Saudi Arabia’s retail market is among the fastest growing in the world — fueled by the overwhelming 67% of youth who love online shopping. That’s a significant increase from 2019 when only 45% of youth prefer online shopping. Also, that’s a sign of the country’s growing e-commerce landscape, expecting to reach $100 billion in the next two years.
With such a massive number of young and tech-savvy consumers in the retail space, retailers must bring some unique ideas while using the latest technologies to keep their customers happy and satisfied. Since customers love the “smooth experience” they have while shopping more than the products they buy, Artificial Intelligence can offer more immersive shopping experiences and be the only-best solution for both online and on-site retailers to tackle the growing customer demand.
How is AI Used in Online Retail?
Previously, Saudi retailers believed in a “one-size-fits-all” approach. However, things have changed drastically since AI came into play within the Retail sector.
Compared to traditional ones, AI-powered Retail offers customers much more exciting and smooth online and in-store buying experiences. And for retailers, AI offers them a broader market reach while providing more specific targeting options that can reduce their efforts and the costs of the sales team. Even brick-and-mortar stores are now turning towards technology.
Leveraging AI can help retailers and sellers make better data-driven decisions. With proper tools, retailers can quickly sift through the massive datasets while focusing on the products/services their customers want. Besides this, there are numerous other ways that online retailers in Saudi Arab can use for business growth. Let’s have a look at them!
Empowering Retailers In Saudi Arabia With cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence
If you’re an online retailer, you can expand your business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by following these ways:
Supercharge Your Business with Chatbots
Having a chatbot for your business can make a huge difference!
Imagine having a helpful assistant available 24/7, ready to respond to customer queries and support them anytime. It’s like having an assistant that guides customers through the buying process. That’s where chatbots do their magic and leave brick-and-mortar stores behind — because these offline stores are open and available to you for a particular time frame throughout the day, and if you have any concerns about them, you’ll have to wait until the next day the store opens.
Moreover, chatbots saves you money, improve your brand image, provide outstanding customer service, and give your business the competitive edge it needs to flourish. So why wait? Embrace the power of chatbots with us and watch your business grow!
Search Smartly With AI
Hunting the right product is quite tiresome and consumes a lot of time.
In today’s digital space, where everything is available right at your fingertips, still, if your customer needs help looking for a specific product in your store, you need to do it the right way.
Incorporating AI-based search engines in your product’s website is your ultimate way to go. These search engines work as a trained human salespersons for your online store. The AI algorithms understand the search terms, recognize the underlying intent, and show you the relevant results. Besides this, it gives you similar product recommendations.
Make product finding a smooth process with all-powerful AI and satisfy your customers.
Master the Social Media Sphere with NLP
Almost every 8 out of 10 people in KSA actively uses social media. It makes up 79% of the total Saudi population. As an online business owner, you must be present on the platforms where your customers are and listen to them when they talk about you or with you. However, it’s impossible to keep an eye on thousands of daily social media conversations.
Enter the realm of breakthrough Natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning and gain valuable insights from social media data. NLP-powered deep insights give you a great understanding of your customer choices. Beside this, AI-powered Social Listening tools can helps you devise unique marketing strategies and improve overall product quality.
Maximize Profits with AI Demand Forecasting
Compared to traditional methods, demand forecasting with AI gives you 30% more accurate results. That brings massive benefits for online and offline retailers.
But How could AI forecast with so much accuracy?
When AI Leverages advanced algorithms and machine learning, it becomes unbeatable. It analyzes huge datasets and predicts future demand with undoubted accuracy. Such accurate forecasts can help you make smarter decisions about product production, planning, and pricing strategies. Moreover, AI-driven demand forecasting can reduce errors by up to 50%.
Stay ahead of the game in the competitive Saudi retail market, meet your customer demands on time, minimize stockouts, and maximize your profits.
AI Safeguarding Transactions
While online shopping is picking up steam in KSA, payment frauds are also continually on the rise. That’s a major challenge for Saudi retailers to detect fraud and take preventive measures on the spot. However, thanks to Artificial Intelligence: the unsung hero of fraud detection processes. Whether it’s a bank transfer or an e-wallet payment, with AI, your payments are safe and secure.
AI-enabled fraud detection systems utilize machine learning algorithms to detect transaction patterns and anomalies that could indicate fraudulent activities. These systems analyze massive datasets and find out suspicious activity in real time. It helps retailers prevent fraudulent transactions before they take place.
AI-Powered Inventory Solutions
A recent study by the Saudi Arabian Retailers Association found that 80% of retailers face challenges in managing inventory. Also, to meet customer expectations and offer them seamless experiences, retailers are vulnerable to overstocking products. Though overstocking ensures product availability, on the other hand, it increases storage and logistical costs. However, you can tackle this challenge easily with AI.
AI is poised to take inventory management to a new level through faster, smarter, and more efficient systems. These systems pull historical sales data and match it to consumer trends. Forecasting and inventory management with AI lets retailers identify trends beforehand and increase stock accordingly.
Quick Commerce
Quick commerce or q-commerce, a trend that started after Covid-19, is gaining momentum in the Saudi Kingdom. In fact, last year, its market was worth $1 billion. Now, it’s expected to reach $5 billion by 2025. If you are a retailer, then hope on to this latest trend of e-commerce, backed by all-powerful Artificial intelligence.
Since Saudi consumers are looking for more and more ways to save time and effort, Q-commerce offers them ultra-fast delivery of groceries and other essential items. Maximum, it takes 15 minutes to half an hour t deliver a good. AI is the key technology that makes this ultra-fast delivery process possible!
Let’s see how:
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Forecasting high demands
AI predicts product demand, which helps Q-commerce companies ensure that they have enough inventory to meet demand. That’s crucial because Q-commerce companies rely on high turnover rates to stay profitable.
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Optimizing Routes
AI optimizes delivery routes for q-commerce, which helps reduce delivery times. That’s what quick commerce is popular for!
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Customer Service
AI chatbots provide customer service, like answering queries about orders and tracking deliveries. Chatbots available 24/7 are important because Q-commerce companies must provide high customer service to compete with traditional retailers.
Retailers that adapt to quick commerce will be well-positioned to succeed in the years to come.
Voice Commerce
Voice commerce, or V-commerce, is a new way to shop online using voice commands. It could be through a voice assistant such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, or a chatbot. Although this type of conversational commerce is still in its early stages, it can revolutionize the way you shop.
Voice assistants use NLP, NLU, and AI to understand your query and provide relevant recommendations. It makes it easier for customers to find what they want and purchase using voice commands.
Conversational AI is creating opportunities for retailers that did not exist a few years back — they can leverage voice commerce and boost customer connections.
Wrapping up!
Remember, these are just a few ways AI can be leveraged in retail business. The possibilities are vast, and retailers must explore and adapt AI technologies aligning with their business goals and customer base.
So, embrace the power of AI and take your online retail business in Saudi Arabia to new heights!