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How AI & Machine Learning Make
Assortment Optimization More Profitable

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AI-based systems do not always make better decisions than humans. Find out why, and how to make sure your system is getting the best of both worlds.

Man vs. Machine

When it comes to Assortment Optimization, AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning play a key part behind the scenes. While a human perspective helps, there are two important factors that make AI very important: scale and automation. For example, a large retailer with 1,000 physical stores and 10,000 products has as many as 10 million assortment decisions to determine which stores should carry which SKUs, what quantities, and when. Even though a significant portion of product offering is chainwide, that still leaves a formidable number of micro-decisions to be made. This amount of decision-making for humans is inefficient and not very profitable.

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What’s Needed to Make BOPIS a Winner?

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Consumers love buy-online, pick-up-in-store (BOPIS). Retailers love the way BOPIS allows them to drive traffic to stores and leverage their physical footprint as a competitive advantage against online pure-plays. But consumers bring higher expectations to BOPIS than they do to simply shopping in a store: The retailer has explicitly told them the item is available, so the bar is set high.

Unfortunately, for many retailers, BOPIS failures are alienating the very customers they most want to please, hurting them in both the short- and long-term.

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Trends in Retail

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The retail world of today is very different than it was 20+ years ago (and, yes, I’m old enough to remember).  But, like the fashion world, some retail trends are coming full circle and starting to make a comeback (remember thinking bellbottoms would never return?). Retail used to be focused on the customer experience. Do you remember getting excited to go to Woolworth with your grandparents just so you could visit the soda fountain for a grilled cheese and milkshake? Years ago, shopping wasn’t just an ‘in and out’ thing. It was an all-day outing with the whole family. It was an experience. 

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‘Tis the Season for Seasonal Product Inventory Management

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The holiday shopping season is right around the corner and for many retail owners, this can be a stressful time for many reasons. There are larger crowds, a need for extra staff, the general strain of the holiday hustle and bustle and the guessing game of how much extra inventory you’re going to need in your store to accommodate those crowds. [Read more…]

Essential Retail Q&A with 4R on Analytics and Profit Optimisation

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Source: Essential Retail

Mark G. Garland, Executive VP of Sales, Marketing and Solutions at 4R describes how omni-retail algorithms run parallel with customer demand.

How can retailers compete against Amazon if they can’t compete on price?

Customer experience can easily outperform price. More retailers are focused on localisation – optimising their supply chains to answer customer demand. True customer service moves beyond friendly clerks. It’s offering customers the products they want, when they want them, and where they want them.

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