Revolutionising digital shelf content with AI’s help

 
It is near impossible to have a conversation with a client, colleague, or partner without hearing the two letters. Whilst there is often fear of AI, innovative companies are building use cases to help assist their marketing and ecommerce teams efficiencies (both in time and resource) by determining strategically beneficial outputs for consumers on the digital shelf. AI tools wear many hats across the ecommerce journey such as search, customer service, chat bots, review sentiment analysis. With a focus on content to sell a product online generative artificial intelligence systems are capable of creating or optimising content autonomously. Leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms, they can generate the very content companies need to sell on the digital shelf; product text and images, enabling businesses to produce high-quality marketing copy and visuals at scale.


Product data has big opportunities for GenAI enhancement


According to Forrester... Five of the eight B2C commerce vendors in their research cited using genAI to generate product information at scale, second only to chat. Creating engaging and persuasive marketing copy is crucial for attracting and retaining customers. Traditionally, this task has been labor-intensive, requiring skilled copywriters to develop unique and appealing content. GenAI allows these tasks to scale, decreasing time to market, and validating accuracy across channels that resonates with target audiences.

  1. Personalized Product Descriptions: Generative AI can analyze customer data to understand preferences and behaviors, allowing it to craft personalized product descriptions. For instance, AI can highlight features that are most likely to appeal to individual shoppers, increasing the likelihood of a purchase. Supporting brand in creating relevant marketing copy, product titles and feature bullets. 

    For example, Colgate  is already testing the use of GenAI with Profitero’s guidance, to ensure that the product descriptions on retailer sites are optimum for maximum conversion, looking at things like length and keywords. The goal is to have the ability to optimise content by channel and save time in doing so.

  2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Effective SEO is essential for visibility in search engine results and getting your brand at the stop of Search Engine Results pages (SERP). Generative AI can produce copy optimized for specific keywords, improving a product's search engine ranking. By continuously analyzing search trends, AI can update content to maintain high relevance.

  3. Translation of content; For brands selling the same product in many markets, the speed at which AI can accurately translate content is a time saver

    It doesn't stop at text.... Enhancing Digital Shelf Imagery

    Visual content plays a vital role in ecommerce, as high-quality images can significantly influence purchasing decisions. Generative AI is enhancing the creation and optimization of digital shelf imagery in several ways.

  4. Automated Image Generation: AI can generate product images from various angles and in different settings without the need for extensive photoshoots. Particularly useful for businesses with extensive product catalogs, allowing them to maintain consistent and appealing visuals across their digital shelves.

    Mattel recently used Adobe’s Firefly solution to support speed to market in packaging imagery for their latest Barbie collection.

  5. Image Enhancement: Whether its pack shots or hero images, Generative AI can enhance existing images by improving resolution, adjusting lighting, and refining details. This ensures that product images are always of the highest quality, providing customers with a clear and attractive view of what they are buying.

Human intervention remains key; practitioners to produce queries and effective prompting requires skill itself. Once the output is available, it is likely that compliance, marketing and legal all have roles to ensure it meets requirements. AI then supports the automation of processes required to gain final approvals through tasks/workflows/triggers formed by specific events. 
 


So, What next?

As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect even more sophisticated content creation capabilities, paving the way for more innovative and personalized shopping experiences. For instance, AI could generate interactive 3D models of products, offering customers an immersive shopping experience. Embracing  AI is not just a competitive advantage but a necessity for businesses aiming to thrive and complete on the digital shelf.


About ICP 

ICP helps global companies get control of their content operations. We guide everything from content management and logistics to creative operations and production to digital shelf to data and automation so they can achieve a frictionless flow of content through all their systems and channels. The world’s top brands rely on ICP to provide the insights, capabilities, and possibilities to make, manage, and deliver their content confidently. See icpnet.com