The Future of Retail: Exploring the Transformative Power of AI

Delian Partners
Mar 17, 2023
2 min read

In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence in the retail industry has become increasingly popular, with many big tech companies implementing the technology to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations. According to Yahoo Finance, the global AI retail market size is expected to reach $25.83 billion by 2028 from $5.19 billion in 2022.

Customer service stands out as the most prominent retail application for AI technology, with Amazon being one of the major investors in this domain. Amazon's Alexa Chat Bot is powered by a combination of natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies. When a user types a request into the chatbot, the ASR technology converts the text into a digital format that can be analyzed by the NLP algorithms. The NLP algorithms then analyze the syntax, grammar, and context of the user's request to determine the most appropriate response. In the meantime, the ML component enables the system to learn and improve over time based on users’ interactions: The more users interact with the chatbot, the better it becomes at understanding their needs and providing accurate responses.

Also, Alexa's AI-powered shopping assistant uses a combination of algorithms and data analysis to provide customers with product recommendations. In addition to that, the chatbot can also handle other types of requests, such as answering questions, placing orders, and providing customer with 24/7 support, meaning that they can to shop whenever they want without needing human assistance.

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AI is also being used by e-commerce companies to improve search results and product categorization. Alibaba, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, uses AI-powered image recognition technology to automatically categorize products based on their visual characteristics, and uses NLP to analyze product descriptions and categorize them based on the words and phrases used. This allows the platform to identify product attributes and features even if they are not explicitly listed. Additionally, Alibaba has launched a virtual assistant, AliGenie, which uses AI to help customers with their shopping experience providing them with more personalized recommendations which are tailored on user’s preferences.

According to Yahoo Finance, AI market size was valued at $95.60 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $1,847.50 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 32.9% during that period. The use of AI in retail is becoming increasingly popular, and many big tech companies are developing new features to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations. Chatbots, virtual assistants, product recommendations, search optimization, and categorization are just some of the ways that AI is being used in ecommerce. As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more innovative use cases to emerge, leading to improved customer experiences and increased efficiency in the ecommerce industry.

The information in this article should not be regarded as a description of services provided by Delian Partners SA. The opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. The views reflected in this article are subject to change at any time without notice.

Big Data is igniting "The Fourth Industrial Revolution"

Delian Partners
Sep 14, 2022
2 min read

Big Data is an important part of the global economy because of the increasing adoption of digitalization across economic sectors.

Big Data, in association with innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, is fueling what is better known as The Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the most powerful technology trends is Big Data analytics which is reshaping many business processes and operations globally.

Today more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are being generated, daily. With such enormous volumes of data, businesses are moving into Cloud computing storage options. One of the most innovative data warehouses is Cloud based data storage solution Firebolt. Firebolt is a high growth Cloud Data Warehousing company that helps users streamline their data analytics and access information from any location. Firebolt is 4000 to 6000 times faster than other Cloud Data Warehouse providers like Snowflake or Amazon.

According to Forbes, 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last two years, but only less than 1% of that was processed and analyzed. Unlocking the potential of Big Data is critical for businesses to stay competitive by minimizing risks and improving performance.

Starburst is one of the hottest companies in the data analytics space: its strength is its ability to allow different teams to analyze data easily and from different databases, reducing the time to access information. Today companies generate a huge amount of data, every day. And the need for faster analytics on decentralized data helped Starburst achieve a 3x YoY growth in annual recurring revenue, 122% YoY customer growth, and 61% YoY employee growth, as reported by the company in the most recent quarter.

As critical as Big Data is today, its impact will be even larger in the future: The global big data analytics market was valued at $240.56bn in 2021 and it is projected to grow from $271.83bn in 2022 to $655.53bn in 2029.

A New Habitat for Luxury Brands: The Metaverse

Delian Partners
Feb 17, 2022
2 min read

The internet is evolving into a new environment where digital human interactions are getting closer to reality: The Metaverse. This new, immersive, virtual world is disrupting almost all sectors, including the luxury fashion industry, which is starting to explore several collaborations with popular metaverse platforms.

Gucci is one of the first movers in the world of digital assets. Recently the fashion company announced it has bought some land on the digital world platform The Sandbox to create a virtual fashion experience for consumers. The Sandbox is a virtual Metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain, where users can play and create games to monetize - as of November, The Sandbox had over 500,000 registered wallets and 12,000 unique virtual landowners. On the platform, Gucci launched its virtual concept store where users can purchase Gucci’s items through NFTs and wear them while playing games in VR.

Also, last year Gucci collaborated with Zepeto, a platform with over 260 million users - 80% of which are teenagers- to launch Gucci Villa, a 3D world map that allows users to buy IP-based fashion items. In Zepeto, it is possible to communicate and interact with others by creating avatars modeled on their own face.

Balenciaga also joined the Metaverse by opening a virtual store on gaming platform Fortnite, giving more than 350 million players across the globe the opportunity to buy new outfits that replicate the physical Balenciaga retail collection.

The reason why brands are inceasingly shifting into the Metaverse is not only to create digital versions of their flagship products. Metaverse is about connectivity and engagement: Users may find a new way to shop online, by browsing through digital showrooms and purchasing virtual/physical versions of products on display.

Brands are working closely with digital platforms and tech companies to leverage their digital presence and reach billions of potential metaverse users. Luxury brands plan to use their digitl tokens to connect with consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, in a unique way, giving them access to items that would be impossible to buy in real life and creating a loyal fan base of buyers.

But the appeal of the Metaverse goes far beyond the consumer market. Tech giants such as Google, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft, are working on VR/AR headsets to make consumers’ virtual experience increasingly immersive. Also, investments in 5G network infrastructure, cloud, and IoT are required to shape new metaverse developments. This creates exciting, multi-year, secular investment opportunities.

The Metaverse is just part of the emerging and deeply transformative wave of innovation, the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution, that is blurring the line between the physical and digital worlds. As reported by Morgan Stanley, the luxury branded NFTs market could reach $56bn worth by 2030. The Metaverse is still an early user platform, but its growth potential is very significant.