Jan 28, 2025
The AI Secret to Flawless Shopping Experiences
Artificial intelligence
Picture this: It’s Saturday afternoon, the shoe store is packed, the staff is scrambling, and half the customers leave frustrated because their size isn’t in stock. Sound familiar? Now imagine a world where AI steps in like the ultimate retail superhero, predicting foot traffic, optimizing inventory, and ensuring every shopper leaves with a smile (and the right shoes). Welcome to 2025, where AI has cracked the code to flawless shopping experiences.
Predicting Foot Traffic: Getting Ahead of the Rush
At Vooban, we recently conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a shoe retailer using AI to predict in-store traffic. Using historical internal data, such as foot traffic trends and hourly sales, our AI model accurately forecasted customer flow over a two-week period. While this initial phase focused solely on internal data, the results were impressive. By layering in external factors like weather, local events, economic indicators, and key retail moments like Black Friday or Boxing Day, the potential for even more precise and actionable predictions grows exponentially.
What does that mean for the retailer? More efficient staffing, better-stocked shelves, and fewer frazzled employees. And the benefits don’t stop there. According to Gartner, retailers using AI for foot traffic analysis have increased sales conversion rates by 10-20%.
Sales Forecasting in Action: Lessons from Apparel
When it comes to sales forecasting, AI is completely reshaping how businesses operate. For one apparel retailer, AI-driven forecasting transformed demand prediction for over 3,000 SKUs by factoring in external elements like holiday seasons and tourism trends.
The result? Fewer stockouts, maximized sales, and hyper-personalized offers that hit the mark with consumers.
Similarly, for Flip Design, a school uniform company, accurate demand forecasting is mission-critical with only two major sales periods a year. By analyzing historical sales, consumer behavior, and unemployment rates, their AI-powered tool optimized inventory for over 700 SKUs. The benefits? Fewer last-minute production runs, higher customer satisfaction, and seamless expansion into new markets like the U.S. Northeast.
And AI doesn’t just boost profits—it reduces environmental impact.
By aligning production with real demand, retailers can cut overstock, markdowns, and waste. This is AI for Good in action: smarter inventory management that benefits both businesses and the planet. AI-powered demand forecasting has already reduced inventory errors by 50% and improved stock availability by 30%.
Want to dive deeper into the power of sales prediction? Check out our recent webinar to learn how AI can transform your inventory strategies.
Personalized Displays: Tailored Shopping in Real Time
Imagine walking into a store, and the screens around you adjust instantly. Powered by an advanced AI vision system, like Displ’s Content Analytics, these displays analyze factors like your age, gender, and even your mood to offer personalized product suggestions. In a cosmetics store, this could mean recommending the perfect moisturizer or showcasing trending fragrances.
This isn’t science fiction—it’s already happening. Sephora, for example, has introduced in-store tech like Color iQ, which matches customers to foundation shades, and is experimenting with AI systems to suggest products based on facial analysis.
Is The Future of Retail AI-Driven?
As we look to 2025 and beyond, retailers embracing AI will lead the pack. With 85% of retail executives already saying AI is transforming their operations—and 40% specifically using it to improve inventory management—the momentum is undeniable.
That being said, don’t let the complexity of AI intimidate you—our team of experts is here to guide you every step of the way.
Want to know more? Join us on February 5th in Toronto at Impact AI, where a speaker from ALDO Group will share how AI is transforming retail innovation.
