Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates
There has never been a time when disruption in business has been more consistent, Manhattan Associates’ CEO Eric Clark reminded us earlier this month at Manhattan Exchange.
Although disruption takes many forms – economic, geopolitical, and environmental – it was technological disruption that dominated discussions throughout the two-day event in Antwerp.
AI: the most transformative tech of our lifetime
Clark, who took over as CEO earlier this year, sees a future where hundreds of AI agents are involved across every process that a retailer runs. “AI is probably the most transformative tech of our lifetime,” he told the packed room of retailers.
A similar sentiment was expressed in the Google session where Mark Steel, Director, Global Retail & Consumer Industry Strategy, described AI as the third big shift to hit consumer industries, following e-commerce and mobile commerce. Remember the term ‘m-com’? Hugely disruptive at the time but now it’s just… shopping.
Previously, with the rise of e-commerce and then mobile commerce, brands were essentially creating new digital experiences and then communicating the benefits to consumers. That is not the case with AI. “Consumers are driving pace of change and they’re ahead of most consumer organizations,” Steel noted.
He rightfully called out the growing disparity in customer experiences when using ChatGPT or Gemini versus using a retailer’s site – and I couldn’t agree more. For example, it takes a matter of seconds for shoppers to receive an AI-generated, hyper-curated meal plan – complete with recipes, ingredient lists, and portion sizes. Can that level of speed and personalization be replicated on a retailer’s site? At the moment, no.
Discovery and service will fundamentally change
In terms of AI adoption, the Google view is that the early stages were all about chatbot experiences; content generation; developer assistance and productivity; and data analysis. Retailers are now beginning to embrace more complex use cases – AI shopping advisors; agents for data, creative, service; multi-modal campaigns; and GenAI in stores.
And the future? Retailers should look to AI to solve complex supply chain management issues; real-time price personalization; and complete product lifecycle management.
Several retailers talked about “unleashing the agents”. Shoppers are ready. They’re much more comfortable interacting with AI today compared to just a year ago.
A trend I think we should all be watching is customer-controlled fulfilment – in other words, allowing shoppers to engage with AI agents to modify their orders post-purchase.
“What happens today is you submit your online order and it becomes locked. The next time you have any opportunity to interact with that order is when it arrives at your door,” said Brian Kinsella, Senior Vice President, Product Management.
Last year, Manhattan rolled out its GenAI assistant Maven which was its first step towards AI agents. Allowing customers to directly modify their orders has many benefits – happier customers, fewer returns, and less strain on contact centres. Not to mention that younger shoppers expect this level of self-service.
When it comes to customer service, the volume of inquiries coming through email still far exceeds those submitted via chatbots, so it was interesting to learn that Maven is now being used to handle email queries. AI-powered automated interactions are getting smarter and more effective, even in those instances where customers expect a more considered response.
We also heard from Deloitte’s Jennifer Wieland, Director Supply Chain & Network Operations, who reminded us that having more inventory doesn’t mean better fulfilment. Visibility and dynamic stock levels are key and, in the future, placing an online order as we know it may become obsolete as agentic AI takes hold.
Manhattan’s Kinsella also touched on the opportunities when it comes to employee engagement, specifically how frontline staff are using AI in stores. It’s not necessarily about typing questions into a chat box; instead, leaders should give associates a prescriptive newsfeed of recommendations — and gamify it! Real-time feedback and goal setting throughout the day empower teams.
In summary, AI isn’t “just another tool” for retailers. It’s the catalyst redefining how customers discover, interact with, and receive products, and those who embrace it will set the pace for the future of retail.
You can also check out my podcast episode with Ben Sillitoe where we unpack the key learnings from Manhattan Exchange.
