Inference Retail Solutions

Conversational AI for Retail Service Automation guides your customers throughout their buying journeys

Solving Retail Challenges Through Automation

Conversational AI can help retailers drive more business to stores, deploy their workforce more efficiently, balance their online and in store presence, and increase the security of phone-based payments. Our Intelligent Virtual Agents can help you solve some of your biggest challenges:

Challenge #1 - Managing a Network of Retail Stores

Many retailers want to leverage their existing network of stores and online properties to their competitive advantage. Inference’s retail customers achieve this by integrating and centralizing legacy phone and customer service systems into a cloud-based solution that is easier to manage. An integrated system enables retailers to deploy more advanced self-service solutions and receive more detailed reporting and analytics. Our virtual agent platform works alongside popular UC and CC solutions from vendors like Cisco, Five9, 8x8, Nextiva and others, allowing you to move multiple disparate (and even on-premise) phone systems into one centrally managed service.

Challenge #2 - Worker Shortages

With record low unemployment throughout the United States and a strong global economy, positions are going unfilled. Worker shortages make it hard to answer calls from customers who ultimately pay the price as they wait on hold. Intelligent virtual agents can augment your human workforce by answering phone calls or customer chats allowing your sales reps to focus their time helping customers.

Challenge #3 - Influx of Questions

Years ago, consumers went to the mall to ask their questions. Today, consumers chat from their mobile phone, call, or use an app to ask questions. Retail activity is at a record high because you’re not only receiving phone calls, customers also want to connect through chats, emails, or even smart speakers - basically any device they use, customers expect you to handle it. Virtual agents can answer frequently asked questions for you. They can provide store hours, location, order status - they can even take payments. Watch this demo video to see how.

Challenge #4 - Online vs. In Store Presence

The promise of next-day and same-day delivery is challenging traditional retailers to optimize their supply chains and get orders in customers hands faster. Virtual agents help you deliver buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) allowing you to leverage your physical stores as distribution centers, match the convenience of fast shipping (with even faster returns) and eliminate shipping costs for your customers. Watch a demo.

Challenge #5 - Shift Filling - Sick, Late, and Absent

Managers in nearly every retail store are unpleasantly interrupted daily with the news of workers who call in sick, show up late, or are absent altogether. Trying to get your store opened, preparing for customers, and sorting inventory is put on hold to get your staff in place. When employees are sick, late, or absent it not only causes you to be short an employee, it also redirects immediate attention to finding a replacement. You can use virtual agents to place outbound calls to employees who can fill shifts automatically. The virtual agent can even notify managers that the issue is solved.

Challenge #6 - PCI-Compliant Payments

Protecting your business from fraud is of utmost is critical. Retailers use virtual agents to take PCI- compliant payments. Collecting sensitive customer payment data without revealing that information to a human agent also enables you to avoid potential compliance violations and penalties.

Inference Retail Solutions

To help retailers deploy self-service applications powered by Conversational AI, we created Inference Retail Solutions. It includes five components that help retailers deliver new services, cut costs, and improve the shopping experience.

Intelligent Virtual Agents
Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) are self-service applications that use Conversational AI to answer simple or complex questions from your customer base. Customers can interact with your IVAs naturally over the phone or through text-based channels like SMS, Web Chat or In-App Messaging, saving your company time and resources for every question asked. Unlike your own team, virtual agents work 24/7 and never take a break. They are always ready to help your customers and employees.
Inference Studio - A powerful, but easy-to-use task builder
Inference Studio is a powerful, but simple task builder that requires little or no coding. Users build IVAs to perform specific tasks. The interface is easy to learn, contains a pre-built task library that has a number of applications designed specifically for retailers, and can be customized to do nearly anything that you need your IVAs to do.
Integration With the Systems You Have Today
Inference Studio offers an integration node that allows you to easily communicate with popular eCommerce and WFM solutions that offer RESTful APIs, making the retail experience seamless for your customers and your team. Inference was also designed to work with leading UC and Contact Center platforms. We don’t force you to throw out your current infrastructure. We even integrate with existing store infrastructure like paging systems and IoT devices like the Amazon Enterprise IoT button.
Local Store Delegated Administration
Customizing store operations for each individual location is another challenge retailers face. That’s why Inference offers local store delegated administration to allow you to personalize your IVAs without necessarily involving IT departments or outside vendors.
Professional Services to Help You Deploy
We have a dedicated customer success team with trained engineers who are available to help you deploy your retail solutions.