Using artificial intelligence to surprise your customers
We have expected artificial intelligence (AI) will become part of our everyday lives for quite some time.
Quantium helps Woolworths get personal with customers, CEO says
Supermarket chain is now Australia's largest Internet retailer
Woolworths’ 50 per cent stake in analytics firm, Quantium, is helping the supermarket giant tailor the shopping experience to the needs of customers, its CEO said during a financial results announcement.
Woolworths paid $20 million in May 2013 for a non-controlling stake in Quantium, and is using the company’s tools to improve its customer analytics capabilities, Grant O’Brien said. Key areas of focus are pricing and promotion, ranging and store layout.
“We continue to put in place the enablers for a new era of growth,” the CEO said as he revealed Woolworths’ full-year results. “[Our stake in Quantium] is allowing us to use data to better tailor the shopping experience to the needs of our customers.”
Related: Bad data has big consequences, says Quantium executive
The A/NZ Woolworths Group reported $60.8bn in total sales and a net profit after tax of $2.4 billion, up 6.1 per cent on the previous year. The company is also Australia’s largest Internet retailer, completing $1.2 billion in online sales in the 12 months ending 29 June. That represents a 50 per cent year-on-year increase.
Online was flagged in the financial report as a key growth area and Web-based offers in food, liquor and apparel exceeded expectations in the past year at 3 million items delivered each week.
Woolworths recently opened a dedicated online fulfilment grocery store and implemented ‘Track My Order’ GPS functionality, allowing customers to track their online purchases. They can also share shopping lists or locate any product in store.
The retailer also expanded its Click & Collect network to 202 stores during the year and relaunched BigW Online.
Meanwhile, Woolworths said the integration of homeware and apparel catalogue provider, EziBuy, which operates online – is progressing well with its distribution capabilities being used to enhance the retailer’s online offers.
Woolworths also said it will improve its online presence with mobile-enabled venue websites, special online offers, an online booking service for accommodation, and integrating advertising into social media platforms.
Woolworths also flagged a 10 per cent increase in membership across its Everyday Rewards customer loyalty program to 7.9 million. Onecard members were also up to 1.9m over the same period.
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