Best Buy is taking the plunge and incorporating AI-powered shopping tools for its customers, announcing today on its website that it’s partnered with Google Cloud and the consulting firm Accenture to bring users AI-powered customer assistance. The retailer claims that this move will enable it to give customers “even more personalized, best-in-class tech support experiences.”
Customers can expect a self-service support option when they visit and shop on BestBuy.com, when using Best Buy’s app, or when they call Best Buy’s customer support line (presumably through a conventional automated selection system). When customers make use of one of these, they’ll be able to interact with Best Buy’s new AI-powered virtual assistant, which it expects to debut in late summer 2024.
These new customer support tools are part of Best Buy’s efforts to offer customers the most tech-forward ways of getting the assistance they need, expanding that it’s making use of Google Cloud’s AI capabilities, including Vertex AI (a Google Cloud machine learning platform), and Google’s new Gemini generative AI models.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Icatnews)
What the generative AI will help Best Buy do
The retailer explains that the virtual assistant will enable customers to troubleshoot product issues easily, manage their order deliveries and scheduling (including the ability to make changes), manage subscriptions they have from Best Buy such as software and Geek Squad, and navigate their My Best Buy memberships (Best Buy’s customer loyalty program).
Many people, myself included, find it very frustrating when trying to interact with automated customer service tools, and thankfully it looks like Best Buy is at least somewhat aware of this. It writes: “We also know that sometimes customers prefer speaking with an actual person to get the support they need.”
It follows this up by explaining that Best Buy customer care agents will be equipped with a suite of tools aided by generative AI to assist agents when they’re dealing with customers over the phone. Best Buy details that these tools are designed to help agents assess real-time conversations with customers, and suggest recommendations that might be useful in the moment. The tools will also summarize conversations, collecting and using information gathered during the call to hopefully reduce the chances of individual customer service issues being repeated, as well as detecting the sentiment expressed by the customer.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/OPOLJA)
The wider implications of this change
There are legions of AI-powered assistance tools being developed for employees everywhere at this point, with Best Buy also discussing an assistant that makes it easier for employees to find product guides and company resources. The retailer states that its aim in developing tools like these is to be able to help customers more efficiently.
We’ve seen implementations of similar practices by other, smaller retailers, but Best Buy is one of the first companies of this scale to adopt an AI-first approach. While many companies already use automated customer service tools in some form, Best Buy is joining a limited cohort that make such explicit use of AI-assisted customer service technologies.
I’ve had positive and negative experiences when dealing with automated customer service, and when you’re particularly stressed out, I don’t see the addition of machine learning as much of a consolation. I am glad that employees will also see a boost behind the scenes with additional tools to help them help customers, and I’m glad that it sounds like customers will still be able to speak to an actual person – I just hope it’s not too difficult to get through to a human and it’ll be open to feedback about its new strategy.
My gut reaction is that this is a bold move that could be met unenthusiastically by customers, but I appreciate that Best Buy is being forthright about it. If it works, we could see it spread to more retailers big and small, and generative-AI-aided assistance might be well on its way to becoming the industry norm. If not, hopefully, retailers will be wise enough to listen to customer sentiment and understand that there are still some jobs that you simply need a human for.
Learning how to use POS system customer data means you can exploit a wealth of information about your customers. This can give you an edge on building up relationships and brand loyalty. In that respect, the best point of sale (POS) systems offer businesses so much more than just a fantastic payment experience.
Many, if not the majority of POS (point of sale) systems on the market today, have sophisticated customer shopping behavior analytics, which are often built in. So what's the best way to use all that amazing POS data?
Monitoring these analytics is the first step in gleaning insights into the the people who walk through your doors or shop with you online. POS system customer data is an endless source of insight that can help you build out a promotional sales calendar, create content about popular products and offer data-backed marketing to your mailing list – but only if you act on it.
Exploiting your POS data to make new shoppers loyal regulars is the second and most important step. How you use that POS system customer data can cause a spike in sales or deliver free word-of-mouth marketing for your business.
In this article, we’ll shed light on nine inspired ways to use POS system customer data for insight in your retail business.
1. Serve up relevant product suggestions
This is one of the low-hanging fruits when it comes to POS data. Knowing what shoppers have purchased before makes it simpler to suggest products they might be interested in.
If a customer bought items from certain brands or categories in the past, you can use that data to market similar items in the future. Be sure to get their feedback on those suggestions too and involve them in the process. Over time, your product suggestions become increasingly accurate.
The department store Nordstrom does this really well. The retailer takes note of specific purchases by its customers (e.g., cosmetics, designer products, etc.) and sends tailored product recommendations, based on the buying history of a shopper and their preferences.
(Image credit: Nordstrom)
When marketing to new customers, you can use the purchase histories of shoppers with a similar profile to make appropriate product recommendations.
Amazon is a master at this, which is why all of its product pages contain the section “People who viewed this also viewed…”
(Image credit: Amazon)
Consider doing something similar in your small business marketing initiatives. Pay attention to what people are buying and use that information to create relevant messages and suggestions.
2. Make timely product recommendations
Use your POS system to make timely product recommendations all year round, not just during national holidays. (Image credit: Pexels)
You can also use POS data to inform the timing of your customer marketing campaigns or promotions. By knowing when a customer bought something, you can make an educated guess on what they’ll buy next or when they would need to replenish their supplies.
We can see this in action in the supplements store Acupuncture Atlanta. When you purchase a product – e.g., a bottle of vitamins – the store takes note of when you made the purchase and sends an email around the time when the vitamins are about to run out.
(Image credit: Acupuncture Atlanta)
If you sell items that need to be refilled, take a leaf out of Acupuncture Atlanta’s playbook and schedule reminders that encourage customers to repurchase your products.
3. Know your top customer segments
In addition to shedding light on what people are buying, your POS data also tells you who your best customers are. That data is incredibly valuable, especially if you want to home in on your target market.
Knowing what types of shoppers are buying from you the most can help you tweak your brand messaging, figure out which retail marketing channels to invest in and decide what types of promotions to offer.
Let’s say you’re an apparel retailer and you discover that your top customers are women aged between 28 and 35. Armed with that information, you can come up with campaigns and assets that incorporate images and ad copy that these women can relate to.
4. Improve your store’s layout and merchandising
(Image credit: Future)
At a loss for ideas on how to merchandise your store? Turn to your POS data. Identify things like:
Your best sellers
Top colors or sizes
Items frequently bought together
Having the data above can inform decisions such as what items to display and how to merchandise your mannequins, windows and so on.
For example, if you know that customers typically buy a purse with a specific pair of shoes, then you can create a display showcasing those items together. Or, if a particular color is flying off the shelves, then you can put it front and center at your store so customers can see it.
Whatever the case may be, take the time to go through your sales and customer reports and identify trends that you can use in your in-store merchandising and design decisions.
5. Come up with effective promotional ideas
In the same way that POS data helps you merchandise your store, that same information can also give your promotional ideas. Insights into your top categories or products can aid you in determining which items to spotlight in your promo materials.
In some cases, you can use sales data to drive a sense of urgency. If an item is selling quickly, you can indicate that in your advertising to entice people to purchase right away.
Some retailers choose to highlight popular items in their marketing when products that were previously sold out become available.
Have a look at this example from UNTUCKit, which spotlights the fact that the brand's best selling polo shirt is back in stock.
(Image credit: Untuckit)
6. Determine what types of product packages or bundles to sell
Selling item bundles or packages can be an effective strategy to move your inventory. Many retailers, for example, bundle popular products with slow-moving items to help get the latter out the door. In certain instances, a bundle containing high and low-margin items allows merchants to maximize their profits.
That said, bundles work best when you know which items go well together. And that’s where your POS data comes in.
Identify the merchandise that your customers typically buy at the same time, then calculate your pricing and margins to ensure that bundling up those products makes sense from a financial standpoint.
7. Figure out what to stock up on (and what not to order)
POS system sales reporting tools allow you to look into customer spending behaviour and use that insight when stocking up. (Image credit: Matthew Henry via Burst)
Knowing which products are most popular among your shoppers enables you to make smarter inventory decisions.
If you have a solid handle on what your bestsellers are (and why they’re so popular) you can stock more of those products. Then, put your least popular stock on sale to move it quickly and make space for best-selling items.
You can take things a step further by using POS system customer data to predict trends and determine which items to add to your catalog. On the flip side, it’s also important to know which products are no-sell duds, so you can avoid stocking them in your shop again.
8. Make decisions on what to put on sale
(Image credit: Markus Spiske via Unsplash)
Speaking of duds, you need to keep a close eye on the items that shoppers aren’t buying. The sooner you can figure out what products aren’t resonating, the more time you’ll have to correct course.
For instance, if a certain dress style or brand isn’t selling, you’ll want to know sooner rather than later so you can put it on sale. That way you can also ensure that the person in charge of purchasing stock doesn’t re-order that particular item.
9. Improve staff knowledge and customer service
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Thanks to the internet and our smartphones, consumers today are more well-informed than ever. Research by Tulip Retail found that 80% of consumers believe that they’re more knowledgeable than retail associates.
To that end, you can stay competitive by instilling knowledge, skills and confidence in your staff. In doing so, you’ll show customers that your employees are product experts who can guide shoppers in their purchasing decisions.
You can accomplish that by giving your team access to your POS system customer data. When your staff members know what items are trending and when they’re aware of each shopper’s purchase history, they’ll be in a much better position to assist and impress your customers.
Bringing it all together
Your POS system customer data can improve various components of your business. From retail marketing and sales to inventory management, having the right information at your fingertips can truly be a game-changer.
So, aside from knowing how to use POS systems or how POS systems work, it’s important to know how to extract the right data from your platform. Doing so will enable you to make smarter decisions so you can grow and thrive.
Zoom has announced an expansion into customer service with a new expansion on its Zoom Video Engagement Center offering.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Zoom Contact Center is still built around video conferencing calls, letting companies quickly interact with customers but it's not limited to it.
The goal is to streamline everything that goes into customer service into one tool, easily accessible and usable by operators and mangers alike, with customers able to integrate Contact Center directly into their current workflows.
Zoom Contact Center
At launch, Contact Center will have over 100 features for every involved, including agents, supervisors, and administrators. Zoom is also planning a bevvy of future updates, including deeper support for CRM tools.
Zoom Contact Center is launching in the US and Canada first with unspecified international markets to follow later in 2022.
“Previously, contact center infrastructure was complex to deploy, expensive to operate, and time-intensive to upgrade. Zoom Contact Center was carefully designed to meet the needs of the modern agent and end customer, both of which expect a personalized, digital, and effective contact center experience,” said Zoom's Oded Gal.
Zoom was a clear winner from the pandemic, which forced workforces across the globe into working from home.
The company's stock started 2020 at around $ 73 before reaching a record high of $ 559 on October 12. Now, Zoom trades at around $ 126, far below its record high, as people return to offices.
Zoom has also been under intense pressure from Microsoft, which moved quickly to expand Teams to companies across the globe, many (or maybe all) of which have a pre-existing relationship with Microsoft.
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