The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the retail landscape and has accelerated the adoption of innovative technologies. A striking example relates to the proliferation of online grocery orders and the technology deployed to facilitate such logistics. In fact, for many retailers, this disruption was a wake-up call after which they started recognizing the power of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). In this article, we discuss the opportunities that AI can offer to retailers in the new normal retail landscape. Some of the techniques described have been applied at scale to adapt previously deployed AI models, whereas in other instances, fresh solutions needed to be developed to help retailers cope with recent disruptions, such as unexpected panic buying, retraining predictive models, and leveraging online-offline synergies.

AI in retail industry is rapidly transforming the customer journey and experience. The fundamental steps of shopping have mostly stayed the same throughout the years: enter a store, choose the ideal item, and pay for it. With personalization, automation, and more efficiency, artificial intelligence has the ability to revamp the conventional shopping experience totally. The retail sector has been going through a digital shift for a while now. Every branch of retail companies has seen a rise in speed, efficiency, and accuracy, largely because of sophisticated data and predictive analytics technologies that support businesses in making data-driven business choices.

Ecommerce (electronic commerce) refers to all online activity that involves the buying and selling of products and services. In other words, ecommerce is a process for conducting transactions online. While there are many reasons to start an ecommerce business, there are some amazing benefits you can expect once you get your business off the ground. Ecommerce provides the best in convenience and accessibility. Customers can find exactly what they need, at any time, directly from their desktop or mobile device.

Is AI the face of the new Brick-and-Mortar market? Artificial Intelligence's business applications are undergoing unprecedented growth as a new evolving reality. Therefore, giving AI its due credit stands to reason on a two-fold basis. Firstly – AI helps your retail business improve the bottom line and increase productivity. Secondly, customers are actively looking for a value-added experience from physical stores apart from a high-quality product.

Agreed, the headline is slightly presumptuous, in light of the third wave looming large and governments' globally gearing up for the same. That said, with vaccination drives going on in full swing, mask-mandates being lifted, travels resuming, and offices reopening, people are actually heaving a sigh of relief – a virus of good feeling is rippling across the cities. But, please don't take my word for it! America's leading retail brands have gone on to report that their foot traffic has rebounded earlier than expected, so much so that the numbers might exceed their 2019 sales performance. The point is consumer behavior is expected to upend big-time post-pandemic, partly because some customers might want to pursue their pre-pandemic routines, and mostly because some customers might wish to continue with new customer engagement models launched during the pandemic.

Taiwanese bubble-tea chain Happy Lemon has teamed up with Koubei, Alibaba Group's local-services app, to upgrade its in-store technology, including a new drink-making robot. At its pilot "smart store" in Shanghai, customers have the option of buying their drinks at a counter manned by employees or, for a fully automated experience, purchasing via their smartphones for service by the robot. Customers scan a QR code with the Koubei app, tick a few boxes to customize their drink, then wait for a text notification to pick up their tea at a smart locker, which opens when they tap a "pick-up" button on the app. WATCH: Robotic arm mixing "handmade" bubble tea. The robot can make eight types of drinks with about 40 variations based on customer preferences for different amounts of ice and sugar – each taking about 90 seconds, Koubei said.

Fashion retailers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for help in the quest to give customers what they want. AI-driven retail enables brands to compete in the economy of the 21st century and meet modern customer demands by personalizing the shopping experience. As more retail companies are taking their business from the traditional brick and mortar retail stores into e-commerce, they are able to get more insight into their customers' preferences to serve the demand. Talking about AI in retail brings us to one of the most beloved brands in the fashion industry – H&M. H&M Group has been heavily investing in artificial intelligence to stay on top of fashion cycles, and also to support its massive growth.

Walk into the Decathlon sporting goods store on Market Street in San Francisco and you will find yourself face to face with Tally. She is tall and slender, and has a winning smile--she smiles with her eyes. She is gentle and considerate: if you get in her way, she will quietly glide around you without complaining. She is extremely intelligent and highly efficient: as she moves up and down the aisles, she takes a real-time inventory of the products on the shelves and racks, checking which products are running low or out of stock, and whether they are labeled with the correct price. She can read RFID tags, but she can also use AI-powered image recognition to distinguish different products at a glance.

If you haven't wasted the last few years searching for evidence on extraterritorial life in the distant corners of the world you'd have surely heard about Artificial Intelligence or AI! Together with Big Data, this is transforming the world. In a world where access to data has become easier, computing power is at historical lows on the cost side and algorithms have been programmed to think and react like a human mind, the power of AI is truly being unleashed. The impact of AI is being majorly felt in the retail industry where it is creating a store like an experience on online platforms and at the same time arming brick and mortar stores with technology that narrows the game between them and online retailers. AI in shopping was first tried in the world of e-commerce and this wasn't surprising as online retailers had been at the forefront of adopting new technology. But the brick and mortar stores have been slowly catching up.

If you haven't wasted the last few years searching for evidence on extraterritorial life in the distant corners of the world you'd have surely heard about Artificial Intelligence or AI! Together with Big Data, this is transforming the world. In a world where access to data has become easier, computing power is at historical lows on the cost side and algorithms have been programmed to think and react like a human mind, the power of AI is truly being unleashed. The impact of AI is being majorly felt in the retail industry where it is creating a store like an experience on online platforms and at the same time arming brick and mortar stores with technology that narrows the game between them and online retailers. AI in shopping was first tried in the world of e-commerce and this wasn't surprising as online retailers had been at the forefront of adopting new technology. But the brick and mortar stores have been slowly catching up.