Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Singapore – Financial services company Singlife has recently launched the “The Dream Cube”, a digital, virtual, and AI-driven web campaign, to allow Singaporeans to see what their unique financial freedom dream would look like in real life. 

‘The Dream Cube’ builds on the momentum of Singlife’s 2024 “Dream” campaign, launched on 1 July with a brand film starring Mediacorp artiste and Singlife brand ambassador Pierre Png. 

Said campaign takes participants through a personalised journey with generative AI technology and webAR with just a few taps on their mobile devices. They answer three simple questions about their views on financial freedom, and unlock a unique, AI-generated vision of their dreams. 

The scenarios are based on the research and insights garnered from Singlife’s first Financial Freedom Index study, conducted in 2023, which showed that Singaporeans feel that financial freedom means being able to retire whenever they want, travel and give back to society, amongst others.

Apart from encouraging Singaporeans to pursue their dreams, this innovative activation reinforces Singlife’s commitment to listening to its customers. By understanding their dreams and aspirations, Singlife derives valuable insights to tailor its offerings and services to meet evolving customer needs.

Debra Soon, group head of brand, communications, marketing and experience at Singlife, said, “Singlife’s ‘Dream’ campaign is about empowering Singaporeans to visualise and chase their dreams. The Dream Cube takes this message to another level, allowing individuals to see themselves achieving those dreams, one which is personalised and unique.”

She added, “We hope this will give them the impetus to plan for their financial freedom and know that their dreams are achievable if they take the right steps and plan with the right data and advice. At the same time, we want them to have some fun with the app and connect with us on a digital platform.” 

Participants can enter “The Dream Cube” by visiting dreamcube.singlife.com. From now until 24 September 2024, the first 5,000 participants will receive a S$20 e-voucher, as well as a Financial Freedom Starter Plan with ideas for solutions to help kickstart their financial planning journeys.

In line with the campaign message, the company also announced its sponsorship of the award winning local film “Wonderland”. The movie tells a heartwarming story about attaining one’s dreams, be it for one’s family or simply the pursuit of a better life. Singlife reaffirms its dedication to partnering Singaporeans in chasing their dreams by finding a better way to financial freedom.

In the futuristic sci-fi thriller Minority Report, Tom Cruise’s character walks through a shopping mall equipped with retinal scanners that immediately serve up holographic advertisements tailored to his personal needs and tastes. It’s intrusive, unnerving, yet feels incredibly believable. That day has finally come, beginning in e-commerce.

With the explosive growth of Large Language Models (LLMs), AI has become the buzzword of the decade, promising revolutionary changes across industries. Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of e-commerce, where AI holds the tantalising promise of hyper-personalised experiences that can dramatically boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, as we stand on the precipice of this AI-driven revolution, it’s crucial to recognise that beneath the hype lies a landscape fraught with hidden challenges and ethical considerations.

The potential is undeniably exciting. It offers unprecedented capabilities to analyse vast amounts of customer data, identify patterns and preferences, and deliver highly tailored experiences. Through sophisticated data analysis and predictive modelling, AI can anticipate customer needs and behaviours with uncanny accuracy. This allows for real-time personalisation of content, recommendations, and even user interfaces, creating a seamless and engaging customer journey.

Natural language processing, another key AI capability, is revolutionising customer interactions through chatbots and voice assistants, making brand engagement more conversational and intuitive. AI’s ability to optimise pricing based on individual customer value and willingness to pay opens up new avenues for dynamic pricing strategies. Moreover, AI-powered sentiment analysis can gauge customer emotions, enabling brands to provide appropriate responses and experiences that resonate on a deeper level.

An Overview of AI in E-Commerce

AI plays a crucial role in enhancing personalisation across various e-commerce domains, including traditional e-commerce, social commerce, retail media, and q-commerce. In e-commerce, AI-powered recommendation systems analyse vast amounts of customer data, such as browsing history, purchase patterns, and demographic information, to provide highly personalised product recommendations that are tailored to each individual’s preferences. This not only improves the customer experience but also drives increased sales and loyalty. 

In the realm of social commerce, AI algorithms enable brands to create engaging and personalised shopping experiences by analysing user behaviour on social media platforms. By understanding individual preferences and interests, AI can deliver targeted content, product recommendations, and personalised promotions that resonate with each customer, fostering deeper connections and driving conversions.

Retail media, which refers to the use of a retailer’s owned media assets to deliver advertising, also benefits from AI-powered personalisation. AI algorithms can analyse customer data across multiple touchpoints, including the retailer’s website, mobile app, and in-store interactions, to deliver personalised ad experiences that are more relevant and effective for both the customer and the advertiser.

In the emerging field of q-commerce, or quick commerce, AI plays a crucial role in enhancing personalisation. By leveraging real-time data on customer location, purchase history, and immediate needs, AI can provide hyper-personalized product recommendations and seamless checkout experiences, ensuring that customers receive the right products at the right time, ultimately improving satisfaction and driving repeat business.

These applications paint a picture of a future where marketing becomes an almost magical experience, anticipating our desires before we even articulate them. However, this rosy vision comes with a significant caveat: the ethical implications of such powerful personalisation tools are profound and cannot be ignored.

Understanding Hyper-Personalisation Perils

The collection and use of vast amounts of personal data, essential for AI-driven personalisation, raise serious concerns about privacy and data security. The potential for this data to be misused, either through breaches or unethical practices, is a real and present danger. Moreover, the opacity of many AI algorithms creates a “black box” problem, where neither consumers nor regulators fully understand how decisions are being made about them.

There’s also the risk of creating filter bubbles, where AI-driven personalisation narrows the range of experiences and information presented to consumers, potentially reinforcing biases and limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. The use of AI in dynamic pricing, while potentially beneficial for businesses, raises questions about fairness and could lead to price discrimination.

Given these challenges, it’s clear that the path forward for AI in marketing must be one of responsible innovation. We need to strike a delicate balance between leveraging the powerful capabilities of AI and upholding ethical standards that protect consumer rights and maintain public trust.

Transparency and Responsible Use

Transparency should be at the forefront of this approach. Companies need to clearly communicate what data they’re collecting and how it’s being used. Privacy policies should be easy to understand, not buried in legal jargon. Customers should have control over their data, including the right to access, correct, and delete it. Robust consent processes and clear opt-out mechanisms for personalised marketing are essential.

Data minimisation is another crucial principle. Companies should only collect data necessary for specific, stated purposes and implement retention policies to delete unnecessary information. This not only respects consumer privacy but also reduces the risk and potential impact of data breaches.

Algorithmic transparency, while challenging to implement fully, should be a goal. Where possible, companies should provide explanations of how their AI systems make decisions. Regular audits of AI systems for bias and fairness are crucial to ensure that personalisation doesn’t turn into discrimination.

Ethical considerations need to be baked into the AI development process from the start, not added as an afterthought. This includes establishing clear ethical guidelines for AI use in marketing and ensuring diverse teams are involved in AI development to mitigate bias.

Don’t Lose the Human

Human oversight remains crucial. While AI can make rapid decisions, human supervision and review processes are necessary to catch errors, address nuanced situations, and ensure alignment with brand values and ethical standards.

Strong data security practices are non-negotiable. As AI systems handle increasingly sensitive customer information, regular updates and testing of security protocols are essential to protect against evolving threats.

Accountability needs to be clear and concrete. Organisations should assign clear responsibility for AI systems and establish processes for addressing AI-related issues or complaints. Regular ethical impact assessments can help companies understand and mitigate the broader societal impacts of their AI systems.

Education is key, both internally and externally. Staff need to be kept updated on AI ethics and best practices, while customers should be educated about how AI is used in marketing. This transparency can help build trust and enable consumers to make informed choices about their engagement with AI-driven marketing.

Collaboration with regulators and industry bodies is essential to develop appropriate guidelines and standards. As the AI landscape evolves rapidly, ongoing dialogue between businesses, policymakers, and consumer advocates is crucial to ensure that regulations keep pace with technological advancements.

The Way Forward

While the challenges are significant, there’s reason for optimism. The conversation around ethical AI is gaining momentum, with more companies recognising that responsible AI practices are not just ethically necessary but also good for business in the long run. Consumers are becoming more aware and demanding of their digital rights, pushing companies towards more transparent and ethical practices.

The future of AI in marketing is not a binary choice between innovation and ethics – it’s about finding ways to pursue both simultaneously. By embracing transparent and responsible AI practices, companies can unlock the full potential of personalised marketing while building and maintaining the trust of their customers.

As we move forward, it’s crucial to remember that the goal of AI in marketing should not just be to sell more effectively, but to create genuine value for consumers. When implemented ethically and responsibly, AI has the potential to create marketing experiences that are not just personalised, but truly personal – experiences that respect individual preferences, protect privacy, and contribute positively to people’s lives.

The path ahead is challenging, but it’s also filled with opportunity. By navigating this path thoughtfully and ethically, we can harness the power of AI to create a future of marketing that is both innovative and responsible, serving the needs of businesses and consumers alike. The journey towards ethical AI in marketing is not just a technological challenge, but a human one – and it’s a journey we must undertake together.

This thought leadership is written by David Ko, Managing Director at Ruder Finn Interactive Asia, the digital arm of Ruder Finn Asia.

MARKETECH APAC is leading the conversation on the future of e-commerce marketing strategies this 2024 and beyond with the E-Commerce Marketing in the Philippines 2024 conference on August 14, 2024 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria. Join us and become an integral part of a dynamic community committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and fostering unparalleled growth in the e-commerce domain.

Singapore – Around 82% of leaders in Singapore believe AI will make or break businesses, with 78% of them think traditional CX will be dead–and saying 2027 will mark the “death of traditional CX”. This is according to the latest data from Zendesk.

The report envisions a future where CX organisations become leaner, faster, and more effective, with AI at the helm to streamline processes, personalise engagement, and handle a higher volume of customer interactions. 

Moreover, the evolution will likely lead to smaller CX teams, as 74% of industry experts across Asia-Pacific predict a downsizing due to AI’s ability to simplify operations while delivering high quality service to customers. Industry experts in Singapore record the most muted response (63%) to the predicted downsizing, compared to their regional counterparts in Australia (84%) and India (73%). 

Industry leaders in the region also believe AI is changing everything about CX, with leaders in Singapore agreeing the least (85%) with this sentiment compared to leaders in India (92%) and Australia (90%). Despite this, leaders in Singapore show optimism for the future of CX in the next three years: 87% believe voice-activated self-service will be an option for all channels; 85% say integrated text, voice and video interactions will be combined into a single experience; and 81% believe all CX solutions will have built-in generative capabilities. 

Around 84% of them also believe there will be a fivefold increase in customer service interactions by 2027, with leaders confident in AI’s ability to maintain quality service. This shift will make operations smoother, decisions sharper, and boost market competitiveness. As AI takes over routine tasks, it will enable teams to be more efficient and control costs, allowing for effective scaling of business operations even as customer interactions increase. 

In Singapore, 70% of industry leaders believe all channels will be powered by AI in three years, with AI-assisted support augmenting human agents by providing real-time diagnostic assistance and recommendations. 

“Industry leaders will transform into customer-centric visionaries, equipped with a deep understanding of the solutions that truly resonate with customers. They will proactively apply AI, using real-time data for better customer experiences, and collaborate across departments to safeguard customers and swiftly innovate based on AI insights. This transition will empower CX leaders to deploy AI strategically, make smarter decisions, and effectively guide their teams through emerging tech trends and evolving customer behaviours,” Zendesk said in a press statement following the report’s release.

The report also notes that AI’s impact on CX organisations promises to be significant, reshaping the roles of agents, admins, and leaders to prioritise specialised skills. In fact, 86% of industry leaders in Singapore say agent roles will evolve to cross-functional roles for more holistic service, with three-quarters believing they will only handle complex escalations that involve in-depth troubleshooting. Agents will see their roles expand to include enhanced technical skills and a deeper understanding of technology.

Lastly, admin roles are on the cusp of a big change, becoming proactive guardians of business operations. They will increasingly rely on AI copilots and smart tools to manage automated interactions and to make AI-driven improvements. 

“In their day-to-day, admins will keep a real-time pulse on the quality of agent interactions, refine automation, predict staffing needs, and implement workflows suggested by AI. They will need to master using AI to enhance team performance, employ no/low-code tools for automation, make data-driven decisions, and balance workload between humans and AI to meet customer needs. This evolution will empower admins to spearhead strategic advancements and maintain efficient, effective operations,” the report also added.

Speaking on the report’s release, Craig Flower, chief information officer at Zendesk, said, “In the near future, AI will play a role in all customer interactions, moving us beyond traditional, manual service to more advanced, technological-driven experiences. That’s why leaders are proactively adjusting their strategies now to navigate the anticipated changes and leverage AI to its fullest potential. A transformation won’t happen overnight, but there will be a steady progression that develops over time. It’s going to redefine roles and improve experiences for CX teams and their customers.”

Meanwhile, Maureen Chong, regional vice president, Asia at Zendesk, commented, “Consumers today have been clear about the imperatives in their interactions with businesses – an AI-assisted, personalised experience that’s consistent across all platforms. CX leaders across Asia Pacific are feeling the pressure to adopt AI into their CX organisation, with over 90% saying the pace of change is overwhelming.”

She added, “With only a quarter of leaders in the region describing their AI adoption as advanced, industry leaders are recognizing the gaps and taking steps to strengthen their CX. Key areas they are addressing – enhancing data security, investing in new CX technologies, expanding AI and automation in service delivery, integrating generative AI and optimising self-service support. Done right this won’t just help businesses weather ongoing economic uncertainties – it will, in fact, give them a competitive edge.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Local telco player CelcomDigi has recently launched its CelcomDigi AI Experience Centre (AiX) – a one-stop immersive innovation and collaboration hub to lead, inspire, and advance the creation of world-class digital solutions across a range of sectors and verticals.

Supported by a wide ecosystem of leading global technology players and local partners, AiX will serve as a focal point for cross-industry collaborations, leveraging emerging technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), robotics, analytics and metaverse. 

Moreover, this collaborative facility is designed to spur rapid technology advancements and growth of new digital start-ups, enterprises, and future skills to build a flourishing innovation ecosystem and fuel Malaysia’s digital transformation.

Build on a partnership model, AiX is powered by a strong, extensive and growing ecosystem of 40 global technology leaders, local partners and solution providers, from core partners Huawei and ZTE, to other collaborative partners AWS, Digital Nasional Berhad, Ericsson, Microsoft, SK Telecom, Softbank, Sumitomo, and Yinson, amongst others.

Launched by the Minister of Communications YB Fahmi Fadzil, AiX provides an immersive experience combining sight, sound, and touch, and features real-world solutions ready for immediate deployment. 

Built on a model of constant evolution and partnership, the technology and showcases will be refreshed periodically to bring new experiences to visitors and is set to be the epicentre of co-creation to enable rapid experimentation and development of new technology solutions for the market.

For Datuk Idham Nawawi, CEO at CelcomDigi, emerging technologies such as AI are revolutionising the world, and Malaysia must keep pace with this progress to build a flourishing digital nation. He also added that over 1.5 years ago, they have made a strong commitment to play a pivotal role to realise this ambition, leveraging their greater combined capabilities as a merged company to invest and drive digitalisation, innovation and sustainable growth for the nation.

“The AI Experience Centre is a realisation of the national benefit of the merger, where CelcomDigi’s scale and capabilities are able to attract and partner global and regional digital tech giants to accelerate the development of cutting-edge digital solutions – positioning us a strong ally to the nation’s digital aspirations,” Nawawi said.

He also added that AiX emphasises the significance of a thriving innovation ecosystem to develop a robust digital society. For him, in the fast-paced era of digital everything, speed and ferocity of innovation is essential, and therefore have designed AiX on a model of strong partnerships and constant evolution, enabling them to co-create use cases with great potential at an accelerated speed for Malaysia.

“Building with some of the most notable global tech and local ecosystem players, together we have invested RM55 million to support this ambition. We will continue to invest in the infrastructure, partnerships, and competencies needed to support Malaysia through the rapid tech changes around us. We are determined to spur digital transformations across industries and ensure the benefits of 5G, AI, and emerging technologies are realised for all Malaysians,” he concluded.

Singapore – AI-powered omnichannel conversation suite provider SleekFlow has announced the appointment of Gao Lei as chief technology officer, effective immediately.

With over 20 years of tech leadership at Silicon Valley and tech entrepreneurial experience in AI and Big Data, Lei brings a wealth of expertise in building and scaling engineering teams, developing and operating highly scalable and available infrastructure, and creating innovative products that drive business growth.

Prior to joining SleekFlow, Gao Lei served as the CTO at LinkedIn China, where he was responsible for building and scaling the engineering team to support the company’s rapid growth.

During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in developing several award-winning products that have transformed how businesses engage with their customers.

Gao also holds a PhD in Data Replication/Distributed Systems from The University of Texas at Austin and has been recognized as a thought leader in the technology industry, having been featured in numerous industry publications and conferences.

Speaking on his appointment, Lei said, “I am excited to join the SleekFlow team and contribute to the company’s continued success. SleekFlow has a strong reputation for delivering innovative customer engagement solutions. I look forward to leveraging my experience to enhance the platform further and drive even greater value for our platform users.”

Meanwhile, Henson Tsai, founder and CEO of SleekFlow, commented, “We are looking forward to welcoming Gao Lei to the SleekFlow team. His record of successes in delivering transformative technology solutions makes him the ideal candidate to lead our future plans. We are confident that his leadership and vision will further strengthen SleekFlow’s position as a leading player in the customer engagement space.”

Singapore – Survey software firm, Milieu Insight, has recently released major product enhancements to further efforts on easing consumer research processes and community management for brands, all within a single platform.

Launched at the end of last year, the Canvas platform continues to add to its repertoire of industry-first innovations, including an improved visual survey builder, new panel and data integration features, and direct communication channels between brands and survey takers.

The Canvas platform also comes with a full suite of features to clean, manage and analyse data. Its email and database cleaning capabilities ensure that surveys are sent only to valid email addresses, thereby improving completion rates, and its one-of-a-kind significance testing tool turns data to meaningful insights with just a click.

In the latest iteration, Milieu has expanded Canvas’ survey design capabilities to include more question formats to meet clients’ diverse needs. The new addition of a consolidated list view, equipped with editing tools, gives users an overview of survey content and increases ease of navigation.

Brands can then connect survey results on Canvas with a consumer profiling tool called ‘Portraits’ within Milieu’s community, generating a wealth of insights from just a few questions.

Portraits provide access to thousands of consumer segments and millions of pre-collected data points across topics not limited to demographics, lifestyle and media consumption. This will significantly speed up brands’ research processes and empower them to make the most updated and informed decisions to drive business success.

Additionally, brands can connect their existing customer database to Canvas through first-party data, mailing lists and even social media following lists, with the addition of API integration feature and auto-punching of consumer data into surveys.

Talking about these enhancements, Gerald Ang, founder and CEO of Milieu Insight, said, “As generative AI technology advances, we are dedicated to automating the time-consuming and often tedious aspects of market research. Users can anticipate the launch of ‘Flash,’ an AI survey assistant ready to support in survey design.”

“Flash will be fully integrated into our visual editor, providing assistance throughout the entire survey design process as needed. Whether users require initial survey question suggestions or assistance with designing specific questions and answer options, Flash will be on-demand, 24/7,” he added.

Sydney, Australia – Kantar has announced the launch of the Kantar AI Lab, which brings together the company’s AI teams across its entire business. This new centre of expertise for the development of AI Technologies, products, and collaborations incorporates AI into all aspects of Kantar’s business. 

This approach aims to disrupt the insights sector on a broad scale by integrating Kantar’s AI capabilities with its expertise and extensive data to provide clients with an improved experience. 

The Kantar AI Lab includes the Kantar AI Assistant (KaiA), a conversational generative AI assistant that allows marketers to interact with data more intuitively by just asking questions. KaiA integrates proprietary data, models, and analytical frameworks to create insights in seconds, and it is initially available to Kantar Brand Tracking clients. 

One of the features of Kantar AI Lab is Text AI, a novel, proprietary generative AI-based method intended for large-scale analysis of thousands of open-ended survey answers. In massive amounts of text-based responses, it finds, classifies, and comprehends common patterns while upholding data security and privacy norms. More probing questions can lead to a more in-depth understanding. 

The next innovation from Kantar AI Lab is Text AI, a brand-new, in-house generative AI method that can evaluate tens of thousands of survey replies with open-ended questions at once. In massive amounts of text-based responses, it finds, classifies, and comprehends common patterns while upholding data security and privacy norms. More probing questions can lead to more in-depth understanding. 

For video, LINK AI Creative Insights integrates media effectiveness evaluation with creative thinking. Brands may now make comprehensive judgments about media planning because of this connection. 

A newly developed hybrid metric that predicts an advertisement’s impact on brand awareness, consideration, and purchase intent inside digital advertising is introduced via the predicted brand lift function in LINK+ digital creative testing. 

Advertisers can track campaign adherence to channel or brand rules with automated creative tagging for ads tested with LINK AI in addition to LINK AI’s creative effectiveness data. Deeper meta-analyses that determine which creative components tend to produce desired results for advertisers and their clients are made possible by this combination.

The hybrid market transfer function in LINK AI provides AI-based forecasts of ad success in secondary markets by leveraging LINK+ results from the primary market. This tool assists brands with the problem of developing memorable advertising while maximising effect by identifying creative executions fit for global deployment. It offers to save time, maximise ad ROI, and boost advertiser confidence when expanding campaigns abroad. 

ConceptEvaluate AI is a new tool created with Kantar’s innovation database to provide brands with precise estimates of in-market success for their concepts. It aims to reduce time to market and increase cost-effectiveness by providing early input on up to 100 proposals. By finding higher-performing concepts, the tool reduces risk in the innovation process and indicates which concepts should be tested further. 

Speaking about the launch, Ashok Kalidas, global chief AI scientist at Kantar, said, “We’re focused on the impact that AI can have in enhancing fraud prevention, the role of synthetic data, and fast and flexible data sourcing. For clients, our work is enabling everything from data connectivity to campaign optimisation, pushing the boundaries of how we understand people and help shape the brands of tomorrow.” 

Meanwhile, John Cucka, head of analytics and AI for Kantar Australia, said, “Streamlining our processes, improving data quality, and maintaining cost control for our clients aren’t the sexy news businesses usually shout about. The launch of AI Lab is an opportunity to shout about the new AI tools we’ve developed that are getting into our client’s hands.” 

He added, “Leveraging our world-leading frameworks, proprietary databases, and an army of data science, statistics, and technology experts, we’ve developed tools across the entire marketing landscape based on world-leading technologies. The depth and breadth of our AI-powered portfolio are like nothing else available in Australia. Whether the need is in Creative, Media, Innovation or Branding, AI-powered tools now exist from idea generation through to testing, refinement, optimisation, and forecasting.” 

“This is just the beginning of the AI evolution of the industry. As we can continue to train up our AI agents, speed and quality will continue to rise, and accessibility will continue to open. AI is fundamentally changing how we work, but it’s not replacing humans. It is freeing up our incredibly talented and experienced team to focus on leveraging the tools to our client’s advantage, generating better insights to ultimately drive better strategic and tactical decision-making,” Cucka concluded. 

Against the backdrop of the post-pandemic recovery, consumers across the Asia Pacific region have been adapting to many challenges: inflation, a cost-of-living crisis, and supply-chain-related instability of product availability, to name a few.

The pandemic has disrupted traditional in-store shopping patterns for three long years, but a recent return to a more ‘normal’ shopping environment has put into focus how much consumers driven online over that time would return to stores.

Amid the current saturated e-commerce landscape, as well as the current climate of economic uncertainty, there is therefore an even greater need for retailers to know how to better engage consumers to gain market share, particularly as consumers recalibrate their spending.

KPMG and GS1’s latest research of 7,000 consumers across 14 markets in the region reflects multiple patterns and expectations among consumer groups, but one over-riding conclusion is clear: The era of seamless commerce has arrived and while both online and offline channels remain popular throughout the region, traditional retail business models are unlikely to meet the expectations of many consumers today. Retailers and brands will have to adapt or face potential consequences of not moving with the market.

From omnichannel to seamless retail

We’re witnessing a third wave of digital disruption in the ever-evolving retail landscape. Previously, multichannel approaches—such as online and brick-and-mortar stores—operated independently within the same retail umbrella. However, the omnichannel era, fuelled by data analytics and AI, has prompted retailers to build bridges across these silos, encouraging collaboration.

Now, with seamless commerce, we’re entering a new evolutionary phase. The seamless commerce approach recognises that consumer interactions span multiple channels, blurring the lines between online and offline. To deliver a truly seamless experience, retailers must adopt an end-to-end perspective, making decisions through a fundamentally different lens. If they don’t deliver a truly seamless experience and don’t adapt their businesses to meet the expectations of the next generation of consumers, they will struggle to survive.

Innovative retailers are striving towards seamless commerce – which recognises a brand’s customer journey across multiple platforms and services, encompassing social media, delivery innovations, apps, websites, automated messaging, and other digital interactions, all seamlessly integrated within traditional physical stores.

The concept of seamless retail was fuelled by the pandemic, where consumers across all generations were driven to shop online, unable to visit physical stores due to movement restrictions. Not only did they head online to purchase food, groceries, and other essential goods, but the migration from working in offices to working from home saw demand in categories such as apparel and home furnishing.

With this shift, seamless commerce – once a differentiator – is now a baseline expectation from consumers; retailers and brands will have to adapt or face potential consequences of not moving with the market.

It’s never a one-size-fits-all in Asia-Pacific

In recent decades, the Asia-Pacific region has been at the forefront of retail transformation, notably in its early and extensive adoption of online platforms which have played a much larger role compared to the rest of the world.

Although COVID has accelerated online shopping across the region, results tell us that consumer habits in terms of how, where, and when they shop remain highly varied. On average, 45% of respondents preferred the ‘omnichannel’ approach, while in a boost for physical-first retailers, relatively few respondents said they could live with only shopping online.

In fact, the e-commerce landscape in the region is marked by a lack of a dominant platform – although various solutions and marketplaces are prevalent in individual markets. There is intense competition among platforms to capture the consumer’s dollar, and these figures identify a wide variety of products and fast, reliable delivery as two of the top three priorities for consumers when choosing a platform.

In terms of desired improvements, competitive pricing ranked as the foremost expectation in Asia-Pacific, cited by 38% of respondents, while promotions and discounts ranked third at 25%, highlighting the need for retailers to implement price strategies that ensure they remain competitive in the market.

Despite these aggregated results, the study reveals that although online is now more important than ever as a retail shopping channel, others such as livestreaming and social shopping are growing at differing rates in many locations. Marketplaces, once at the vanguard of retail transformation, are now coming under attack from new players, including department stores and other multi-brand retailers developing sophisticated, personalised platforms to recover market share they may have lost online.

More notably, a one-size-fits-all retail strategy – if ever it made sense – is becoming less and less meaningful.

How AI is shaping customer experiences and driving sales

With consumer preferences in Asia-Pacific being ever-varied, retailers are embracing AI at an unprecedented speed, resulting in improved customer experiences and increased sales.

In fact, our interviews with senior executives suggest that the adoption of AI by retail enterprises is faster than any previous technology – both at customer-facing points and behind the scenes. Analysis from Stocklytics predicts the generative AI market will hit US$1 trillion in value by 2031, representing a cumulative annual growth rate of 48.05%.

Front-of-house, AI is being used to refine customer experiences in automated chat platforms by developing a better understanding of consumer experiences and behaviour to provide more accurate responses and information.

Responses to customer enquiries can be based on relevant help centre content – directly provided within the conversation, rather than just sharing relevant FAQ responses as is typically done.

Back-of-house, AI has become an indispensable tool in functions such as demand forecasting, supply chain management, and developing marketing content. We have seen how ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, with a user base of more than 180 million people in November 2023.

There is a huge opportunity for AI to help companies understand purchasing trends – sudden spikes or drops in volume, for example – to maintain optimum inventory levels. It can contribute to significant efficiencies in sourcing, shipping, and inventory optimisation by predicting product demand, thereby mitigating issues like out-of-stock inventory or overordering. Currently, such decision-making processes may be delayed or predominantly manual, but the leverage and scalability that AI brings can greatly amplify the output traditionally managed solely by human personnel.

Incorporating seamless commerce strategies for sustainable business growth

Across Asia-Pacific, retailers who limit themselves to one channel face significant risks. Online-only retailers may lack the personal touch and might encounter difficulties in establishing reliable delivery systems, while traditional brick-and-mortar stores are not only missing out on reaching a broader audience but also on leveraging their physical presence for innovative solutions like ‘click and collect’ services or using their locations as local distribution hubs.

To meaningfully address these dynamics, focusing on a frictionless customer experience as the ultimate benchmark for measuring success is crucial. Insight-driven retailers need to utilise data and analytics to predict, strategise, and tailor their product offerings and service delivery, backed by a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs.
Technologies such as AI and Gen AI are increasingly helping retailers to yield actionable insights and interventions that improve customer experiences – from enhanced demand forecasting and customer service to optimising product availability and fine-tuning pricing and promotions.

Indeed, a seamless online-offline customer experience has now become a baseline expectation. Only by excelling in this domain can retailers expect to lead the market.

This thought leadership is written by Anson Bailey, Head of Consumer & Retail, for KPMG in Asia Pacific

MARKETECH APAC is leading the conversation on the future of e-commerce marketing strategies this 2024 and beyond with the E-Commerce Marketing in Malaysia 2024 conference on July 25, 2024 at Sheraton Petaling Jaya and the E-Commerce Marketing in the Philippines 2024 conference on August 14, 2024 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria. Join us and become an integral part of a dynamic community committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and fostering unparalleled growth in the e-commerce domain.

Omnichannel solutions have become essential for organisations hoping to provide smooth and consistent consumer experiences in today’s quickly changing digital market. In contrast to conventional multichannel methods, which frequently function in isolation, omnichannel tactics incorporate every consumer interaction point—website, physical store, social media, and mobile applications—into a single and seamless experience.

In more recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) to these solutions has been monumental in terms of effective reach to customers by brands. By leveraging AI, brands can analyse vast amounts of data from various touchpoints to gain deep insights into customer behaviour and preferences. This data-driven understanding enables brands to personalise interactions at an unprecedented scale, offering tailored recommendations, targeted marketing campaigns, and proactive customer support. 

To learn more about the role of AI in optimising current omnichannel strategies for both brands and marketers, we sat down with Asnawi Jufrie, Vice President & General Manager of Southeast Asia at SleekFlow as part of our Expert Up Close interview series to discuss the trends and technologies influencing the future of omnichannel, and how is SleekFlow contributing into developing new measures for effective omnichannel strategies.

What will influence the future of omnichannel

To begin the discourse on improving omnichannel experiences, Jufrie stressed that the use of AI in omnichannel experiences is based on doing more with less, as brands are looking to increase their revenue while also reducing costs.

For him, there are three key trends for the future of omnichannel: all-in-one, referring to unified and integrated communication channel solutions for brands; AI-powered conversations that refer to smart choices made by AI model integrations to deliver appropriate messaging to customers; and automated workflows that refer to the seamless communication to customers through integrated messaging like call-to-action and quick replies.

Much of these trends for the future of omnichannel are rooted in the rising success of social commerce, with Jufrie citing a Statista study of how global social commerce sales is forecasted to reach USD$8b by 2030–and certainly a promising space to watch out for.

“Since the e-commerce industry has been growing on a monumental scale, social commerce has been a game-changer, it has reshaped the way people discover, engage with and purchase products online. Consumers are now more than ever inclined to interact with brands on social messaging platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, because that’s where most of their daily personal interactions take place,” he said.

How SleekFlow is responding to omnichannel trends and challenges

Jufrie further noted in the interview that SleekFlow’s strength in providing efficient omnichannel relies on hitting the marketing and sales aspect of the ideal customer persona (ICP). In order to hit the target of ICPs for businesses, he enlists three things that should be on top of mind for marketers: lead generation, lead qualification, and lead nurturing/engagement.

These key takeaways–which are part of the overall omnichannel experience–revolve around the ideal acquisition of a potential customer, sorting out using AI on quality leads for sales, and having current customers stay for the longer run through retention and loyalty strategies.

Meanwhile, the three things that should be on top of the mind of marketers in terms of sales revolve around the SCD acronym: speed to lead, collaboration, and data ownership. As sales teams chase quality leads to convert them into retaining customers, there should also be a system where there is a unified solution that encourages collaboration within an organisation in terms of support and marketing.

“Besides sales and marketing, we also recognise the impact that customer support can bring in lead procurement, engagement, conversion and customer retention. SleekFlow aims to help businesses stay competitive and be closely connected with customers from the beginning to the end, and maintain healthy repeat customer cycles,” he said.

Interestingly, he also shares data that customer conversion from a landing page only accounts for 2%, and only 17% converted from those opening an EDM. However, in the case of chat channels, opening rates on WhatsApp specifically account for almost 98%. The question is: how do you execute an omnichannel strategy that will get addressed immediately by the customer?

“The most important thing here is to make sure [that] you’re giving the right copies, the right people with the right messaging. If you can infuse [with] AI as well, you’re saving a lot of time which reduces your cost [and] enables you to increase your revenue, because you are giving people relevant things,” he explained.

By having an effective chat-driven omnichannel strategy, it relieves the business’ pain point in having to switch between different platforms or tools, so employees can focus on faster, more accurate, and streamlined communication on one single platform. On the other end, customers will also experience a smooth journey from discovery to purchase, increasing sales conversions and brand loyalty.

“SleekFlow incorporates both automation workflows and AI chatbot, along with other AI features such as writing assistant, smart reply and data-driven AI insights and analysis. Sales & marketing teams and customers can benefit from this, as it saves a significant amount of time on all ends, enhancing productivity, optimised engagement, and the overall chat experiences,” Jufrie further explained.

Engaging with customers effectively to build loyalty through AI integration

When there’s a discussion about building loyalty, Jufrie stresses the importance of having the support team also aiding in the process, as they will be responsible for promoting repeated purchases–the ultimate goal of loyalty. For that to happen, brands need to understand customers and let their voices be heard, whether through ratings, surveys and even direct messaging.

“We should be building and improving products and services based on the voice of the customer so we can continually evolve, and continually give the customers what they want so that we promote the whole idea of repeated purchases which allows brands to have better lead procurement, engagements, conversions, as well as retention,” he stated.

Bringing up his previous points, he then stresses how AI integration for these solutions will help brands focus on making data-driven decisions for their omnichannel strategies for customers, adding that leveraging AI data analytics allows brands to gain exclusive insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and market trends. This will then enable brands to make informed decisions and anticipate changing consumer needs.

Moreover, he shares that brands can also invest in AI talent and partnerships, to build a team with AI expertise or partner with AI service providers to embrace newer technologies and place greater attention to the implementation of AI solutions.

“My last advice is “better late than never”. I believe brands should continually position themselves at the forefront of AI integration, drive innovation, and meet the evolving needs of their customers in a rapidly changing market landscape,” he concluded.

Learn more about his insights on omnichannel strategies by checking out the full interview below:

Singapore – The majority of marketers in Singapore are embracing AI, with 78% having experimented with or fully implemented AI into their workflows, according to a report by global technology company and AI customer relationship management platform Salesforce.

However, data from Salesforce’s report also suggests that many Singaporean marketers lack a solid data foundation, which hinders their success optimising their AI usage with only 21% being fully satisfied with their ability to unify customer data sources.

Going into more detail, the majority of Singaporeans using AI are focused on generating content, automating customer interactions, and improving customer segmentation or lookalike audience modelling.

On the other hand, this quest for unified, real-time data is more critical and challenging for marketers, with only 42% having access to real-time data to execute a campaign – the lowest globally, and with 57% needing the IT department’s help to do so.

In terms of other key local insights, there is no shortage of data sources, but putting that data to work is a challenge for marketers in Singapore, especially when it demands a holistic or long-term view of data. 49% of these marketers are tracking customer lifetime value (CTV), whilst 84% say they have a clear view into marketing’s impact on revenue.

Companies are also increasingly turning to strategies like ABM and loyalty programs for better acquisition and retention. Yet many of these programs’ information sources remain disjointed, as does the customer experience.

60% of Singaporean marketers say that loyalty data is fully integrated across all touchpoints, whilst only 35% say loyalty program functionalities are accessible across all touchpoints. Meanwhile, 50% of B2B marketers use ABM for customer acquisition, around half use it for upselling (50%) and cross-selling (53%).

To meet rising customer expectations around personalisation, marketers are moving beyond broad audience segmentations, like location or age, to more specific identifiers like individual preferences or past interactions. There is also a difference between how the highest and lowest performing marketing teams adapt. High performers fully personalise across an average of 6 channels, compared with underperformers who fully personalise across 2.

Lastly, the report stated that marketers in Singapore are most concerned about improving marketing ROI in a highly competitive landscape, yet their biggest struggle lies in both measuring results and engaging with customers in real time.

Talking about the report, Wendy Walker, vice president of marketing for Salesforce ASEAN, said, “As Marketers, we are used to the pressure of needing to do more with less whilst meeting the increasing expectations of consumers – especially around personalisation. And so it’s no wonder that we are leading the way with integrating AI. AI makes personalisation at scale a reality, while also driving greater opportunity for brand consistency and storytelling at every touchpoint and fuelling efficiency for our teams.”

“However, as we embrace this technology, what becomes critical is the need for the data we work with to be unified across systems, to give us a comprehensive view of customer engagements. Technology should empower creativity, allowing marketers to deliver meaningful and relevant content to their audiences; this is only possible with trusted data,” she added.