Automation and AI are improving business outcomes.
Businesses that use automation and AI have a better employee and customer experience.
Retailers say the greatest benefit from investing in automation is an improved customer experience (47%), especially for retailers in the U.S. (50%) and those retail businesses that earn $500,000 or more a year (51%).
45% of retailers have seen greater employee retention and increased profit as a result of their automation investments.
Greater innovation (42%) is another side effect for retailers who use automation tech, which is greater among Australian retailers (45%) than those in other countries polled.
Customers also appreciate the efficiency of being able to do certain tasks on their own — 67% of retail shoppers prefer automation over talking to live staff when it comes to tasks like inventory tracking or ordering out-of-stock products.
Shoppers say they prefer to interact with technology instead of live staff for a host of tasks, including:
Checking product inventory (29%)
Ordering out-of-stock products (26%)
Gathering information about a product (26%)
Picking up an item ordered online (24%)
Using mobile checkout or in-store terminals (24%)
Arranging home delivery (23%)
Customers want automation when it makes their shopping experiences more efficient. Consider automating repetitive manual tasks, but don't forget that customers rely on staff to make the shopping experience unique.
Retailers earning $500,000 or more a year believe that AI tools for product recommendations (43%), chatbots for customer service (40%), and customer sentiment analysis (40%) would be particularly beneficial to their business.
