AI för ökad kundanpassning : En kvalitativ studie om adoptionen av AI i svenska detaljhandelsföretag

Sammanfattning

In recent years, the rapid digitalization of the retail sector has pushed customers' expectations for personalized digital experiences. Previous researchers suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help retailers to meet this emerging demand, meanwhile many companies still struggle to fully harness its potential. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how retail companies can adopt and utilize AI to create value for their customers through a personalized customer experience. To fulfill this purpose, the adoption of AI solutions among five Swedish retail companies was analyzed. The data collection involved semi-structured interviews with respondents from the retail companies, supplemented by insights from interviews with AI experts. The findings show that AI has the potential to enhance personalization, leading to increased relevance in communication, products that better match customer’s needs and an improved customer experience. Currently, retailers see advantage in more traditional machine learning methods for product recommendations, prediction of customer behavior and gaining insights about their customers. Looking forward, generative AI has the potential for further personalization with AI-assistants and tailored content. Two key factors were identified when implementing AI for personalization: the establishment of clear goals and metrics prior to investment and involving the customer in how their data is used to address privacy concerns. Furthermore, the study highlights critical factors shaping the adoption of AI in retail companies, suggesting that investments in technical infrastructure, skills development and leadership support are essential. Additionally, resource availability and the appointment of so-called champions, who spread knowledge about AI in the organization, positively influence companies’ AI adoption capabilities. For further research, the growing use of generative AI requires further investigation into its adoption and applications. Furthermore, this study explores AI-driven personalization and its customer value from a companies’ point of view, therefore this study suggests further research from a consumer perspective.