TORONTO  —  It was hard to escape the term “artificial intelligence” at this year’s eTail e-commerce conference in downtown Toronto, as retailers acknowledged the buzzword’s potential to revolutionize their industry.

Some joked that AI is to this edition of the annual gathering what virtual fitting rooms were before the pandemic, or what Web3 and the metaverse were at last year’s event. Attendees seemed more confident, though, in the staying power of AI.

The term, and the current understanding of it, are “going to stick,” predicted Noah Goldberg, vice-president and general manager of Joe Fresh e-commerce at Loblaw Digital. “Two years from now won’t be the same,” he added, “as retailers become more comfortable with how large language models can help them.”

Forecasting help: Retailers struggle to accurately predict what they need to stock, and how much. “Either you’re doing too much, or you’re not doing enough,” joked Manas Vijh, senior director of e-commerce strategy at Walmart Canada. 

Using AI for predictive forecasting could boost accuracy, said Ariane Friesen, director of e-commerce commercial strategy and growth at Mondelēz International, which owns Cadbury, Oreo and other snack-food brands. “Who can say that they’ve nailed their forecast every year for the last 10 years?” she asked the crowd. “Not one.”

Better personalization: Gearing products to the specific needs of potential customers was a major theme. In an apparent coincidence, two speakers cited in their respective presentations the example of King Charles and Ozzy Osbourne: despite being very similar on paper—74 years old, married twice, have kids, are fond of dogs—they are unlikely to take the same recommendations on products or services. With the amount of data that retailers now have, it’s possible to separate the monarch and heavy-metal singer into narrower categories. “You actually can know: What are the small things that make them different and what are their preferences?” said Sherin Yassin, vice-president of marketing and customer experience at Walmart Canada.

Retailers already know what customers visiting websites have previously purchased, and show them what they believe the person is most likely to buy, said Loblaw’s Goldberg. “That’s almost become table stakes.”

At Joe Fresh, he’s experimenting with an AI-driven visual search function, which lets a user upload an image of a piece of clothing they like, and view similar items available from Joe Fresh. (The feature, which launched Tuesday, is still in test mode and not yet visible to all website visitors.) 

Making work safer: Canadian Tire, which recently piloted AI-powered humanoid robots in its stores, is looking to answer the question: Can machine learning spare employees the need to do unsafe work? That could be repeatedly lifting tires off of trucks or working with batteries filled with acid, said Scott Adel, assistant vice-president of digital retail experience. 

Computer-made content: Some retailers have started to use ChatGPT or similar services to create written and visual content. The Source feeds the system information and creates a prompt asking it to pump out shopping guides, for example, said Daniela Yanez, director of digital operations and strategy.

Aperture Pet & Life, which sells saltwater aquariums and other pet habitats, has used AI to turn its YouTube video content into blog posts, said Ashley Freeman, senior vice-president of demand generation. The company also uses generative AI to help create new images. It might use photos of models wearing its branded merchandise from last year and have AI update the image with new gear, without having to pay for another shoot, she said.

A note of caution: Both noted it’s important to be prudent about what type of data is uploaded to these services, to avoid compromising proprietary or customer information.

Still many at the event took the view that fear shouldn’t stand in the way of what many seem to consider the inevitable incorporation of AI into their business models.

“The biggest challenge we have definitely is the fear of change,” said The Source’s Yanez, noting it’s a fair response, but there’s little choice but to embrace AI.

She recommended retailers start playing with uses of the technology, saying, “You have to be hands-on. It cannot be just reading about it.”