Ahead of NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show, Microsoft Corp. on announced new generative AI and data solutions and capabilities for retailers that span the retail shopper journey, from enabling personalized shopping experiences, empowering store associates, and unlocking and unifying retail data to helping brands more effectively reach their audiences. Through new copilot templates on Azure OpenAI Service that allow retailers to build personalized shopping experiences and support store operations, the introduction of retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, new copilot features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, and the launch of Retail Media Creative Studio in the Microsoft Retail Media Platform, Microsoft Cloud for Retail now offers more options for retailers to choose from to infuse copilot experiences throughout the shopper journey.
Retailers globally continue to face challenges across their business — from high store associate turnover to shifting shopping habits, including the continued rise in omnichannel shopping and a decrease in brand loyalty among consumers, to the growth in siloed data that often holds unrealized value. To address these challenges, retailers are turning to technology and, in the era of AI, they have an opportunity to accelerate its impact with data-backed generative AI solutions to help unlock personalized shopping experiences, enhance store associates’ performance and productivity, and uncover insights that ultimately lead to better customer engagement and satisfaction. According to a Microsoft-commissioned study through IDC, retail organizations are realizing a return on their AI investments within 14 months.1 Retailers are also seeing an average return of $3.45 for every $1 they invest in AI.
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Seventy-one percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and shoppers with a highly personalized experience are about twice as likely to add items to their baskets as shoppers without a personalized experience. In an online shopping environment, the tools available to allow shoppers to discover products, provide tailored recommendations and fulfill their shopping needs can be limited, leading to a less than ideal experience. To address this gap, Microsoft Cloud for Retail now offers a copilot template, in preview, that lets retailers build personalized shopping experiences. Using a retailer’s current systems and data, this prebuilt option can be embedded into existing digital experiences, such as a website or app, making it easier for shoppers to find and purchase the products they want.
Now, shoppers can benefit from the convenience of online shopping with the experience offered by a personal shopper, just as they would if they were shopping in a physical store. The copilot template allows retailers to build personalized shopping that enable customers to ask for and view products by expressing what they’re looking for through natural language. Powered by GPT-4 through Azure OpenAI Service, the technology uses contextual awareness to provide the type of response shoppers would receive from a store associate. For example, a first-time camper shopping for a camping trip to Yosemite National Park in early March can visit a sporting goods retailer’s website and state in the chat “I’m going camping in Yosemite this March, and I have never camped before. Help me find the right gear.” Shoppers receive a response in natural language with recommendations for essentials. The copilot template for personalized shopping can also surface complementary items to increase basket size and customer satisfaction.
SOURCE: PRNewswire
