How AI & Cloud Technology Are Shaping The Future Of Fashion Retail With Doug Tiffan Of AWS | 5IM

Speaker A: 00:00:09

Joining us now for five insightful minutes is Doug Tiffin.

Speaker A: 00:00:12

Doug is the head of solutions strategy for fashion and apparel at Amazon Web Services.

Speaker A: 00:00:18

Doug, first question, what is taking place in the fashion and apparel space right now?

Speaker A: 00:00:23

And how are you seeing retailers invest in cloud technologies?

Doug Tiffin: 00:00:27

So the rapid growth of E commerce that was spurred by the pandemic is mostly stabilized right now.

Doug Tiffin: 00:00:33

But what has changed is consumer behavior and I believe it's going to continue to change.

Doug Tiffin: 00:00:38

And the expectations now are kind of higher than level for the retailers and brands.

Doug Tiffin: 00:00:46

So customers today, they're less loyal to brands and they're expecting great shopping experiences that are connected no matter where they interact with the retailer, whether it be online or in an app, in the store or in social media.

Doug Tiffin: 00:01:02

So retailers must rapidly adapt and change investing in technology to meet their customers changing expectations.

Doug Tiffin: 00:01:10

So this includes investing in AI and cloud technologies that power better shopping experiences like personalization, or improving business processes like leveraging AI to create product images or product descriptions and then using AI to create the next level of customer services that involve all these things before personalization, product data all into one great customer experience.

Speaker C: 00:01:36

Doug, inflation has eased.

Speaker C: 00:01:38

Certainly the industry has not yet recovered though to pre pandemic levels.

Speaker C: 00:01:42

For example, we're seeing supply chain disruptions, high interest rates, geopolitical uncertainties, and all this may lead executives to be a little bit more cautious about their technology investment.

Speaker C: 00:01:52

So I'm curious, what AI investments you think are going to have the biggest impact on profitability and customer loyalty within the fashion and apparel space?

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:00

Yeah, fashion brands and retailers are concerned about customer acquisition, but mostly about customer retention.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:07

They're constantly things like personalization and enhancing, enhancing digital engagement, next level customer service, all with the intent of creating delightful shopping experiences.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:20

So the AI behind that can be in things like personalization.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:24

For example, AI can understand vast amounts of data like shopping history, browsing history, and pull all that together to give relevant product recommendations in session for each customer as they shop.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:39

Personalization can even reach into marketing.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:42

And instead of marketing to giant segments like we've done in the past, we can literally cater marketing messaging to the individual.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:49

Another area that I see investment in is product search and discovery.

Doug Tiffin: 00:02:54

60% of, yeah, 60% of shoppers will go straight to the search bar when they hit a retailer site.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:00

And if they don't find what they're looking for within a few clicks, 80% of the time they're going to bolt for another website.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:05

So AI technologies can help by help letting customers search by using product images and statements instead of just keywords.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:15

They can ask a question and I can identify items in that retailer's assortment that meet the need of that consumer and then give them that offering.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:25

You know, shoppers can find exactly what they're looking for and then walk away with a great customer experience.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:31

And then finally, the last place I see investments are really in the customer service space.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:36

So AI powered chatbots can offer 24 hours, you know, customer help and customers can come in and the AI can understand their intent and give them the answers they need to get to what they're looking for.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:50

That would be help with a problem or finding a product.

Doug Tiffin: 00:03:53

And another version of a chatbot is personal stylists that I see happening a lot where either in an app or in a website, a customer can go in and ask questions on what to wear.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:04

For example, if you want to find a dress for New Year's Eve in Manhattan, which I buy, an AI can not only give you the dress, but also rounded out with the handbag and the shoes to go with it.

Speaker A: 00:04:14

So let's get you out of here on this.

Speaker A: 00:04:16

If we consider a long term or take a longer term view, what do retailers need to take action on now to drive more value in the future?

Speaker A: 00:04:23

Right now, right this second.

Speaker A: 00:04:25

Doug, what would you tell retailers?

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:27

Top of my mind is develop and enforce a complete data strategy.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:31

All the cool AI in the world won't help you if the foundational data is not in good shape.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:37

The second thing would be take your vision for a differentiated customer experience and invest in the technology that you need to support that vision.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:46

Anticipate that your customers demands and expectations are going to continue to change.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:52

And so you want to make sure that you're positioned to be able to meet those changes.

Doug Tiffin: 00:04:57

And then also think of AI as a member of your team.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:00

They're a highly potential team member that is capable of great things, but they need time and training to get up to speed.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:07

So start now.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:10

You know, if your team is new to AI, get them started on internal projects, then some short ones to get some quick wins and build that muscle memory so then they can turn around and work on some longer term strategic projects that could really deliver big value.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:23

And then finally plan for the long term.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:26

Clearly define and communicate the vision for your organization to focus on.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:31

So as AI projects come up, you can make everybody knows they need to be aligned to those goals and help drive them.

Doug Tiffin: 00:05:38

And just know that you're not alone in this aws and our partners are here to help to give you the technology and solutions that you need to power your success.

Speaker C: 00:05:49

Thanks, Doug.

Speaker A: 00:05:49

Great stuff, Doug.

Speaker A: 00:05:50

Thank you.