NY — Walmart and Ikea have diverse product mixes, store layouts, and merchandising strategies, but they do share some future commerce vision.
According to recent stories in the U.K.-based Technology magazine, both artificial intelligence technologies and drones are being included into each company’s continuous strategy development, with the same objective of increasing customer service and improving efficiency.
An article from August 17 claims that Ikea first used autonomous drones for inventory management in 2021 and that by 2023, over 100 of them were being used to count inventories at over 16 different locations throughout Europe. Ikea now utilizes Verity drones to track warehouse inventories in the company’s distinctive blue and yellow color scheme as part of a corporate strategy to “transform its stores into centers for omnichannel retailing,” according to author Amber Jackson.
Jackson continues, saying that Ikea oversees a wide range of products through the use of a complex supply chain, and that the corporation is able to “integrate online and offline shopping experiences” through the use of drones and artificial intelligence. In her writing, she stated that this guarantees “customers have access to accurate stock information regardless of their shopping location.”
Technology magazine previously revealed in a June piece that Walmart has declared the biggest increase in drone delivery of any American company, reaching up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) consumer market using drone deliveries. Reporter Marcus Law noted that since 2021, Walmart has executed over 30,000 successful drone deliveries. The company’s most recent endeavor to improve customer service involves introducing drone delivery via its mobile app to the DFW region.
According to Law, Walmart started utilizing generative AI early this year to improve the search function on its website and mobile app. The company is currently in beta testing a Gen AI-powered shopping assistant that will provide customers with tailored recommendations based on their queries. The digital tool aims to make Walmart more than just a store for customers to purchase goods; it will become their “first stop” for a range of retail needs.
Jackson reports using Ikea in a similar way. The business introduced its own AI shopping assistant earlier this year, giving customers the opportunity to inquire about products’ availability and catalog goods in addition to receiving direct links to the checkout.
According to a remark in the article, Ikea is adopting a “pragmatic, execution-focused approach, learning by doing and capitalizing on our early efforts of a Responsible AI framework.” Francesco Marzoni is the chief data and analytics officer at Ikea Retail. In order to “take part in the AI evolution as we shape our company strategy,” he continued, Ikea is conducting trials with a “broad ecosystem of partners.”
When two industry titans integrate technology into their operations, it is always important to take note of what could influence future tactics at other organizations in the same industry. Law did, however, also discuss the difficulties companies encounter when experimenting with AI, citing a global survey carried out by MIT Technology Review Insights and pointing out that few companies think they have the necessary infrastructure to successfully integrate AI into their operations.
David Williams, managing director of EMEA at Telstra International, a survey partner, was cited by Law regarding the results.
The vast majority of CEOs said they view general artificial intelligence (AI) as more of a competitive opportunity than a threat, Williams added, indicating that there are high expectations on how revolutionary AI could be. Nevertheless, this study points to a significant change as business leaders strive to resolve the fundamental deployment issues before the excitement surrounding generative AI starts to materialize in more significant and useful ways.
