The Future of Flagship Sales: How AI Will Shape Retail Marketing

Retailers Need AI to Address Shifting Consumer Behaviors

Consumer behaviors are not only in constant flux, they’re in contradiction. On one hand, retail shoppers are seeking out affordable alternatives to typical big-name brands; on the other, they’re splurging more than ever on particular goods they deem worthy. This conflicting behavior is also evident in customers’ reactions to branded communications. They want more information to help them purchase wisely, yet they don’t want multiple messages that overwhelm their inboxes.

In the midst of these patterns, two factors remain consistent. The first is clear to every retailer: customers love a deal, with two-thirds of US consumers seeking promotions and offers whenever they shop. Though the second factor has yet to prove the same longevity, it’s already clear that it’s critical to business success: retail marketers need AI to meet consumers' varying and changing needs, instead of a sole reliance on traditional discount tactics that cut deeper into their profit margins.

Discover how you can use AI strategically at every point in the campaign process, including workflow improvements and finessing every type of marketing communication.

Key AI Enhancements for the Marketing Workflow

The buzz around AI seems to be never ending, but retail marketers can quickly find specific, tactical use cases for the tools that will improve every phase of their workflow, from strategizing to campaign creation and analysis.

Streamlined Tasks

It’s no secret that AI leads to outstanding improvements in efficiency. Whether it’s automating repetitive tasks or optimizing budget spend, marketers are able to focus far more on key strategic goals—such as building customer relationships—when they use AI to give them a leg up on their workflows.

Quicker Pace

In the same vein as automation, AI can also be used to manage creative libraries and relieve some of the pressure marketers face in their day-to-day tasks. Fast turnarounds are made possible with AI automation, making stress-inducing tasks such as last-minute creative changes or product swaps a breeze.

Deeper Insights

While AI’s efficiency gains are critical, its data insights are truly invaluable. AI can be used to analyze the performance of creative assets, offering deeper insights than the typical campaign-level breakdown, illuminating to marketers what content is resonating with their customers. The AI will also help marketers react accordingly, using the solution’s automated data insights to send a perfectly personalized message at the most convenient moment for each customer.

Boosted Revenue

According to McKinsey research, the improvements in efficiency and analytics will undoubtedly lead to improved revenue. Through generative AI alone, McKinsey predicts more than $4 trillion in “annual global productivity,” with retail and CPG reaping half a trillion. When marketers delve deeper into AI by leveraging multiple models simultaneously, the results will likely be even more impactful.

Key AI Enhancements for the Customer Experience

Customers’ discount-first mindset, constant behavioral changeability, and tendency to be overwhelmed by full inboxes are all issues that can be alleviated by the strategic use of AI. Ultimately, AI not only has the ability to help marketers do more with less, but create better content that drives loyalty and resonates deeply with customers.

Prioritized Preferences

Six in ten consumers expect brands to “tailor experiences based on their preferences,” and 90% of marketers agree that personalization leads to improved profitability. But marketers don’t have to stay tied to customers’ purchasing history and recent behaviors alone; they can add AI algorithms and data analytics platforms to hone predictive purchasing models, automatically generating content that is likely to resonate with subscribers’ future behaviors. Marketers can build lasting relationships through thoughtful messaging by showing content that adapts on the fly to changing customers’ preferences.

Strategic Deployment

AI gives marketers the opportunity to enhance every aspect of their campaign, crafting a message that not only resonates with customers, but also automatically deploys with individualized send times and frequencies to suit every email subscriber.

By implementing AI into all elements of a campaign, marketers can improve every type of message, including the batch send promotions customers already love. Promotional messaging can be blended with personalized offers—such as product recommendations or nearest store locations—balancing important store information with thoughtful content that builds loyalty and trust.

AI is the Flagship Tool Every Marketer Needs

AI is a multifaceted tool that can automate, personalize, analyze, and more, all while allowing the marketing teams to focus on mission-critical strategies and goals. Marketers implementing AI will see significant growth and customer engagement, ultimately enhancing the pre- and post-purchase journey.

To explore more of AI’s capabilities and what the solution can accomplish for every marketer, discover the related resources below.