Microsoft’s Ricardo Belmar on How AI Provides Solutions to Retail Challenges

10/03/23 • 41 min

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On today’s episode of The AI in Retail Show, Trevor speaks with Ricardo Belmar, Director Partner Marketing Advisor for Retail & Consumer Goods at Microsoft. They discuss the current landscape of technology in retail, and the areas in which AI can make an impact, like on accelerating product design and creating more personalized CRM messaging. They also discuss the current opportunities for retail media, how and where stores can implement more screens, and how brands will leverage retail advertising in the future.

Topics discussed:

Ricardo's extensive career in retail, managing network, WiFi, and digital signage services for stores, before moving into software and landing at Microsoft "where I now look across the whole spectrum of retail technology."
Examples of how AI can be used to benefit retailers, including summarizing customer reviews and accelerating the product design process.
How Microsoft is focusing on assistive, responsible AI by adding Copilot technology to its services.
How AI can benefit CRM strategies by creating personalized messages and templates based on in-house customer and business data.
How AI technology can help improve supply chains, improve sizing challenges, and help solve the returns problem.
How more retailers are adopting digital screens because of greater variability in screen offerings and lowering costs.
The growing opportunities brands have today to leverage in-store retail media for their advertising.

Topics discussed:

Ricardo's extensive career in retail, managing network, WiFi, and digital signage services for stores, before moving into software and landing at Microsoft "where I now look across the whole spectrum of retail technology."
Examples of how AI can be used to benefit retailers, including summarizing customer reviews and accelerating the product design process.
How Microsoft is focusing on assistive, responsible AI by adding Copilot technology to its services.
How AI can benefit CRM strategies by creating personalized messages and templates based on in-house customer and business data.
How AI technology can help improve supply chains, improve sizing challenges, and help solve the returns problem.
How more retailers are adopting digital screens because of greater variability in screen offerings and lowering costs.
The growing opportunities brands have today to leverage in-store retail media for their advertising.

Previous Episode

Retail Media Networks As The Third Wave of Advertising … And The Largest

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On today’s episode of The AI in Retail Show, Trevor speaks with Andrew Lipsman, VP, Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence, a leading research, data, and insights provider. They discuss what's going on today at the intersection of ecommerce and advertising, how retail advertising has grown much quicker than search and social have, and why Andrew calls it "the most important form of advertising that's ever going to exist." They also discuss current trends in retail media technology, where stores can incorporate opportunities for media, and how in-store audiences are driving retail growth more so than digital audiences.

Topics discussed:

How Andrew got interested in retail media, his two decades of following digital advertising and advertising research, and how he's excited to see the intersection of ecommerce and advertising.
The evolution of the three ways of digital advertising — search, social, and retail — and how retail, driven by Amazon, is increasing at much faster rates than search and social has.
The three vectors of growth in the retail industry, which includes moving up the funnel into video and streaming TV, improvements in data measurement, and more in-store retail media.
How in-store audiences are driving growth, and are upwards of 70% larger than digital audiences.
Which spots in a store are "safe" places for retailers to start rolling out media experiences, from checkout, to in-store audio, to the parking lot.
Which companies are doing in-store media really well right now, and where there's still untapped potential and hesitation.
What exciting technology or innovations are bubbling up in the retail media space, in both in-store media and data analytics.

Next Episode

Microsoft’s ShiSh Shridhar on Emerging Retail Technology and Innovation

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On today’s episode of The AI in Retail Show, Trevor speaks with ShiSh Shridhar, Global Retail Lead | Microsoft for Startups at Microsoft. They discuss how retailers are leveraging customer data today, how enterprises and start-ups are co-innovating, and how retailers are using emerging technologies like generative AI, AR, and NFTs. They also discuss the state of immersive commerce in the Metaverse, why wearables are at an adoption tipping point, and which technology is under- and overhyped today.

Topics discussed:

How ShiSh works with retailers looking for innovative solutions, and curates start-ups to match to them.
How retailers can leverage all the customer data they collect to drive loyalty, personalization, and retention.
How enterprises and start-ups are partnering to co-innovate around big data and emerging technologies.
Which technologies are over- and underhyped today.
How wearable technology is at a tipping point of adoption and how it will further AR technology with it.
Where the Metaverse stands today on creating a mixed reality world, and how commerce is becoming more immersive.
What areas of innovation start-ups are focused on today, including generative AI, Web3 and NFTs, and automation.