APPLICATIONS
AS ONLINE SHOPPING CONTINUES TO GROW IN POPULARITY , WE EXPLORE HOW AI AND ML CAN HELP REDUCE ITS IMPACT ON SUSTAINABILITY AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN
WRITTEN BY : CATHERINE GRAY
There is no doubt that COVID-19 negatively impacted a number of industries , but one industry that was hit especially hard was retail . As the virus spread across the world , a number of countries enforced strict lockdown measures in an attempt to control its proliferation .
These lockdown measures meant that many non-essential retail stores ( such as clothing , music and shoe stores ) were forced to lockdown , with those that had the capability moving to online shopping only .
In April 2020 , the sales of non-food products in the EU dropped by 23.8 %. Worldwide , total retail sales volumes fell by 1.9 % compared with 2019 , the largest annual fall on record . Despite this fall , online sales rose to a record high of 33.9 % as a share of all retail spending .
Undoubtedly , the pandemic highlighted the need for artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning ( ML ) as the technologies have the ability to help shoppers locate the right product , strengthen retail supply chains and boost personalisation for brand differentiation .
“ AI provides opportunities to elevate brand engagement and interaction via immersive experiences . ML enables higher levels of personalisation and the delivery of relevant content , product , offers , etc . based on shopping behaviours , purchases and the collection of zero-party data ,” said Terri Gaughan , Director of Enterprise Strategy and Architecture at Cheetah Digital .
aimagazine . com 59