After record sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, retailers should now start gearing up for Christmas and New Year holiday season sales. To avoid scrambling last minute, it will be a good idea to implement a strategic framework now that takes you through to the end of the year and into the next.
In fact, planning promotions and engagement initiatives post massive sale events, such as Black Friday is a great way for retailers to extend the benefits and keep consumer interest in the lead-up to the next sales cycle. Recently, Nykaa.com held its ‘Pink Friday’ sale and drove immense consumer traffic. Now, after the sale has ended, it is continuing to engage customers with promotions to tell them not to worry in case they missed the big sale because they ‘still have these top discounts on offer’.
With so many variables in play, it can get increasingly difficult for retailers to work towards improving their own strategies to cater to consumers, while simultaneously staying ahead of the cut-throat competition. This is where the rise of new and emerging technologies, with artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, has opened up several opportunities for retailers to automate tasks from end-to-end.
AI is giving retailers deeper insights into customer behavior, as well as making accurate, real-time predictions and recommendations for sales and marketing strategies, helping them to enhance consumer engagement manifold while unlocking revenue across several touchpoints.
As per a recent study by Gartner, 55% of established companies have already begun investing in utilizing AI tools and systems or have plans in place to do so by 2020.
By implementing AI for a proactive approach, retailers can ensure that they stay on top of consumer’s minds and make their way into their shopping carts. With this, the brand stays relevant and meets expectations through targeted experiences, thereby resulting in more purchases both pre- and post- larger sales periods.
Here are some of the areas where AI can help retailers boost their efforts.
