The headlines for AI in retail have been touting that "73% of consumers believe AI can have a positive impact on their customer experience." Strangely, they don't really touch on another statistic from Redpoint Global's report: "77% of consumers believe positive customer experiences still need an element of human touch." Last we checked, 77% is greater than 73%. Of course, we're being a little facetious here: these groups aren't mutually exclusive. It's perfectly reasonable to expect AI to be helpful even if you still want a human to be involved on the other side of the transaction. But this survey of consumers does show that in the very near future, the human element will become a luxury feature for brands who want to provide that #clienteling experience to their shoppers. We're already seeing it in grocery stores (the default seems to be self-checkout, no?) and when ordering fast-food (hello robot kiosks!), and it's bound to happen in retail stores as many brands decide that the efficiency and cost-savings outweigh human representatives. We wrote about this recent on our Endear blog where we detail why brands that offer the human touch feel so... luxurious. And this will hold true, even as AI in retail becomes a bigger part of the in-store shopping experience. The human touch will be key for brands who want to keep their top customers happy and coming back to their physical locations. We think it's a given that brands will always provide a human interaction to their top 20%. What's more interesting is how AI can also provide better clienteling to the 80%. Can AI get good enough that interacting with a machine can still feel like great, personalized customer service? That's the goal, and we think it will get there. What do you think? Will AI soon be good enough to provide decent clienteling to most shoppers? Read here: https://lnkd.in/eyKWUcFJ #retailstrategy #luxuryretail #customerengagement #customerexperience
