The name AI-tailing is probably not going to catch on anytime soon but the idea of big retailers using artificial intelligence to help shoppers make their purchases absolutely will and as the Big Boxes stores go, so too do the little boxes.
This holiday shopping season will go down as the start of the AI shopping and purchasing era, a time when consumers could use platforms like ChatGPT and others to directly buy from retailers. AI services have been around for several years now but up until very recently they helped in the shopping process but not in the actual buying. Walmart, as it is in so many things these days, is taking the lead. It has added ChatGPT to its website allowing consumers to make purchases directly within that AI platform, not just making a selection and going back to the Walmart site to pull the buying trigger. Other retailers like Target are also adapting this technology and it’s a major game-changer.
For consumers, it’s fast, easy and very one-clickable. That’s something retailers like too but there is a downside: with the actual buying being accomplished through a third-part, retailers like Walmart may limit themselves for add-on sales or other things it can sell to shoppers, be it goods or services. We’ll have to see how that plays out.
But here’s the thing: As an interior designer or small independent retailer you may not think you compete with the big boys like Walmart but in fact you do. You often have the same customer and as they get used to buying this way they will want the same ease-of-shopping service everywhere they buy something—including from you.
This is what happened with the earlier incarnations of online shopping as well as ever-faster deliveries. You may not offer same day deliveries but chances are you have overnight or two-day shipping and that’s because you have to be competitive in the marketplace.
AI shopping is going to change just about every aspect of the purchasing process, both online and in-store. And smaller businesses will need to keep up with the larger ones. There’s no turning back now.
