How next-generation AI and digital tools transform the retail frontline

2023 has been quite a rollercoaster year for us in the retail industry. We’ve faced our share of challenges, from dealing with economic uncertainties to meeting the ever-changing demands of our customers. But the industry has shown incredible resilience and resourcefulness in the face of it all.

Just take next-generation AI for example. AI has been making waves in the retail industry, and it’s no wonder why. Next-generation AI and a host of other digital tools have sparked a whirlwind of innovation, transforming the way retailers think about how they operate. It’s a story with two sides—one filled with exciting possibilities and a few challenges to tackle.

To thrive in this shifting landscape, we need our frontline workers more than ever. They’re the driving force behind the retail industry’s success. That’s why Microsoft is committed to building purpose-built solutions that empower these frontline heroes. We’ve seen strong and consistent double-digit growth in frontline workers’ monthly active users of Microsoft Teams in the retail industry this year.

The magic that happens when technology and our incredible retail workforce join forces is transforming the very fabric of our industry. We’re diving headfirst into the world of AI and cutting-edge tools, and it’s like discovering a whole new realm of efficiency, productivity, and customer-centricity. With streamlined task management and automated workflows, our frontline teams get to dedicate more energy to what really counts—delivering that top-notch service that keeps customers coming back for more.

Enhancing frontline operational efficiency with AI and digital tools

Retail workers have a crucial role in interacting with customers and keeping things running smoothly. But all too often, they face challenges like working understaffed shifts and dealing with outdated systems. These obstacles slow down store operations and prevent store teams from focusing on the most important parts of their job.

Digitize routine store processes

Retailers can leverage Store Operations Assist to equip store associates to better serve customers, providing teams access to advanced retail workflows, data, and insights. Today we’re introducing Store Operations Assist embedded in Microsoft Teams to make it even easier for store teams to stay in the flow of work. Store associates can easily move between Teams and Store Operations Assist through a shortcut on the Teams app bar on mobile.

Store managers can also identify open items such as open shifts that need to be covered with a new Shifts plug-in for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Soon Microsoft 365 Copilot can ground prompts and retrieve insights for frontline managers leveraging data from the Shifts app in addition to user and company data it has access to such as Teams chat history, SharePoint, emails, and more.

Retailers are truly finding their stride through a clever blend of resilience and evolution. Stores are rethinking the way they function, with AI capabilities and digital tools streamlining operations and freeing up store associates to focus on customers. Companies like L’Oréal are taking digital tools to transform the way their frontline workers do their jobs.

Leveraging modern communications to connect stores and corporate

Effective communication from corporate is essential to the success of retail store workers, yet getting the right message to the right people can be challenging. That’s why Teams unifies communication on one platform, for easier information sharing and collaboration. Communication across the retail chain is evolving, moving away from the old model of isolated stores and distant corporate offices with the emergence of a connected ecosystem.

Plan centrally, manage regionally, and execute locally

Announcements in Viva Connections lets managers target communications and create notifications for store associates within the home experience of Teams. This new feature makes it easier to target operational communications with timely updates, providing an easy way for store managers to create, publish, and deliver announcements out to frontline teams. Announcements are coming to tablet and mobile experiences in September 2023, and the ability to view announcements on desktop is planned for future releases.

Provide a tailored home experience

To further enhance the home experience in Teams for retailers with many frontline employees that span multiple brands, we recently announced that an organization can now create multiple home experiences to represent each brand’s essence. This feature allows companies to provide a tailored experience that reflects each brand’s look and feel and customize the dashboard for their unique needs. Multiple home experiences are now available through the Viva Connections app in Teams. Learn more about the recent enhancements to home experiences in Teams.

Connect retail frontline teams with instant communication

The larger and more dispersed the frontline workforce is the harder it is to communicate with the right people at the right time while still focusing on the task at hand. With out-of-the-box integrations with industry devices including Honeywell, Samsung, Zebra, and now Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola, retailers can enable their entire frontline workforce, from supply-chain, warehouse, to in-store teams, to easily communicate with multiple departments using Walkie Talkie in Teams by pinning up to five channels on the Walkie Talkie home screen starting in September 2023.

Streamline communications to engage the frontline

Retail leaders also see the benefits of AI capabilities in being able to streamline tasks and enhance communications like producing local brand and marketing communications for store teams. And now, with Copilot in Microsoft Viva Engage, corporate communicators can receive suggestions to further personalize messages, adjust tone and length, and even suggest relevant images to help drive great engagement on the frontline. Leaders can also utilize Copilot to analyze engagement metrics, assess sentiment, and recommend responses. Learn more about Copilot in Viva, coming later this year.

Making it simpler to create trusted frontline experiences

For retail organizations, simplifying processes is critical to alleviating burnout and freeing retail workers to focus on higher-value tasks. By streamlining workflows, automating mundane tasks, and integrating modern technologies, retail companies can empower their frontline to shift their focus from routine operations.

Deploy Microsoft 365 apps on shared devices to help protect customer data

To take some of the complexity out of managing in-store devices, for organizations using Microsoft Intune, they can use Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, shared device mode to enable a single sign-in and sign-out experience for Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Microsoft Power Apps, and more apps in preview starting September 2023. This allows frontline workers to wipe their device quickly and compliantly for the next shift. Learn more about how Intune continues to innovate for a simplified frontline experience and deeper administrative control. And organizations using SOTI or VMware Workspace ONE as their endpoint management solution can now also enroll Android devices in Microsoft Entra ID with shared device mode. SOTI’s support for shared device mode will be generally available for Android starting September 2023.  

Frontline retail solutions from Microsoft

The retail industry continues to demonstrate resiliency, balancing the need to drive operational efficiency while creating incredible customer and employee experiences. Through this delicate dance, the industry isn’t just weathering the current storm, but also setting a course for a promising, sustainable future powered by its frontline. Whether it’s improving communication between store associates or enhancing store operations with AI, Microsoft has solutions to equip frontline workers to meet evolving industry demands.

• Discover how you can connect your customers, your people, and your data with Microsoft Cloud for Retail.
• Explore additional Microsoft Teams frontline solutions for retail.
• Learn more about Microsoft’s next generation AI set to transform the frontline.
• Connect with an expert to learn more about Microsoft frontline solutions.

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Source: Microsoft Industry Blog