Balancing AI and Human Intuition: 5 Takeaways from the Ascendant Retail Media Network Bootcamp
Gone were the days when artificial intelligence was a term used in sci-fi series. It’s in the world’s everyday vocabulary and has caused a massive stir in ecommerce. At the recent Ascendant Network’s Retail Media Network (RMN) Bootcamp in Silicon Valley, industry leaders dove into how AI is revolutionizing customer interactions and crafting richer experiences in retail media.
In the session “Navigating AI-Driven Commerce,” thought leaders Alice Luong from Instacart, Nik Rochnik from Albertsons, and Ashley Firmstone from Rokt shared groundbreaking insights on the transformative role of AI in ecommerce. Here are five key takeaways that shine a light on this shift:
1. AI is revolutionizing customer interactions
AI is more than just an accessory to ecommerce platforms. Alice Luong from Instacart highlighted this transformation:
This shift from keyword-based searches to conversational AI showcases how deeply AI transforms the shopping experience.
2. The best AI is invisible
Nik Rochnik emphasized the importance of seamless integration:
For example, unlocking your phone with facial recognition. You don’t think about the complex computer vision algorithms at work; it just happens. This principle is now being applied to e-commerce, making the shopping experience smoother and more intuitive.
Ashley Firmstone expanded on this, highlighting AI’s role in delivering relevant experiences without overwhelming the customer:
3. Personalization strikes a balance
Nik Rochnik explained their approach to balancing business priorities with user experience:
This strategy allows businesses to simultaneously cater to a wide array of user segments, optimizing experiences based on predicted customer behavior, ensuring each shopper gets a personalized, relevant experience.
Ashley added:
4. Human oversight remains essential
While AI excels at processing vast amounts of data, human judgment is still crucial. Alice explained that while AI is effective at automating many processes, it doesn’t always capture the nuance of human behavior, particularly during unique or seasonal events:
Human experts can adjust AI models to account for these seasonal spikes, ensuring that AI-driven decisions reflect the current context, like customers stocking up on Halloween candy, even if it doesn’t align with their usual purchasing patterns.
5. AI is democratizing advanced marketing capabilities
AI-driven advertising tools are leveling the playing field for smaller brands. Alice Luong shared how Instacart is making this possible:
This approach ensures that even smaller brands can benefit from AI-driven insights, creating ads that are not just engaging in the moment but provide long-term value to consumers.
Additional insights from the Retail Media Network Bootcamp
As the dust settles on the AI-focused discussions, it’s clear that the RMN landscape is evolving on multiple fronts. Beyond the exciting developments in AI, several key themes emerged that are shaping the future of retail media and how businesses engage with consumers:
- First-party data as currency: The mantra “transactions are the new cookies” underscored the rising significance of retailers’ first-party data for targeting and personalization.
- Collaboration among retailers: There’s a palpable eagerness among retailers to collaborate to enhance ad relevance for customers, recognizing that working together can yield better results.
- Breaking down silos: Many organizations are moving towards aligning commerce and media teams for a cohesive strategy, fostering better communication and collaboration across departments.
- Challenges with off-site advertising: Retailers must grapple with making off-site advertising profitable, presenting a ripe opportunity for innovation in this space.
- Data clean rooms on the rise: These secure environments are increasingly seen as essential for linking media efforts to incremental sales across platforms, providing a holistic view of campaign performance.
These insights from the Ascendant Network’s Retail Media Network Bootcamp make one thing clear: the future of ecommerce thrives where AI’s analytical power meets human creativity. Success in the evolving retail media landscape will come from harnessing advanced technology, truly understanding customers, and creating authentic, meaningful experiences.
Learn how Rokt can unlock your retail media strategy, here.