Emerging technologies stand to both disrupt the current state of retail and offer unprecedented opportunities for brands to engage consumers. The Future of Retail Brand Summit, hosted by eBay, provided a forum for leading brands to discuss these challenges and opportunities while learning about recent enhancements to eBay’s platform.
eBay President and CEO Devin Wenig kicked off the summit in the above fireside chat with WIRED editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson, calling on retailers to further personalize the shopping experience:
“The future of shopping is going to be personal, data-driven and immersive,” he said. “You are not going to go to it; it is going to come to you. And I think that’s not 10 years away. The way we look at it, it’s maybe two years away.”
When it comes to the impact of machine learning, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, enhancements like image search are just a start to helping shoppers realize their intent. With such unprecedented potential for engaging consumers, partnerships with marketplaces like eBay will enable brands to harness the full power of emerging technologies, while leveraging unique data-driven insights on a global scale.
“The availability of large datasets and the extraordinary processing power to be able to rip through those datasets and extract patterns and meaning is really getting interesting,” Devin said. “For us, it’s ultimately about the intent of a consumer. What do they really want? How do I get them as close to your brand or to that thing that they want? There’s so many ways now that we can create those connections using data.”
To learn more about how eBay is enhancing the shopping experience through the use of structured data and AI, click here.
