基于对150家美国零售商的调查

New Research on Using AI, AddressingLogistical Challenges, and Other Key FocusAreas to Future-Proof Your Operations Staying ahead of trends and technological advancements in the retailindustry can help businesses maintain a competitive edge. With the 2024 peak season on the horizon, retailersare intensifying their efforts to leverage technologyand innovative fulfillment solutions to boostrevenue and enhance customer experience. Our research gathered insights from 150 U.S.retailers with annual revenues between $10 millionand $1 billion, surveyed from January 4 toJanuary 9, 2024. Reflecting on the successes and lessons fromthe past year provides valuable insights forfuture planning. Retail executives shared the positive outcomesfrom the 2023 peak holiday season, with over75% reporting significant improvements inprofitability, inventory management, customerservice, and more. The 2023 holiday shopping season markeda turning point, signaling a reduction in thedisruptions that have plagued recent years. Tounderstand the strategies and challenges ahead,Retail Dive’s studioID conducted a study onbehalf of Radial, an ecommerce fulfillment andomnichannel solutions provider. 2023 peak wasOverall 01.Blazing Trails inRetail Innovation Point 1: If 2023 was the year of AI hype, 2024 will be the year ofAI evolution. Retailers are exploring new opportunities inherent in artificial intelligence (AI) with over half of respondents usingAI or looking into it for their operations. While retailers are eager to reap the benefits ofAI, there is work to be done, finds a recent surveyfrom marketresearch firm First Insight, whichconcluded: “The strategic disconnect discoveredbetween retail CEOs and their managementteams points to a severe knowledge gap withinenterprise-level retailers that will impede futuregrowth and profitability. CEOs and their teams willneed to transform their organizations into moreagile, data-driven businesses by leveraging AI’svast potential not simply to cut costs, but also towin at innovation.” In fact, more than four out of five retail executivesreport that their companies are using AI and planto enhance their use in five functional areas: •Inventory management, such as forecastingdemand, managing inventory levels andoptimizing the allocation of stock acrossdifferent locations •Customer service, including chatbots andvirtual assistants providing real-time supportto customers in tracking shipments andanswering queries •Risk management and fraud detection,through activities like detecting anomalies inshipping patterns and identifying potentialfraudulent activities •Predictive analytics for returns that includeanalyzing historical data to predict potentialreturns and enabling proactive measures tostreamline the returns process With the advent of newtechnologies such asartificial intelligence,blockchain and theInternet of Things,logistics companies needto invest in integratingthese technologiesinto their operations toimprove efficiency andremain competitive. •Customized shipping solutions, includingtailoring options based on individualcustomer preferences As one of the Retail Dive survey respondentssaid, “With the advent of new technologiessuch as artificial intelligence, blockchain and theInternet of Things, logistics companies need toinvest in integrating these technologies intotheir operations to improve efficiency andremain competitive.” Retail Divesurvey respondent Point 2: Retailers will increasingly deploy technology toenhance forecasting. Given current fluctuating consumer consumption,predicting inventory demand continues tobe difficult without real-time visibility andaccompanying data. And yet, those insights arecritical to success: The more accurately brands canpredict inventory and order accordingly, the betterthey will be able to control costs and navigateeconomic headwinds. Investing in advance data analytics tools (25%)and implementing ML algorithms for predictivemodeling (21%) are two other top ways retailexecutives say their companies plan to enhancetheir forecasting capabilities. “These real-time insights, combined with historicaldata, can help inform brands on purchasingbehaviors that allow them to match supplywith demand, thereby eliminating stock-outs,surpluses—and surprises,” says Matt Barr, VicePresident of Marketing for Radial. This realization came through in the surveyresults, with retailers saying they plan to bolstertheir forecasting capabilities to more thoroughlyanticipate product demand and stay ahead ofmarket trends. Most retailers currently have andplan to enhance AI capabilities for inventory,customer service, risk management/fraudprotection and predictive analytics for returns. 21%- Implementing ML algorithms forpredictive modeling Point 3: Retailers seek new ways to mitigate challenges in theirfulfillment processes. More than two out of fiveretail executives report thatthe top challenges theircompanies face in theirfulfillment processes are: Othe