New Delhi The pandemic has forced the retail sector to accelerate the pace of technology adoption. In 2021, a report by market research and advisory firm Forrester said that while India’s overall retail growth shrank for the first time amid the lockdown, it did not slow down the online retail sector, which still grew at 5% , increased sales by $1.6 billion. Srini Venkatesan, executive vice president of US Omni Tech at Walmart Tech Global, takes a closer look at the technology’s use in retail. In an interview, Venkatesan spoke about the role of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and other emerging technologies in the retail sector. Edited excerpt:
How has India contributed to Walmart’s growth as a technology provider?
I have been involved in India for six years and have seen it grow from a small footprint. India has been an integral part of what we do. Our location in Bangalore has some of the best talent pools in the world. A lot of our innovation in last mile, fulfillment and forecasting has come from India.
How has the pandemic affected the retail sector and what is the role of AI in this?
The pandemic caused safety concerns for consumers. Because of this, the needs of the customers have also changed. Online pickup and delivery is booming. AI has played a tremendous role in everything we do, from providing a delightful customer experience to planning replenishment and flow of goods. AI has enabled us to know the inventory placement, where there is demand, and whether the inventory is reaching the right stores for the audience.
Can AI help offline retailers get back customers in the same way it has helped online ones gain useful insights?
Customers are increasingly going to shop how, when and where they want. It is important to focus on what the customers want. The same AI that we use for personalization in online stores is also helping to provide a personalized experience in an (offline) store and understand what is needed in that store. It doesn’t matter what the channel is.
The distinction between offline and online is blurring into an all-encompassing experience. A store may no longer be a single point of purchase for customers and may even be used for order fulfillment.
Online retail has experimented with AR and virtual reality (VR) but its adoption has been limited. Do you expect this trend to change?
We are already using AR in our backrooms to sort products. You can point a phone at the backroom and it will use AR to uncover the case you’re looking for. We are pushing for its use among our partners. We have a technology where you can put the garment on a model (also). Adopting it from the consumer point of view just won’t happen. It will come on their (consumers’) terms and it will take time.
How can emerging technologies help improve visibility in the retail supply chain?
It all starts with consumer demand in any given geographic area. This is where AI and Machine Learning (ML) play an important role. If we know the demand of the consumer, you will know how much inventory is to be kept at that location.
The second thing is to track and trace inventory. We have a lot of technologies in place for efficient payment reflow, route optimization and planning.
The third important thing is multi-seller negotiation where you want to assess the damages when the product is shipped. This is where blockchain can help, not by better managing inventory, but by allowing better smart contracts between suppliers and merchants, and helping with financial settlement.
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