Will AI be Able to Revive Brick-and-Mortar Retail?

By: Retail CIO Outlook | Friday, September 27, 2019

The brick-and-mortar retail stores are shrinking as more and more online retail shopping is taking over. How will these stores be able to fight back? Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) the answer to all the problems faced by brick-and-mortar retail?

FREMONT, CA: Since more and more customers are moving towards online stores, it is easy to predict that brick-and-mortar stores will not last for long. It is a shocking fact that 3800 stores got closed in the US in 2018, including stores of retail giants like K-Mart and Sears, which were the focal point of commerce in America at one time.

However, it cannot be ignored that consumers still want to go to stores and have the traditional experience, which is more comfortable, seamless, and personalized. They want to enjoy the in-store experience, especially in case of clothes, décor, accessories, and other items, which customers would like to touch and try. 

However, the leaders of the retail industry are trying to revive brick-and-mortar with the help of technology to keep it relevant to the coming generation of customers. For example, checkout via roving associates is being introduced by many stores through which transactions can be done with handheld devices no matter where the customer is standing. Kiosks help customers to research and order items at the store. AI tools are empowering store employees to provide an above and beyond shopping experience to its customers.

Today, some customer questions might require making a call to the company’s headquarters or another retail store, which can cause delay and frustration within customers and ultimately drive them back to online retail stores. Now, AI provides handheld devices, which help the employees in finding up-to-date answers to the customers' questions like return policies, registry issues, redeeming reward points, or sale questions.

AI also helps the stores to let the customer have better-personalized shopping experience according to their locations, seasonality, or other policies that differ from store to store. AI recommends options or services present in a specific store instead of suggestions for products that are out of stock. This service would have been impossible without AI as it enables the employees to have quick access to data, thus allowing the retail stores to work smarter and better. 

In-store shopping needs to change with time to keep up with the expectations of the consumers. With the support of AI-assisted applications, retailers will be able to keep their brick and mortar locations competitive, relevant, and essential for a longer time.

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