Data’s role in AI-powered commerce: 5 use cases

To thrive in today’s multichannel, AI-driven commerce world, well-organized data is not just a luxury, but a necessity.

Sitecore OrderCloud delivers a wide range of commerce capabilities, enabling brands to consolidate the management of all their commerce channels (B2C, B2B, marketplace, social, and more) into a single managed marketplace, delivering a unified, channel-less experience for their buyers.

Now integrated into Microsoft Fabric, OrderCloud gives retailers the ability to unlock the power of AI and access insights and tools to proactively improve customer satisfaction and business operations at every touchpoint, from storefront to fulfillment.

Brands ready to fully utilize the power of organized data can expect truly transformative results.

Unlocking AI-driven commerce with organized data: 5 real-world examples

Use case 1: Supply chain and inventory accuracy

Visibility into real-time insights from inventory levels and flow from every warehouse, distribution center, storefront, and channel is necessary for employees to forecast accurately and for customers to experience real-time stock counts to inform their purchase decisions.

AI enables brands to predict demand patterns more accurately, optimize inventory levels, and streamline logistics operations, ultimately reducing stockouts and overstock situations. AI-powered algorithms with access to cross-channel and cross-system data can even identify potential issues or disruptions in the supply chain proactively, enabling timely adjustments and ensuring smooth operations.

Employee experience (Supply Chain & Logistics Manager): “My goal is to prevent empty shelves or inventory surplus at our retail locations. When using OrderCloud with Microsoft Fabric, we can generate insights on inventory levels and inventory flow across all our buyers, channels, and retailers in real time. Having this breadth of accurate information assists with my forecasting and purchasing, and I can lean into AI to help suggest material orders and shipment scheduling.”

Customer experience: “The inventory count I see online is accurately reflected, so when I need an item in a pinch, I can trust the online stock counts. I can place my order for pick-up or shop in-store, not worrying about availability. I really don’t like when I drive to the store to pick up an item only to find out I need to choose a replacement."

The integration between OrderCloud and Fabric enables brands’ Products, Inventory Records and Supplier data from OrderCloud to flow seamlessly into Fabric, offering a real-time up-to-date data picture that can be augmented with additional data sources for ultimate accuracy.

Use case 2: Optimized and personalized campaigns and promotions

AI revolutionizes brands’ ability to deliver personalized experiences for customers.

Analyzing customer behavior data while continuously learning and adapting in real-time enables brands to optimize marketing and promotions, tailor product recommendations, and deliver hyper-targeted promotions at scale, resulting in higher conversion rates and increased customer engagement.

Employee experience (Merchandiser): “With access to insights from Microsoft Cloud for Retail for all our commerce channels, I can use AI to generate promotions based on order history and shopper habits. Once AI creates a promotion, I can review it and activate it for shoppers. I can post promo codes on digital content for all shoppers to see, or I can personalize content to display specific codes to user segments that align more with their purchase habits. AI can also help me develop bundles of commonly co-bought products, so I can offer a discount when a shopper purchases the bundled products.”

Customer experience: “The promotions I see in my shopping experience match the items I’ve been looking at or are eligible for products I’ve purchased before. My shopping experience highlights products that I often purchase together and gives me a discount on that bundle.”

With OrderCloud's capabilities in Product and Price Schedules, Promotions, and Bundles flowing through Fabric, brands can gain a clear picture that can inform these personalized campaigns that resonate with customers.

Use case 3: Elevating loyalty programs

Loyalty programs become more than rewards with AI by leveraging data-driven insights to offer personalized experiences tailored to individual customer preferences and behaviors.

Employee experience (Merchandiser): “Using insights from OrderCloud and Microsoft Fabric I can appropriately influence our Customer Loyalty or Rewards Program. Our loyalty program offers personalized pricing, promotions, sales, and product offerings, including special access to product launches. I asked Copilot within Microsoft Cloud for Retail, “How quickly do customers pick up their order after placing a BOPIS order?” From the insights returned, I learned that my top-tier customers often pick up as soon as their order is ready. Because of this, I changed our in-store shopper operations to prioritize our top-tier users’ BOPIS orders, so those rewards program members get the fastest service on pick-up orders.”

Customer experience: "Being part of their rewards program encourages me to buy items from them and be a loyal customer. I know I could buy the same products elsewhere, but because this retailer offers me promotions and other perks, such as quick order pickup, I want to continue buying from them and build my loyalty tier."

Real-time information from OrderCloud about Pricing, Promotions, and Fulfillment Preferences by user or user group enables brands to dynamically adjust pricing, promotions, and perks in real-time, fostering deeper connections with customers.

Use case 4: Sales associate order tooling

Empowering sales associates with AI-driven insights transforms the in-store experience. Store associates are enabled to offer personalized recommendations, better anticipate customer needs, and provide a more connected shopping experience across both physical and digital channels. Better data visibility can also enable associates to optimize inventory management and merchandising, creating a better experience for customers in terms of product availability.

Employee experience (In-store sales associate): “I can enhance my customers’ in-store experience by leveraging customer insights to provide a personalized shopping and concierge checkout experience. Upon chatting with new customers looking to furnish a new room in their home, I input some products we look at together into our AI Interior Designer tool, which generates a group of products that may suit this customer’s needs and tastes. If the customer is happy with the results, but hesitant on cost, I can create a promotion code on the fly, and submit the order for approval by my manager. My manager quickly approves, and the customer is happy. If the customer isn’t ready to purchase in-store, I send the generated list of products from our AI Interior Designer to our in-store shoppers digitally. When they are ready, they can easily access the list and click to purchase via a digital channel.”

Customer experience: “I appreciate how knowledgeable my sales associate is about the products and what I’m looking for. They really developed a vision for what I want. I was happy to finish the purchase at home online since they shared a product list of all the items we looked at together. The list even included a promo code so I could get a discount."

OrderCloud’s Approval Rules, Product Collections, and Promotion capabilities power these capabilities.

Use case 5: Conversational commerce

Conversational commerce, and more specifically your ability to purchase products outside of the traditional shopping cart experience in a chat-like, or conversational experience, has arrived as the future of shopping today. Made possible through the power of aggregated data and AI algorithms, brands can now redefine the shopping journey for customers by offering personalized recommendations in real-time, enabling them to instantly check out in a way they never could before.

Employee experience (Customer service rep): “The aggregated data in Microsoft Fabric can power a shopper Copilot so my shoppers can chat, ask questions, receive recommendations, and make a purchase directly within the co-pilot chat experience. This frees up time for me to think strategically and develop new programs to improve the customer experience at large.”

Customer experience: “The chat feature offered me great insight and suggested some products I would have never thought to search for. Checking out was easy and instant – I didn’t even have to leave the chat window!”

OrderCloud’s headless architecture makes the delivery of these experiences possible across any and every touchpoint.

Exceptional customer experiences start here

Technology like OrderCloud and Microsoft Fabric play a pivotal role in enabling businesses to harness the full potential of their data, driving innovation and growth through AI-infused commerce experiences today.

By embracing data organization and leveraging AI technologies, businesses pave the way for unparalleled customer experiences, create better ways for employees to work and carve out a competitive advantage in the ever-evolving marketplace.