichannel experience. By leveraging AI technologies, retailers can enhance customer satisfaction through personalized interactions and streamlined processes, ultimately driving loyalty and growth.

Edward Ward

Global VP Customer Success
Delivery Solutions

10/25/2024 21:47:29

Balancing Shrink Control and Customer Loyalty

One of the biggest challenges retailers face today is implementing loss prevention measures that are both effective and invisible to paying customers. Shrink is a growing issue, but retailers also need to ensure that their security measures do not create friction in the shopping experience, as this can alienate honest customers and damage brand loyalty.

At Gatekeeper Systems, our approach with the Purchek® pushout theft prevention solution is to strike this balance by using technology that specifically targets non-paying individuals while leaving paying customers undisturbed. The system identifies shopping cart behaviors that signal potential theft—such as attempting to exit the store without paying—without subjecting every shopper to invasive checks or security interventions. This ensures that the vast majority of customers, who are shopping legitimately, aren’t inconvenienced by receipt checks or made to feel untrusted by excessive security presence.

What we’ve found is that when loss prevention measures are too visible or overly aggressive, they can create an atmosphere of distrust or even fear, which is the opposite of what retailers want to foster. With our Purchek® technology, we’ve focused on creating a frictionless solution that helps retailers address shrink while maintaining a positive, seamless customer experience where shoppers feel safe, respected, and trusted. This balance is key to the future of loss prevention.

Robert Harling

Chief Executive Officer
Gatekeeper Systems

10/25/2024 21:47:29

Winning Customer Loyalty:

Ensuring AI Transparency and Data Security in Retail

GenAI is changing how we think about sales/service experiences and personalization in digital tools and marketing. Although customers are more willing to engage with AI tools than ever, they have heightened concerns around data privacy and security. How retailers go about addressing these concerns can make or break customer trust.

In a recent Ipsos CX study, we found over 73% of consumers want retailers to be transparent about their use of AI-powered virtual assistants. We also asked, “When thinking about e-commerce / retail experiences, which of the following statements represents how certain you are about recognizing if the chatbot is AI-powered vs. human-powered?” Only 36% of consumers stated that retailers clearly and transparently communicated that the chatbot is AI-powered.

Transparency is critical. When a customer feels forced into using AI or is unsure about how their data is being used, it can lead to uncertainty (learn more about Ipsos’s Forces of CX). Where customers feel uncertain, they may feel confused, nervous, anxious or vulnerable and are therefore unlikely to continue further engage with that brand. On the flip side, being transparent invites customers to feel that the company is reliable and safe, thereby building trust and loyalty.

When developing GenAI-powered tools, here’s how brands can instill a sense of certainty and build customer trust:

be transparent about where GenAI is used to power the experience
Clearly communicate how data privacy and security commitments are managed
The information provided by virtual assistants must be accurate, concise and reliable
Always provide other methods to engage with the brand outside of the GenAI tool