营销人工智能研究所：面向零售领导者的AI

AIfor

RetailLeaders

BLUEPRINT

PUBLISHED2024

©MarketingArtificialIntelligence,LLC2024

TableofContents

TheAIOpportunityforRetailLeaders

3

ConsiderThisYourWake-UpCall3

4

TheDataDoesn’tLie

5

5

6

8

AIUnderstandingOnTheRise

AIUsageIsOnTheRise,Too

LeadersAreFocusedonTangibleUseCases

They’reLargelyOptimisticAboutAI’sPotentialandImpact

AndAIIsAlreadyProducingResults9

ButBarriersExist10

WhatShouldRetailLeadersDoAboutIt?11

TheTopUseCasesforRetailLeaders

13

Email13

ContentandCreative13

SocialMedia14

Advertising14

PersonalizationandRecommendation14

TheTopToolsforAIforRetailLeaders15

DaVincifromMovableInk15

ChatGPT,ClaudefromAnthropic,andGoogleGemini16

Writer17

Celtra17

18

AmazonPersonalize

19

HowRetailBrandsGetResultsfromAI

Victoria’sSecret19

Lands’End21

What,sNext?

22

AoutMb

ovableInk23

23

AboutMarketingAIInstitute

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TheAIOpportunityforRetailLeaders

ConsiderThisYourWakeUpCall

Retailleaders,considerthisyourwake-upcall:

Artificialintelligenceischangingbusinessasusualineveryaspectofretail.Andthere’sneverbeenmorepressurefromexecutives,investors,andboardstobuildasmartercompanyandteamusingAI.

YetnotnearlyenoughretailleadersfullyunderstandhowAIisgoingtodisruptand

transformtheirbusiness,theirmarketing,andtheirteams.(AndevenfewerofthemfullyunderstandexactlyhowtoactuallymakeAIworkforthem.)

Buttheoneswhodoarepositionedtowinbig.

Today,forward-thinkingretailleadersarealreadycapturingmassiveproductivityandperformancegainsusingAI.They’realsoevolvingtheircompaniesandcareersto

becomefarmoreintelligent,predictive,anddata-driven,thankstotheformidablecapabilitiesofferedbytoday’sAItechnology.

Infact,topbrandslikeVictoria’sSecretandLands’EndarealreadyusingAItodothingslike:

·Significantlyboostemailclick-throughrates,conversionrates,andrevenuepersend…

·Dramaticallyimproveefficiencyandrevenuegrowthacrossretailoperations…

·Andhyper-personalizecustomer-facingcommunicationstodisplaytherightmessageattherighttime.

Inshort,theretailleaderswhogetitareactivelygivingthemselvessuperpowersbyapplyingtherightAItotherightusecasesintherightway.

Thisguidewillshowyouhowtodojustthat.Init,you’llfindnever-before-seendataonhowmarketingandretailleadersareusingAI,aswellasconcreteusecases,tools,andadviceyoucanusetobeginseeingresultswithAI.

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Weknowthatwhat’sinsidethisguideworks—becausewe’vedonethisbefore.You’ll

learnthat,unsurprisingly,adoptingAIinyourmarketingisnotoptional—it’samandate;thatwhilegenerativeAIapplicationsarecreatingefficiencies,usesinmachinelearningtodriveincreasedpersonalizationarewhereCMOsareprioritizing;andthatAI

integrationcan’twait;itneedstohappennow.

Withanabundanceofexperiencehelpingretailers,theteamat

MovableInk

areAI

expertsbuildingtheAI-nativepersonalizationsolutionofthefuture.And,theteamat

MarketingAIInstitute

hasbeenhelpingmarketingandbusinessleadersacrossall

industriesandsectors(includingretail)understand,pilot,andscaleAIsince2016.

Soifyou’rereadytogetseriousaboutapplyingAItoretail,you’vecometotherightpeopleandtherightplace.

Let’sdivein.

TheDataDoesn’tLie

Thedatadoesn’tlie:AIisbigbusinessformarketersandretailleaders.

Thisyear,MovableInkcollecteddataonAIusagefrommorethan300marketingleadersatmediumandlargefirms,withthelargestcohortofrespondentsrepresentingretail

leaders.These300+leaderswereaskeddozensofquestionsabouthowtheyuseAIandwhattangiblebusinessoutcomesthey’reachievingwiththetechnology.

Together,theirresponsesgiveusnever-before-seendataonexactlyhowmarketingandretailleadersareactuallyapproachingandadoptingAI.Andthere’splentyyoucanlearnfromthekeytakeaways.

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AIUnderstandingIsOnTheRise

MovableInkfirstaskedleaderstoratetheirAIliteracy.Themajority(53%)saidtheyhadan

IntermediateunderstandingofAI,whichmeanttheyknewhowAIcouldbeusedfortaskslikepersonalizationandoptimizationbutwerenotdeeplyfamiliarwithhowtoexecutethese

tasks.14%ofthemsaidtheyhadanExpertunderstanding.

Thatleftjust26%sayingtheyhaveaBeginnerunderstandingofAI,meaningtheyunderstandsomebasicAIconceptsandgenerallyhowmarketersuseAI.

Whenwedrillintoretailleadersspecifically,they’reevenmoresophisticatedthantheaverage.62%saythey’vegotanIntermediateunderstanding;only23%saythey’vegotaBeginner

understanding.

Acrossallcohorts,leadersatcompanieswithbetween500-749employeesaremostlikelytosaythey’reBeginnerlevel(32%),whilethoseatcompanieswith750-999aremostlikelytobeExpert(18%).

AIliteracyamongretail

leadersisimproving,but

thereisstillagap.The

companiesthattestand

embracesolutionstobridge

thisgapthefastestwilllead

theirpeersinAI-powered

transformation.

AIUsageIsOnTheRise,Too

WhenaskedhowoftentheyuseAItoolsintheirwork,28%ofrespondentssaytheyuseAItoolsdaily,and46%saytheyusethemseveraltimesaweek,totaling74%weekly.

Breakingthisdownfurtherandlookatjustretailleaders,

they’realsoaboveaverageinusage:34%saytheyuseAI

toolsdaily,and48%reportusingthemseveraltimesaweek.

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Usagediffersabitbyfirmsize,too.Firmswith250-499employeeshavethelowestproportionofdailyusersat18%,whilefirmswith1,500+employeeshavethemostat39%.Firmswith750-999employeesaremostlikelytosaythey’reusingtoolsseveraltimesperweek(64%).

Amongretailleaders,thebiggestfirmsarealsotheonesusingAIthemost,with48%ofretailleadersatfirmswith1,500+employeessayingtheyuseAIdaily.62%ofretailleadersatfirmswith1,000-1,499employeessaytheyuseAIseveraltimesaweek.

Also,whenaskedhowmuchtheirteamsareusingAIintheirmarketingprogram,44%saytheirusagewasExtensiveand12%saytheyhaveFullIntegrationofAIintotheirmarketingprogram.Retailisalsoaheadofthepackhere.Afull58%ofretailleaderssaidtheirteams’usageofAI

wasExtensiveand15%saidtheyhadachievedFullIntegration.

LeadersAreFocusedonTangibleUseCases

WhenaskedwhattypesofAItheyalreadyusedorwere

planningtouseforwork,60%saidtheywereusingor

planningtousegenerativeAI(AIthatcreatesnewcontent,suchastext,images,ormusic,basedonpatternslearnedfromexistingdata).

AIusageisthenorm,

especiallyinretail,where

dailyuseishighestamong

largerfirms.AIadoptionis

happeningnow,whether

youknowitornot.

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WithingenerativeAI,78%ofrespondentssaidtheyuseAItodaytocreatecopyand68%useittocreateimagery.WhenitcomestoAIforcopy,retailisusingitmorethantheaverage

respondent,with86%ofretailleaderssayingtheyuseAIforcopy.Interestingly,85%of

respondentswhosaytheyworkatagencies(whichmaybesupporting,inpart,retailclients)alsosaythey’reusingitforcopy.

WhenitcomestoAIforimagery,thestoryissimilar:80%ofretailleadersareusingAIfor

Retailersarelaser-focused

onpracticalAIapplications

likepersonalization,

contentcreation,and

smarterrecommendations.

Theseusesarenolonger

theoretical—they’reactively

beingusedtoimprove

customerexperiencesand

drivepositiverevenue

impact.

imageryand81%ofagenciesaredoingthesame.

Outofallrespondents,50%saidtheywerealsousingorplanningtousepredictionAI,orAIthatforecastsfuture

outcomesbasedonhistoricaldata,suchassalesforecastsorcustomerbehaviorpredictions.

RespondentswerealsoaskedhowtheywereusingAI

specificallytopersonalizecampaignstoday.Thehighest

proportion(55%)saytheyuseAIforcontentpersonalization.(Forexample,makingadecisiononthemostrelevant

contenttoshoweachcustomer.)Thesecond-highest

proportion(50%)saythey’reactivelyusingAIforproductrecommendations.

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They,reLargelyOptimisticAboutAI,sPotentialandImpact

GiventhatrespondentsareoftenactivelyusingAI,they’relargelyoptimisticaboutwhatAIisalreadydoingforthem—orwhatoutcomesitwillenableinthenearfuture.

WhenaskedabouthowtheyenvisionAIimpactingmarketingresourceneedsinthefuture,themajority(59%)sayitwillenhanceworkforceefficiency.ThatmeanstheybelieveAIwillaugmentteamcapabilities,enablingfewerpeopletoachievegreaterproductivityandbetteroutcomes.

WhenaskedwheretheyseeAIhavingthemostimpactonthecompany’sbottomline,themajority(also59%)sayitwillcreateoperationalefficiency,whichmeansAIwillstreamlineprocessesandreducecosts.

Andit’snotjustaboutcostsavings.Whenaskedifthey

believeAIwillbeabletodelivermorepersonalized

customerexperiences,86%ofrespondentssaid“yes.”Retailleadersasacohortareevenmoreconfident,with88%

sayingtheybelieveAIwillbeabletodothis.

Comparedtotheirpeers,

retailCMOsare

movingfastertoadoptAI

inwaysthatarehaving

adirectimpact

ontheirbottomlines.

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AndAIIsAlreadyProducingResults

Leadersaren’tjustoptimisticaboutthefuture.They’reseeingrealresults—rightnow.

WhenaskedhowAIhasimpactedtheeffectivenessoftheirmarketingcampaigns,26%sayithasalreadybeenVeryImpactful.Another48%sayithasalreadybeenSomewhatImpactful.This

indicatesthat74%ofrespondentsarealreadyseeingsignificantresultsfromAI.

RetailleadersareaboveaveragewhenitcomestoseeingresultsfromAI.29%sayithasalreadybeenVeryImpactful,and54%sayithasbeenSomewhatImpactful.

ButBarriersExist

Sofar,themajorityofrespondentsareactivelyusingAI,believeitwillimprovetheirresultsandarealreadyachievinginitiallypromisingoutcomes.Butthatdoesn’tmeantherearen’tobstaclesintheirway.

WhenaskedaboutthechallengestheyfaceintegratingAI,51%ofrespondents,thehighest

proportion,saythehighcostoftoolsandplatformsistheirbiggestobstacle.Frequently,findingfundsforAIinvestmentscomesattheexpenseofexistinginvestmentsvs.anewbudgetline

item.

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OthercommonbarriersincludedifficultyintegratingAItools(44%),lackofunderstandingorknowledgeaboutAI(38%),andlackofmeasurableresultsfromAIinitiatives(35%).

AIisn’tcheap,

andmanycompanies

don'thaveexcessbudget

toallocateforinvestmentsinAI.

Difficultyinintegration

andlackofunderstanding

furthercompounddifficulties

infundingAItransformation.

CMOsmustnotonlyfight

thesebudgetingdiscussions,

butalsofindtoolsthat

actuallydrive

tangiblevalue.

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WhatShouldRetailLeadersDoAboutIt?

Rememberwesaidthiswasawake-upcallforretailleaders?

Thedataconfirmsit:AIiscreatingmassiveopportunitiesforretailleadersandmarketersat

large.Andthefutureofthetechnologyisbright,withthemajoritydeeplyconfidentinitsabilitytonotonlydramaticallyincreaseproductivity,butalsoperformanceandpersonalization.

Yetit’sclearwestillfacehurdlestoAIadoptionforretailleaders.Thisiswhyweadvocatethatretailleaderstakethefollowingstepsimmediatelytogivethemselves,theirteams,andtheircompaniesthebestpossiblechancetosuccessfullyadoptandscaleAI.

1.Urgentlypursuecompany-wideAIliteracy.

Inthedata,wefoundthatthehighestproportionofrespondents(64%)believethemostcriticalskillformarketerstosucceedintheageofAIisproficiencyinAItools.Thesecond-highest

proportion(57%)saystrategicthinkingwillbethemostcriticalskill.

NeitherhappenswithoutwidespreadAIliteracyacrossyourcompany.AIisnotjustforaselectgroupofleadersortechnologistswithinyourcompany.Itimpactseverysinglerole,nomatterthefunction,title,orlevelofseniority.

Tosucceed,everymemberofyourteam

musthaveatleastabaselineunderstanding

ofwhatAIcandoandhow

theycanuseAItoimprovetheirwork.

AIimpactseverysinglerole,

nomatterthefunction,title,orlevelofseniority.

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2.UrgentIyunderstandAl,simpactonjobs.

ManyresponsesinourdatashowthatrespondentsareusingAItoachievesignificant

operationalefficiencies.Thisisagoodthing.However,itwillimpactexistingrolesandthedistributionoflaborwithinfirms.

Infact,51%ofrespondentssayAIhasalreadyshiftedrolesintheircompanytowardsthose

thatareorientedtowardsstrategicplanning.48%sayAIhasgiventhemanincreasedfocusondata-drivendecision-making.And51%sayAIhasalreadyreducedtimespentonrepetitive

tasks.

Thesenumberspointtoalargertruth:AIishavingalargeimpactonhowmanyhoursittakesexistingteamstodomanytasks,whichraisesquestionsabouthowhumancapitalshouldbeallocated.AndAIiscausingashifttowardsdifferentskillsthanthosepossessedbyexisting

rolesandemployees.Everyretailleadershouldbeaskingthemselves:Arewepreparedforthisshift?Andareweadequatelystaffedforit?

3.UrgentIyidentifyusecasesandadopttooIs.

PursuingAIliteracyanddeterminingAI’simpactonjobswithinyourcompanyarecriticalsteps,buttheydon’thappenovernight.Butthatdoesn’tmeanyoucan’tmakeprogresswithAI

startingrightnow.

Oneofthebestshort-termcoursesofactiontotakewhileyousolvelong-termstrategic

considerationsistoidentifytheusecasesandtoolsthatcanmovetheneedlethemostinyourrole,team,and/ororganization.Therestofthisblueprintwillhelpyoudopreciselythat.

TheTopAIUseCasesforRetailLeaders

So,howcanyouoryourteamactuallyuseAIinyourretailwork?

Thereareliterallyhundredsofways.Butwe’vepulledtogethersomeofthebest,highest-

valueonesbasedonouruniqueexpertiseinbuildingAIforretailandhelpingretailers

succeedwithAI.

Email

It’sconvenientthatyoucan’tspell“Email”without“AI”becausetoday’sAIcapabilitieshavetonsofvaluableapplicationsinretailemailcampaigns.Today,AIcanhelpretailleadersdothefollowing:

·Analyzeemailperformanceatscaleandrecommendstrategicimprovements.

·Createsubjectlinesforemailsthat

outperformhumancopywriters,andA/Btestthesesubjectlinesatscale.

·Createnearlylimitlessvariationsofemailcreativeandcontenttoappealto,test,andvalidateemailapproaches.

·Hyper-personalizeemailsatanindividualleveltoeachuniquecustomerorrecipient.

·Optimizeemailsendtimestomatchemailsendswiththetimesindividual

subscribersareactuallyactiveandopeningemails.

ContentandCreative

AItodayexcelsatgeneratinganditeratingoncontentandcreativeassetstopower

smarter,moreengagingretailcampaigns.UsingAIrightnow,youcan:

·Createandeditimageryforcontentandcreativeataprofessionallevel.

·Generatehundredsorthousandsofcontentandcreativeideasinminutes.

·Generatehundredsorthousandsofiterationsfromasingleasset

automatically.

·Localizeandscalecontentandcreativetodifferentlanguages,locations,and

audiences.

·Writeretailcopyandcontentatahighlevelofcompetencyinthevoice,tone,andstyleofyourbrand.

.

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SocialMedia

Let’snotforgetsocialmedia.Forward-thinkingsocialmediaprofessionalsinretailarealreadyusingAIto:

·Automaticallygeneratesocialmediacontentcalendarsandplans.

·Automaticallygeneratesocialmediapostsfromscratchorbyrepurposingexisting

content.

·Createshort-formvideoclipsautomaticallyfromlong-formvideo.

·Extractvaluableconsumerinsightsfromsocialtrendsandconversationdata.

·Personalizesocialmediamessageswiththerightmessagefortherightpersonattherighttimetodriveconversions.

Advertising

Wanttocreateandoptimizeadsthatperformbetterandcostless?AIisheretohelp.UsingAItoday,retailleaderscan:

·Createandtesthundredsorthousandsofvariationsofadlandingpagestomaximizeconversions.

·Forecastadcopyandcreativeeffectivenessbeforeyoulaunch.

·Generateadcopyandcreativeatscaleinseconds.

·Monitorandanalyzecompetitoradstodeconstructtheirstrategy.

·Optimizeadsandbudgettomaximizeconversionswithlimitedornohumaninvolvement.

Personalization/Recommendations

ThankstoAI,wecannowhyper-personalizeandscalemessagesandrecommendationstocustomers.Thatshouldbemusictoanyretailleader’sears(especiallysince

recentresearch

fromDentsu

showsthatpersonalizationisamassivepriorityforCMOsrightnow).

HerearesomewaysAImakesthathappen:

·Analyzeandsegmentcustomersatagranularlevelbasedondemographics,purchasehistory,andmore.

·Continuouslyadaptmessagesandofferstore-engagedormantcontacts.

·Discoverandsuggestnewproductsthatalignwithuniquetastes,motivations,andpreferences.

·Dynamicallyadjustwebandmobilecontenttomatchcustomerpreferences.

·Hyper-personalizecontentandproduct

recommendationstoindividualcustomers.

.

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TheTopAIToolsforRetailLeaders

WhichAItoolscanyourelyontomovetheneedleinyourretailoperations?Hereareafewoftheleadingvendorstoexplore.

DaVincifromMovableInk

DaVincifromMovableInk

isanAI-nativepersonalizationsolutionthatcuratescontentfor

eachcustomeracrossbatchemailprograms,leadingtostrongercustomerrelationshipsandliftsinclicks,conversions,andrevenue.

Itdoesthatbyanticipatingcustomerinterestsanddeliveringpersonalizedcontenttoeach

subscriberwitheveryemail.Nottomention,it’sintegratedrightintoabrand’sexistingESP,soitalsooptimizesthetimingandfrequencyofmessagestoenhanceengagementandminimizefatigue.

DaVincidoesn’tjustshowcustomerswhattheyalreadyknowandlike—ithelpsthemdiscovernewproductsalignedwiththeiruniquetastes,motivations,andpreferences.It’llevennativelyintroducenewproductsthatextractmorevaluefromemaillistswhilecontinuouslyadaptingtore-engagedormantsubscribers.

DaVincialsooffersCreativeIQ,whichhelpsyouunderstandexactlywhattotalktoyour

customersaboutbyunderstandingthecreativeelementsineveryoneofyourassetsandoptimizingthecontent,withminimaltonotrainingneeded.Thathelpsyoudelivertheverybestcontenttoeverysinglecustomerwitheachandeverysend.

Infact,DaVincigoeswaybeyondtoday’sgenerativeAI,usingarangeofcutting-edge

predictiveAImodelsandtechniquestodeliversuperiorperformance.(Andit’sespecially

importantthatDaVinciusesproven,profitableAIgiventhe

strugglesmanycurrentgenerative

AIproductshaveactuallyhavingeconomicimpact

.)Asaresult,DaVincihaspoweredan

average20%conversionlift,a27%increaseinrevenue,anda40%productivityincreaseacrosscustomers.

LearnMoreAboutDaVinci

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ChatGPT,ClaudefromAnthropic,andGoogleGemini

Plentyofretailerscangetveryfarwithevenoff-the-shelfAImodelsthatofferaffordable,powerfulcapabilitiesacrosshundredsofusecases.Thebigthreetopayattentiontohereare

ChatGPTfromOpenAI

,

ClaudefromAnthropic

,and

GoogleGemini

.

ChatGPTisoneofthemostpopularAIassistantsoutthereandispoweredbysomeofthe

world’smostadvancedmodels,includingGPT-4oando1.ChatGPTcanbeusedincountlesswaystoassistretailleadersandtheirteamsbygeneratingretail-focusedcontent,adcopy,

socialmediaposts,strategydocuments,marketanalyses,positioningstatements,copy

variations,andmuchmore.CustomGPTsalsoallowretailerstobuildcustomversionsof

ChatGPTforhighlyspecificusecasesandthensharethesewithteams—allwithouthavingtowriteasinglelineofcode.

ClaudeisanotherleadingAIassistantthatdoesmanyofthesamethingsthatChatGPTdoes.Italsohappenstobeparticularlygoodatwritingtasks.It’seasytoteachClaudehowto

mimicyouruniquebrandvoicebyprovidingexamplesofyourbestcontentandcopy,thenhaveitproduceoriginalmaterialinthatsamevoice.Italsoexcelsatmanyothercognitivetasksthatcansaveyourmarketingteamtimeandmoneyontaskslikeideation,

summarization,andresearch.

Geini

GeminiisGoogle’smostadvancedAImodeloutthere.Itcanassistwithmanytypical

marketingandoperationalactivitiesinretail.Butitalsostandsoutforitsmassive“contextwindow,”orworkingmemory.Asofwriting,Gemini1.5Pro,thelatestmodel,cantakeinupto700,000wordsandusethatmaterialtohelpyouachieveyourgoals.ThatmeansyoucanliterallyfeedGemini1,000+pagesofcontent(think:styleguides,strategydocs,entire

websitesandproductcatalogs,etc.)andthenhaveitusethatcontenttohelpyouwrite,create,andreasonthroughyourbiggestretailchallenges.

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Writer

isafull-s