Shopper Marketing - August 2017 - 131
3 PREDICTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF RETAIL TECHNOLOGY An FCB/RED Point of View We spend a great deal of time looking forward - anticipating what is coming, what has implications for what we do, and what we want to get excited about. We are bullish about retail's future and how technology is going to make the PREDICTION #1 RE TAIL, E VEN PHYSICAL STORES, WILL BE ALL ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (A.I. ) FOR A BE T TER SHOPPER E XPERIENCE. work that we all do to satisfy shoppers even better, The one thing we are fairly certain about is the and more convenient. We believe the future is massive importance of retail experiences. In an ultimately going well for consumers, shoppers, increasingly digital and virtual retail landscape, retailers and brands. the remaining physical stores are going to have to work harder to give shoppers a reason to visit the store. We believe that experiences will need to work their way into all retail transactions, and artificial intelligence (or Augmented Intelligence) is going to be a big part of this change. All the indicators point to future purchasing moving toward more automation and information. Technology now exists to give even the most fashion-challenged among us a chance to look good. This new partner in the closet is an example of A.I. - built for retail, but helping us look our best.