Boosting Retail Margins: Uniting Fragmented Product Data through AI

While customers continue to make purchases across various channels, several retail businesses struggle with outdated and disconnected systems. These systems were designed during a simpler time and are now proving to be inadequate in handling the dynamic market trends.

As products’ lifecycles become shorter and sales channels multiply, businesses that fail to connect product data to their decision-making processes are at a disadvantage. Disconnected systems can result in losses even before a customer reaches the checkout counter. However, retailers that integrate these systems can improve their speed, profit margins, and customer experience.

The Challenge of Retail Market

The shift from physical purchases to online buying or social media shopping has made the retail market more challenging. This trend has highlighted the fragmented product management within many organizations. Different departments often manage design and development, merchandise planning, pricing, and product information. This lack of integration introduces delays, inconsistencies, and missed opportunities which become more costly as businesses expand across various channels and markets.

To cope with this, some businesses are focusing on brand management and outsourcing manufacturing, while others own product design and pass production to manufacturing partners. Regardless of the strategy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides an opportunity to connect teams across different geographies and stages of the product lifecycle.

However, retailers are faced with more than the challenge of selling through various channels. They also have to navigate an increasing number of online shopping events and promotions where demand can change rapidly, and inventory decisions carry greater financial implications.

Balancing product assortment with inventory levels is a constant struggle. Having too much stock results in markdowns, while offering too little causes customers to shop elsewhere. Thus, the ability to react quickly to market demands has become a crucial factor in the retail industry.

The Role of AI and Data in Retail

AI and data play a crucial role in making informed decisions. Without reliable and accessible product data, the impact on businesses can be immediate and severe. Customers now expect accurate information, competitive pricing, and immediate availability, regardless of where they choose to shop.

AI can support better commercial decision-making, but only if organizations first establish a trusted data foundation. Beyond its use in language translation and communications, AI has a far greater potential in product management. It can enable retailers to better understand customer demand and reduce the time between product concept and market launch.

Speed to market is often a key focus, but it’s equally important to identify where profitability is being lost throughout the product lifecycle. Retailers often overlook customer feedback within their own businesses. The information needed to make better decisions is already there; it’s just a matter of utilizing it.

Retailers can identify changing customer preferences earlier by using AI to analyze their daily or weekly data, improving product selection while reducing excess inventory and missed sales opportunities.