The Future of Shopping & the AI Revolution

AI is a hot topic today with ChatGPT in the news, and AI solutions being deployed across industries, including Prodege’s own Pollfish AI Survey Tool. We recently connected with Steve Carlin, CEO of AiFi, to learn more about the future of in-store shopping and how AI is changing the retail space. In Steve’s own words: “AiFi provides the most flexible AI platform that enables retailers to affordably deploy and scale autonomous shopping solutions across their businesses, while creating a frictionless experience, easing the pain points for shoppers.”

 AiFi’s camera-only cashierless checkout experience eliminates a major hurdle for shoppers, waiting in lines to check out.  “AiFi is a convenient, accessible, and personalized checkout experience that allows shoppers to anonymously purchase items in-store without having to wait in line, or stop to scan or pay,” says Steve. AiFi’s technology allows retailers to “optimize their physical spaces at scale with autonomous shopping technology. It was created to meet the growing consumer demand for convenient, accessible, and personalized shopping experiences.” 

Easy Shopping is Crucial

Today’s shoppers are looking for time-saving, easy shopping solutions. How do technologies, such as AiFi benefit shoppers? For one no more standing in lines at the checkout. Unlike its competitors, AiFi does not use biometric scanning or personal identifiable information for its solution. This means that there isn’t a palm or face scan to use the technology in-store. Shoppers simply use their credit card or app as they walk into the cashierless store to get pre-authorized. Shoppers pick up their chosen items and when they leave the store, they are billed for their purchases using the payment they provided upon entry. AiFi’s technology also knows if a shopper puts an item back, so they don’t get charged for an item they did not take with them. This makes the shopping experience fast, easy, and convenient. 

Reducing friction along the path to purchase is key when shoppers have numerous choices on when, where and what to buy. 

AI and the Path to Purchase 

AiFi uses 100% camera-only AI technology to get to this type of in-store data quicker. “This allows us to understand the path to purchase on a deeper level and enhance the overall shopping experience.” AiFi can provide deeper shopping data so businesses can understand how shoppers move through the store, dwell time, which products they saw, and how many people purchased, plus much more. 

While AiFi’s solutions reduce friction along the path to purchase, it also opens up a whole new world of data sets that can be used by shopper marketers to better understand their customers on the last leg of their shopping journey.

Some of this in-store data is already available through the use of Prodege’s own shopping apps like Swagbucks and Tada. Geo-location data is used to better understand shopper habits and preferences to ensure that we are always targeting consumers with the right offers at the right time. That picture is going to get even more clear as in-store data becomes richer. We’re thankful for innovators in the retail space such as AiFi, that allow us to offer ever more customized solutions to help leading brands & agencies reach shoppers on the path to and through purchase.

The Future of Shopping: Where is Retail Technology Headed? 

We asked Steve where he sees AI platforms going next at retail. “When AI technology is used to make the shopping experience better, subtly, without intrusion, it adds considerable value to not only the shopper but to the business employing it. To that end, helping a shopper make decisions, and helping bring back contextually relevant information at the exact moment it is needed in the shopping journey are all examples of powerful uses of the AI tools and technology available. I think it will be interesting to see how tools like Chat GPT will be incorporated into a shopping journey to add information and understanding that isn’t available in a search result now.” Additionally, “the continued use of technology to make the operation of the store easier and more efficient for the store staff, as well as the use of technology to ease shopper pain points. Camera-based technology, sensors like RFID, smart analytics that extrapolate demand based on disparate pieces of information and even robotics will all continue to drive the retail industries march forward into technology adoption.”

Grow your in-store and online sales with a Prodege Shopper Marketing campaign and see how we engage consumers and influence their path to purchase. 

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