Do you ever feel like every technology provider is claiming that they have Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, but when they try to explain what it does it just sounds confusing? AI has become such a buzzword and trendy lately, that it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the noise. At this year’s NACS conference in Las Vegas, there was a very informative educational session where two retailers shared real-world specific examples of how they have begun to leverage true artificial intelligence technologies in their operations to drive real value add to their organizations. In an effort to help push through all the AI noise for the Below the Line community I thought I would share with you some of these highlights to help you begin to visualize ways that you too can begin to leverage these technologies.
Note: You don’t need a large IT organization to be able to leverage these. Even a small chain without a dedicated IT team can implement these technologies.
In-store Voice Analytics
One retailer shared how their implementation of an artificial intelligence technology that utilizes microphones near the point of sale has provided great insights into support issues even when they haven’t been logged by the store personnel. For example, the AI was able to pick up on interactions between the cashier and customer where the cashier is having to help the customer with a problem with the card reader not functioning properly. It can also identify when a customer or cashier says other key phrases such as “out of toilet paper” or “car wash is down”, “Pump 2 has a leak”, etc. This enables operations to be alerted to these issues without having to wait for the store to find time to log a ticket.
Security Camera Analytics
Another retailer gave several real-world examples from their stores about how they were able to leverage their existing security cameras to provide operational insights using AI software that is able to analyze those camera feeds.
These tools can provide extremely useful data including:
- Counting the number of cars that pull up to the pumps and the conversion of those customers to inside sales
- Average dwell time for each vehicle
- Average time actively dispensing fuel
- A/B promo testing by analyzing how many customers respond to different pump topper promos
- Roller grill stock levels and analysis on product movement whether it is being wasted by employees, picked up for purchase by a customer or theft. It even can alert employees when a product has been on the grill too long and should be wasted and replenished.
Support Center Audio Analytics
In a similar way that in-store audio can be analyzed for key words and actionable phrases, one retailer shared how they have AI in place that monitors the audio for their support center calls. This is able to provide valuable insights and summaries of issues as they are called in, including customer sentiment by analyzing the customer’s tone of voice and word choice. Escalations can be configured to automatically trigger in certain cases. Additionally, it can in real-time present the support tech with links to knowledge base articles that look like a good fit for addressing the issues that it hears being described. This kind of a feature can exponentially accelerate the effectiveness of a new help desk tech.
Transportation Safety
For retailers who have their own fleet, AI tools can now be leveraged using the cameras mounted both inside and outside the truck’s cab. The AI is able to read speed limit signs on the side of the road and warn drivers audibly if they need to slow down. It can also review other driver behaviors to proactively score drivers who are demonstrating good driving such as keeping adequate distance from the car ahead and it also identifies safety issues that need to be addressed with drivers.
If you’re looking to make updates to your store or head office technology whether to implement artificial intelligence tools or to address other business or operational goals, we offer a free one-hour evaluation where we can discuss your goals and the steps we can take to find and implement the right fit for your business.