Retail brands look beyond A.I. to solve for locations

Featured in https://www.marketwatch.com

“Artificial intelligence is going to change everything, everything, 180 degrees…There is no way to beat the machines, so you’d better bone up on what makes them tick.” Mark Cuban, American businessman, and investor.

Cuban is spot on in his assessment. Brands are standing on the edge of a precipice and are being forced to make a decision. Are they going to be a leader or a laggard? Leaders are the early adopters that are looking to artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning—and beyond – to the future of location intelligence.

There are plenty of examples of laggards that include the likes of Kodak, Blockbuster, and Toys R Us that failed to recognize that change and innovations were required for survival. In fact, experts are predicting another 7,000 retail store closures for 2019. Retail brands across the board – from sandwich shops and burger chains to auto parts and fitness – are leveraging A.I.-powered location intelligence solutions to give them an edge with scientific, data-driven insights.

So what’s next? Leading brands are now adopting decision technology rising from Prescriptive-Led Growth (PLG) solution providers. A.I. has evolved from just being able to process large amounts of data to now being able to identify opportunity and prescribe decisions for location-based queries.

What is Prescriptive-Led Growth?

Rather than the slow, stale, black-box results from predictive consultants and the small samples and fragmented data of basic desktop GIS, the next generation of location intelligence lies in Prescriptive-Led Growth. SiteZeus defines Prescriptive-Led Growth as instances when A.I. driven technology suggests location-based decisions through an empowering user experience, solving for complex spatial goals without the need for traditional consulting intervention. PLG provides a platform for an organization to solve for its own priorities and challenges related to market optimization, such as identifying infill and greenfield opportunities and evaluating under-performing stores and markets. It’s instant, there’s no long, grueling waiting periods, and model iterations occur in real time.

Why does Prescriptive-Led Growth work?

The Prescriptive-Led Growth strategy combines data from trusted third-party sources and a brand’s own unique store-level inputs. Those metrics run the gamut from proprietary sales data and market demographics to cutting edge analytics on consumer behavior and personalities…and much more. The result? The brand’s themselves are discovering actionable insight inside one single application.

Is your current solution provider PLG?

Location intelligence solutions that leverage A.I. are increasingly common today. Those solutions that also offer a Prescriptive-Led Growth on the other hand are not. A PLG experience should be:

• Empowering: Brands are completely self-driven and in control with Prescriptive-Led Growth models.
• Dynamic: Models are created quickly within minutes and are easy to update and edit in real-time.
• Explainable: Solutions are transparent. With a very high model accuracy, brands can now see what variables were used and to what extent different variables factored into solutions.
• Frictionless: Prescriptive-Led Growth is easy to use and share insights with a capability to run unlimited scenarios and custom reports.

Why is Prescriptive-Led Growth democratizing the market?

The reality is that A.I.-powered tools are steamrolling “old school” models and are now entrenched as the new standard for location intelligence decision making. Prescriptive-Led Growth allows even small chains to access the same tools that bigger corporate brands, such as Subway and The Vitamin Shoppe, are already deploying. Prescriptive-Led Growth solutions arm retail brands with prescriptions that are transparent and explainable, allowing brands to easily visualize trade areas and sales impact with a living and breathing, dynamic model to solve their own problems.