{"id":20418,"date":"2024-03-07T05:51:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T05:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interface.media\/?p=20418"},"modified":"2024-03-07T05:51:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T05:51:51","slug":"automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lessen, the retail sector faces a unique challenge. While some consumers are spending more after two years of lockdowns and reduced activity, others are not. Inflation, rising prices, and mass layoffs are creating high levels of economic uncertainty. That uncertainty is translating into unpredictable consumer behaviour at a time when retailers are desperate for certainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even before the pandemic, the retail sector was struggling to balance rising costs with a changing customer base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMargins are stressed from all sides,&#8221; noted a report by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/industries\/retail\/our-insights\/automation-in-retail-an-executive-overview-for-getting-ready\">McKinsey<\/a> back in 2019. &#8220;Higher costs to manage e-commerce supply chains, growing demands from suppliers to pass on raw-material cost inflation, higher investments to match new competition, and steadily rising labour costs,\u201d are all pressuring retailers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, that uncertainty is mixing with growing economic pressures. The results are threatening to create genuine pain points for retailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A recent survey by <a href=\"https:\/\/prosperanalytics.info\/\">Prosper Insights &amp; Analytics<\/a> found that 36% of American consumers were reducing their shopping trips. At the same time, however, 42.4% were found to be shopping more during sales events. These conflicting trends make it difficult to predict demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, retailers are turning to technology to find their feet. Technology ike intelligent automation and <a href=\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/06\/small-language-models-could-make-generative-ai-more-ethical-and-better\/\">artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) will, they hope, help meet the need for predictability, cost-savings, and efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-platform-approach-to-retail-nbsp\">A platform approach to retail&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanish Mondkar, founder of Legion and ex-SAP exec, came \u201cface to face with the labour crisis during a long road trip across America.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/garydrenik\/2023\/07\/18\/how-intelligent-automation-is-transforming-the-post-pandemic-retail-experience\/?sh=3beb327d3682\">interview with <em>Forbes<\/em><\/a>, Mondkar explains how \u201cIt was striking to see labour-intensive businesses like retailers and restaurants having perpetual \u2018for hire\u2019 signs outside their locations, but at the same time, employees were changing jobs at a rapid rate and still couldn\u2019t make a living wage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mondkar\u2019s company operates a workforce management platform he says helps retailers \u201cstrike a balance by <a href=\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/06\/technology-isnt-the-problem-culture-remains-biggest-barrier-to-digital-transformation\/\">offering workers the autonomy<\/a> typically associated with gig jobs while ensuring the stability of hourly positions \u2014 without sacrificing labour efficiency.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A great deal of the increased efficiency that platforms like Legion offer stems from intelligent automation. Workforce management platforms are leveraging digital tools that can automatically deploy surveys to team members, deliver feedback, confer well-earned awards, and provide instant access to earned wages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most importantly, they can automate scheduling by predicting demand based on past data. \u201cBy leveraging data from historical and ongoing operations, local events, weather, and holidays, we assist retailers in obtaining a truly accurate understanding of their expected demand across all customer touch points and locations every 15 minutes,\u201d Mondkar explains. He adds that this enables retailers to ensure the right number of workers are scheduled on particular shifts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":480,"featured_media":20419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-03-07T05:51:49Z","apple_news_api_id":"6bbf530e-df17-4f84-a1ce-86537b1e9529","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-03-07T05:51:49Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Aa79TDt8XT4ShzoZTex6VKQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"topic":[650],"class_list":["post-20418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-interface","topic-digital-strategy"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0 - Interface<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Interface\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-07T05:51:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-07T05:51:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Brightmore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Brightmore\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/\",\"name\":\"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0 - Interface\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-07T05:51:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-07T05:51:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/7c33499ca8e42b097028109cccb22748\"},\"description\":\"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg\",\"width\":1365,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"Symbolic image: Shopping carts on colorful squares\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/\",\"name\":\"Interface\",\"description\":\"Delivering World Class Content \u201cFrom Executive, For Executive\u201c\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/7c33499ca8e42b097028109cccb22748\",\"name\":\"Dan Brightmore\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9ca282f0ef431735a64685769ad57886e24b074c4c58314392755fb79164164?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9ca282f0ef431735a64685769ad57886e24b074c4c58314392755fb79164164?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Brightmore\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/author\/dbrightmore\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0 - Interface","description":"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0","og_description":"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.","og_url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/","og_site_name":"Interface","article_published_time":"2024-03-07T05:51:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-07T05:51:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1365,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Brightmore","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Brightmore","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/","url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/","name":"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0 - Interface","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-07T05:51:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-07T05:51:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/7c33499ca8e42b097028109cccb22748"},"description":"In an uncertain consumer landscape, intelligent automation and AI are helping retailers track, understand, and predict demand.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/iStock-1794594018.jpg","width":1365,"height":768,"caption":"Symbolic image: Shopping carts on colorful squares"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/2024\/03\/07\/automation-is-key-to-bringing-predictability-to-retail-post-pandemic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/interface.media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Automation is key to bringing predictability to retail post-pandemic\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/#website","url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/","name":"Interface","description":"Delivering World Class Content \u201cFrom Executive, For Executive\u201c","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/interface.media\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/7c33499ca8e42b097028109cccb22748","name":"Dan Brightmore","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/interface.media\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9ca282f0ef431735a64685769ad57886e24b074c4c58314392755fb79164164?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9ca282f0ef431735a64685769ad57886e24b074c4c58314392755fb79164164?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Brightmore"},"url":"https:\/\/interface.media\/blog\/author\/dbrightmore\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20418"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20420,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418\/revisions\/20420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20418"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interface.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=20418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}