AI Voice Concierges Upsell Loyalty Perks Inside Outlet Corridors.
Good customer service doesn’t only ‘serve’ when asked to – it takes care of the customer at every step of their journey from entering the store to leaving with a few extra products in their cart. It is not simple, and it requires the full attention of an employee – that is, until AI concierges prove capable of handling the task independently. What we are referring to here is beyond the online shopping assistant that pops up with recommendations based on your search history; it’s for a reality where you enter a brick-and-mortar store and your AI assistant ‘whispers’ in your ear what best suits you, what goes along with the other clothes you own, and even budgets your entire spending spree. Imagination runs amok with robots and holograms that the not-so-distant future might bring, but let’s focus for now on the already explored reality of the voice coming from your device, how it can be applied, and whether it truly is an advantage compared to a human. From One too Many to One to One The traditional definition of a concierge is of a hotel employee who takes care of all the guests’ needs. Common with luxury hotels and brands, the concierge offers personalized care in a one-to-one fashion for those who can afford it. For the customer, it’s a unique buying experience walking into a store and having the same person greet you, remember your purchase, escort and recommend new items; for the business, it’s a unique opportunity to build trust and upsell. Can AI replace human interaction at that level? Arguably not yet, but what it can do is make a personalized concierge accessible to luxury brands that opt for a high-tech approach, as well as to non-luxury ones that cannot apply the one-to-one model in the three stages of the customer journey. Pre-Sale Before even going to the store, the moment you plan to step inside the shopping mall, the AI anticipates what you might need. How? Because, depending on how it is applied, it could be your future AI Personal assistant that grants permission to the outlet’s voice concierge and kindly advises you to walk in for the pair of shorts you were looking for. Not only that, it can also suggest the best time to visit the store, what to priorities from your list, and a new offer to check out in the meantime. In-Store Experience While inside the store, the concierge would fulfil the role of a shopping assistant and more. From guiding you to the right section, finding your best fit, and recommending the accessories that tag along with it. The ‘more’ part refers to the data the concierge has about your buying habits, ensuring you are not led astray by any product or perks that do not suit you. In fact, it could create personalized loyalty perks based on you, rather than the default ones the shop offers. The concierge service will tailor your loyalty program to your specific needs. For example, a brand can design Custom Pins embodying its unique cultural identity and gift them to customers, making them feel personally valued and significantly enhancing their customer service experience. Additionally, pins can be personalized with custom elements to make each one unique. The custom pin process is simple and efficient, allowing you to create a unique and distinctive pin quickly. It’s already happening in some ways, with H&M’s Interactive Mirror, which provides fashion tips, takes selfies, and displays the vast H&M catalogue on the big screen or your phone. A limited use of AI that has already reached 150 million people in 25 countries worldwide. After-Sales Support The real value, aside from the service’s apparent accessibility to everyone, not just high spenders, lies in the after-sales support and the AI’s ability to build a long-term relationship by checking in in a non-intrusive way and offering personalized perks along the way. Not the phone notification with a ‘15% off this week’ offer, but a kind reminder to consider returning the new jacket for a sleeker one that just appeared in store. Your concierge knows you don’t like promotions, but would pay a hefty amount for a quality leather jacket each new season. Voice Concierges Are Not Chatbots! While a chatbot answers, a concierge is more of a personal assistant who anticipates. It’s common to confuse the notion of an AI assistant with that of a chatbot, given the widespread popularity of the latter. Think of it in simpler terms, the assistant won’t likely ever have you say or type ‘I want to talk to a human’ to get the job done. Practical Application of Voice Concierges In Outlets Outlets are the place where AI marries AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) to provide the personalized experience required. The last two are already adopted by big brands; yet, there seems to be a missing link between providing customers with an AR view of the new accessory and them purchasing it – this is where the AI voice concierge would kick in. How Could a Concierge Work? The potential application in store could combine proximity-based triggers, inventory and seasonal-based prompts, along with one of two options – your personal assistant/agent getting access to the store and acting as a concierge or the store’s concierge becoming your guide. It all depends on the one thing needed to make this work above everything, data! If you’re walking next to an item and your concierge (or the store’s) advises you on how this new pair of jeans complements your collection of shirts, does that cross the line into the customer’s privacy? No answer yet, as we have yet to test the limit of how ‘personal’ an AI assistant can get. One way to grasp how deeply personalized these retail concierges could become is to look outside the shopping aisle. The underlying speech-to-text pipelines and emotion-tracking embeddings are already powering some of the internet’s most bespoke experiences, including AI porn chat platforms where
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