Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Transformation

Chapter 3AI in E-Commerce and Retail

Customers will fulfill their everyday needs – items like laundry detergent, paper, light bulbs, grocery staples and shampoo – in the easiest way possible through a combination of stores, e-commerce, pick-up, delivery and supported by artificial intelligence.

Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart

E-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail businesses are currently leveraging the insights gained from sophisticated AI algorithms to improve and grow their enterprises. This is leading to productive collaboration among sales, customer service, and advertising and marketing divisions, which are increasingly sharing data, AI platforms, and analytics teams. Data from advertising, marketing, customer transactions, and customer service is also being integrated into supply-chain functions to improve demand forecasting and fulfillment, as well as returns optimization. Over time, there will likely be more significant integration of these functions. The following are some of the areas in which AI models are successfully being used in e-commerce and retail businesses.

Digital Advertising

Probably the largest success of AI use at scale is in digital advertising and marketing. In 2019, for the first time, businesses will spend more money on digital advertising and marketing than on traditional media, such as TV, radio, and newsprint.¹ Many AI innovations have come from the largest advertisers – Google, Facebook, Alibaba, and Amazon. AI algorithms have ...