Retail Technology Insider
  • About
  • Brands
  • CXOs
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Digital Transformation
  • Customer Experience
  • Cybersecurity
  • Paytech
  • Supply Chain
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
Retail Technology Insider
  • Digital Transformation
  • Customer Experience
  • Cybersecurity
  • Paytech
  • Supply Chain
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
No Result
View All Result
Retail Technology Insider
No Result
View All Result
Home Customer Experience

Walmart’s Facial Recognition Technology Aims to Minimize Customer Churn

by Chelsea Barone
August 9, 2017
in Customer Experience
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
walmart
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Believe it or not, there is yet another way for artificial intelligence (AI) to be applied to the shopping experience. We have already discussed AI’s ability to assist retailers in understanding, in some cases predicting, a customer’s transactional behavior as well as AI’s role in the re-emergence of direct mail marketing tactics. But what about AI’s ability to understand a consumer on an emotional level?

A recent article by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider explored Walmart’s efforts to better understand their customer’s shopping experience through the use of facial recognition technology. The retail giant filed a patent application for the technology back in 2012 according to Forbes and applied it to some stores in 2015 as a tool to fight theft. Now the technology is being reapplied through the customer journey lens.

Essentially, as customers queue to check out, the facial recognition technology scans their faces to determine their current emotional state and correlate that with their shopping experience and, if needed, prompt a Walmart employee to approach them and resolve the issue at hand. The goal behind utilizing such technology is to minimize customer churn and address potentially disgruntled customers’ concerns before their business is lost.

This technology can also be applied as a tool to help better understand shopping patterns over time and how or if those patterns are associated with an emotional state of the customer. It can identify not only changes in items purchased, but also the size of purchases – something that might indicate a potentially fleeting customer.

It’s important to also address it’s usefulness as a shoplifting prevention tactic, especially considering Walmart loses around $3 billion per year in theft. There are known facial cues and body language are indicative of lying or stealing, so it’s something that can be used to improve the bottom line as a whole.

Of course, many retail experts understandably vocalize their privacy concerns with the technology and the actual application of it seems unclear to some. Several have warned Walmart to tread cautiously. This is a hurdle that faces many companies looking to apply artificial intelligence technologies to their models and should be treated with care.

The ability to resolve any customer dissatisfaction before losing them is extremely powerful, especially because acquiring new customers is infamously more difficult than retaining existing ones. Once technology like this can be perfected with privacy concerns accounted for, a retailer’s ability to anticipate a customer’s needs only becomes stronger and the customer experience becomes more enjoyable.

If you’re interested in learning more about data aggregation and how it can be applied to create a better customer journey, check out the Pitney Bowes whitepaper entitled, “Employing a Single Customer View”

Tags: AIArtificial IntelligenceBusiness Insidercustomer experienceCustomer JourneyFacial Recognition TechnologyForbesHayley PetersonWalmart

RELATED POSTS

lifetime customer value
Brands

Retailers Create Lifetime Customer Value Through Personalization

May 19, 2022
Omnichannel Personalization
Brands

Omnichannel Personalization Advances the Customer Experience

May 5, 2022
Improving Data Value
Brands

Improving Data Value with a Customer Data Platform

April 27, 2022
Next Post
Big Data

Fueling the Big Data Fire: How Retailers are Getting Their Technological Footing

target

Target Steps Up Their Delivery Game with Grand Junction Acquisition

IoT and AR

Listening to Customer Expectations and Leaning into IoT and AR Trends

TRENDING NOW

  • 3 Top Retail Predictions for 2023

    503 shares
    Share 201 Tweet 126
  • In Times of Uncertainty, Retailers Can’t Afford to Ignore Tech and Data

    539 shares
    Share 216 Tweet 135
  • Unwrapping the Importance of Cloud Security in Retail

    503 shares
    Share 201 Tweet 126
  • Valentine’s Day Is Coming: Are Your Shipping Logistics Up to Par?

    494 shares
    Share 198 Tweet 124
  • CAVA’s CEO Reveals Chain’s Ingredients for Success from both a Tech and Human Perspective

    574 shares
    Share 230 Tweet 144

CONNECT WITH US

BECOME AN INSIDER

Get Retail Technology Insider news and updates in your inbox.

Strategic Communications Group is a digital media company that helps business-to-business marketers drive customer demand through content marketing, content syndication, and lead identification.

Related Communities

Financial Technology Today
Future Healthcare Today
Government Technology Insider
Modern Marketing Today
Today’s Modern Educator

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us

Become a Sponsor

Retail Technology Insider offers content and advertising sponsorships to leading technology solution and service providers. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact us!

© 2023 Strategic Communications Group, Inc.
Privacy Policy      |      Terms of Service

 

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Brands
  • CXOs
  • Categories
    • Digital Transformation
    • Customer Experience
    • Cybersecurity
    • Paytech
    • Supply Chain
  • Contact Us