On today’s episode of The AI in Retail Show, Trevor speaks with ShiSh Shridhar, Global Retail Lead | Microsoft for Startups at Microsoft. They discuss how retailers are leveraging customer data today, how enterprises and start-ups are co-innovating, and how retailers are using emerging technologies like generative AI, AR, and NFTs. They also discuss the state of immersive commerce in the Metaverse, why wearables are at an adoption tipping point, and which technology is under- and overhyped today.
Topics discussed:
- How ShiSh works with retailers looking for innovative solutions, and curates start-ups to match to them.
- How retailers can leverage all the customer data they collect to drive loyalty, personalization, and retention.
- How enterprises and start-ups are partnering to co-innovate around big data and emerging technologies.
- Which technologies are over- and underhyped today.
- How wearable technology is at a tipping point of adoption and how it will further AR technology with it.
- Where the Metaverse stands today on creating a mixed reality world, and how commerce is becoming more immersive.
- What areas of innovation start-ups are focused on today, including generative AI, Web3 and NFTs, and automation.
Guest Quotes:
“The ability to use that data to really drive competitive advantage, to do personalization, to drive loyalty and retention and all of that. That is an area that every retailer is focused on, is constantly trying to get better at, and to become more relevant and personal to reshape the business.”
“Startups are doing co-innovation with the large enterprises. And that co-innovation is a very important aspect because start-ups by themselves really do not have the ability to engage at that scale and have access to all of that data.”
“We’re going to see this massive tipping point where the wearables will change a lot of things. Shelf edge technology and all of that will be disrupted because of wearables.”
“Brands realize they no longer will have access to customer data like they did. And they have to be proactive in figuring out how do they establish the connection to the customer? So NFTs with utility are gaining a lot of traction.”
“Commerce services as microservices — I think that’s how you remove friction today. The friction comes from silos, where every retailer creates that base service and setting it up is where they lose half the customers.”
