NRF22: For Retailers, Artificial Intelligence Is One Solution To Solve Many Problems

At the start of the pandemic, many consumers began doing something they’d never done before: ordering groceries online. For people worried about getting sick, buying food online seemed safer than a trip inside a supermarket. Many grocers made it easy for shoppers to pick up their items curbside at appointed times.

The phenomenon became so widespread, in fact, that grocery chains’ call centers quickly became inundated with customers checking in on orders. “The call center volume at every grocer spiked,” Karl Haller, partner at IBM’s Consumer Industry Center of Competence, recalled in an interview. “And we’re not talking about a 10 percent increase — it was more like a fivefold increase.” Read more at BizTech.