Walmart is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the customer and employee experience. With 4,700 Walmart stores and 600 Sam’s Clubs in the U.S., the retail giant has the resources to use and analyze large datasets, allowing them to make better-informed decisions. For example, Sam’s Club has rolled out AI-equipped floor scrubbers that can take more than 20 million photos of everything on the shelves every day, ensuring that products are never out of stock. Walmart also uses AI in its app, giving personalized recommendations to customers and alerting them when their preferred brand of items is out of stock or when the size or quantity needs to be updated.
Anshu Bhardwaj, Senior Vice President of Tech Strategy and Commercialization at Walmart, is the driving force behind the company’s AI strategy. By gathering data on consumer preferences and tastes, Bhardwaj is working to reduce the friction between customers and their desired purchases. In other words, the aim is to help customers purchase everyday items with the least amount of effort possible. Since the launch of their AI-backed inventory solution, employee productivity has increased by 15%.
AI-driven solutions are becoming more and more important for retail giants like Walmart who, like their customers, are continually looking for better, faster, and more efficient ways to approach everyday tasks. AI technology leverages the power of big data to create seamless and personalized experiences, allowing Walmart to continue providing consumers with an unbeatable shopping experience.
