Multi-channel is the new norm – consumers are not completely abandoning brick-and-mortar stores. Instead, they expect seamless shopping experiences across online, mobile and offline stores. They might first browse and research online, then purchase or pick-up in-store--or the other way around. Successful retailers who can gain customer loyalty are those who can deliver a superior seamless experience across all channels. Data is the new gold – The additional touchpoints mean retailers have greater opportunity and more data to identify their customers and discern their preferences. However, without a proper data and analytics infrastructure, many retailers struggle to mine and analyze huge volumes of data generated daily to gain valuable insights that can help them innovate.

The promise of AI is that it will deliver digital transformation and improve productivity and efficiency across businesses. For many of our customers, IBM Watson has already helped deliver on this promise – by enriching customer interactions, accelerating research and discovery, empowering employees, and mitigating risk. The next step for businesses is to make AI ubiquitous by operationalizing their workflows across the full AI lifecycle. IBM is committed to delivering these fundamental, end-to-end AI capabilities and giving enterprises everything they need. For example, consider the critical step of understanding and preparing data for productive and speedy use in analytical tools, machine learning and deep learning.