And once again... the disruption came

Business demands more and more sophistication. Everyone dreams of providing the customer with a personalized offer, a shopping experience that retains them, a delivery time that captivates them, a price that conquers them. The same dreams as always, but in each new evolutionary cycle with new tools and technological capabilities to get closer to these aspirations.

In recent times, the brand new disruption that this exciting evolutionary race has received is Artificial Intelligence. But this is not just another one. It is aimed at changing some old Paradigms. We will see hundreds of solutions and applications that promise to revolutionize business. We will see pioneers adopt them, and as has happened on other occasions, we will see how those that can be sustained and generate genuine value will be chosen.

It will start with some “pills” of solutions, perhaps for commercial applications, but it will gradually conquer and redefine the map of capabilities that a Retail company needs in the future to operate.

Some application examples that are emerging to fulfill old desires:

Dynamic Price Optimization. From AI-based pricing systems that are recalculated based on factors such as demand, competition and inventory availability.

Personalized Value Proposition. Employ AI-based recommendation systems that analyze a customer's purchasing history and customers' browsing behavior on their own portals or even on open platforms.

Inventory Optimization. AI algorithms that analyze data in real time would make it possible to predict product demand more accurately than ever. This would allow us to optimize our inventory levels, reduce storage costs and minimize losses due to unsold products.

And now three examples of the application of slightly more innovative practices:

New “Advisors” in Stores. Introduce AI-based virtual assistants (totems, Mobile Applications, Robots) that can interact with customers to provide product information, assist in store navigation, and process transactions more efficiently.

New ways to manage the Store Experience. Deploying AI systems and artifacts that analyze customers' facial expressions and body language to measure their satisfaction and allow adjusting the experience of their time in the store.

New forms of Physical Security management. By using AI-based video surveillance systems, we detect and prevent suspicious activities in our physical stores, ensuring the safety of our customers and employees.

What this new technology offers goes beyond sophisticated automation or intelligent predictive algorithms. Over time it will allow to build new capabilities, until today not available, not even equaled by the best human talents.

And no less... customers will also have sophisticated tools to purchase. That is to say, customer demand will also increase, supported by intelligent assistants that help them choose and decide.

Imagine a person writing in a prompt… “search among the virtual stores for the best offer on a 50-inch television that offers immediate delivery and take advantage of the current promotions with my available payment methods and buy it to send it to mom's house”… Do you see it very far away?

A new ecosystem is envisioned in which the client should be thought of as an integration of human decisions and intelligent assistants, as a new whole, a new entity to conquer. Finally, a new concept of intelligent client. Without a doubt a lot to do!

These reflections, however, cannot be foreign to the context of our country. Practices and solutions developed in other latitudes take time to arrive here. Due to the size of the market, due to the particularities of the local business, due to the idiosyncrasies of the people, due to fiscal complexities and due to the deformed culture of always looking at the business in the short term.

That is why, from our position as consultants, we enthusiastically live these trends while working with our clients to help them pragmatically transform their present, cautiously adopting these innovations to make them sustainable, walking the path towards new business scenarios.