{"id":57478,"date":"2024-09-06T07:21:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T06:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/?p=57478"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:17:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:17:54","slug":"artificial-intelligence-the-key-to-the-future-of-retail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/artificial-intelligence-the-key-to-the-future-of-retail\/","title":{"rendered":"Natacha Villas: “Artificial intelligence could be the key to the future of retail”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Natacha Villas Boas<\/strong>, Group Retail Director at VIA Outlets<\/strong>, to discuss the current and future trends in the retail industry<\/strong>. With extensive experience in the field, Natacha offers a deep insight into the challenges and opportunities<\/strong> facing retail in an increasingly digitalized world. From the enduring relevance of physical stores to the pros and cons of online shopping, we explore how technology<\/strong> is reshaping customer experiences and what it takes for a store to thrive in today’s competitive market. Natacha also shares her views on the importance of customer loyalty<\/strong><\/a> and how artificial intelligence could be the key<\/strong> to the future of retail. Join us in this conversation to uncover the strategies that are defining the future of commerce!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Interview Shopping Centers –\u00a0 Artificial intelligence, the key…<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Natacha, do you think offline will disappear?<\/b><\/h3>\n
It’s very unlikely that offline retail will disappear. \u00a0We\u00a0are seeing an adaptation to a\u00a0hybrid model focused on\u00a0a better customer experience<\/a>, and a highly curated environment, adding more categories such as food, art, nature,\u00a0or wellness, improving better services, adding\u00a0technology,\u00a0and developing a\u00a0sense of community.<\/div>\n
Brands are realizing\u00a0that consumers are more demanding, and they are looking for experience, authenticity, creativity,\u00a0and relatability leading to a shift in\u00a0the way physical stores are presenting their products and interacting\u00a0with their clients to create more emotional\u00a0connections.<\/div>\n
The Omni\u00a0channel\u00a0is seen\u00a0as a complementary experience with the Offline, often driving clients to the store, for pick up & collect, return, cross-sell, or upsell boosting performance, and at the same time is a smart way of acquiring information and learning\u00a0from customers desires and needs.<\/div>\n
However, we are assisting to a global slowdown in new store openings, due to the unsettled\u00a0global economy, a new hit peak in Real Stare with high rents, or mature markets where\u00a0brands are already present heavily.<\/div>\n
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We\u00a0are seeing an adaptation to a\u00a0hybrid model focused on\u00a0a better customer experience<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What are its defects and virtues in front of online retail?<\/b><\/h3>\n
For consumers, shopping online is convenient, you can shop anywhere at any time, just with a click. You have a wider selection, price-competitive\u00a0and it is efficient. On the contrary, there is a lack of experience,\u00a0 you cannot verify\u00a0the quality of the product, grant sizing and fit with accuracy, driving high percentages of returns and exchanges, often requiring trouble in shipping\u00a0the items back.<\/div>\n
For Brands, it\u00b4s also always open,\u00a0 is great to reach scale, increase\u00a0traffic<\/a>,\u00a0and boost sales with low operating costs, such as rent or staff. Provides also customer data, preferences, behavior,\u00a0and history for targeted marketing and campaign communications. The ability to integrate with social media\u00a0creates a higher brand awareness and presence. However,\u00a0the weight on returns can be costly for retailers, taking into account sustainability practices packaging and courier\u00a0costs. Also, low interaction with the customers is considered\u00a0a disadvantage for loyalty\u00a0and simultaneously is necessary that online platforms\u00a0can ensure confidence, trust,\u00a0and cyber security.<\/div>\n
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\"puntos<\/div>\n

What is the biggest problem or weakness that retail has to face?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Recruitment is the biggest challenge for Retail. Attracting\u00a0and retaining\u00a0talent and fostering diversity is becoming\u00a0a huge topic for all Retailers. The cost of living crisis has created high pressure, a low reward,\u00a0and misshaped career expectations mixed with the fact that the Retail career has\u00a0not been adequately adjusted or supported to face these\u00a0natural changes.<\/p>\n

A Revamp out of the box is urgent, from Retail companies to HR recruitment agencies to the moment of a job description requirement\u00a0to the hiring process\u00a0to the onboarding practices, ongoing\u00a0training, flexible working, remuneration, incentives, benefits,\u00a0and a clear promotional journey.<\/p>\n

Retailers must focus on the mission, have a long-term plan, choose a key location wisely, and have the ability to create emotions and desires<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the current context, what role does technology play in retail?\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
In the long term, the acceleration of AI in the fashion industry can be transformative and valuable for product design, product development, supply chain and logistics, marketing, sales and customer experience, store operations, store layout design,\u00a0 etc. Of course, caution is understandable due to the direct impacts on jobs and creativity as a key for brand differentiation.<\/div>\n
Platforms like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Google AI, Runway, Jasper, or Lalaland.ai, are already tools used by Brands in their development process and more will come, within bounds I hope we all benefit from\u00a0it.<\/div>\n
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\"puntos<\/div>\n

What does it take for a store to work? Is there a magic recipe?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The magic recipe\u00a0will be to have a clear vision about ” the why ” we are opening\u00a0a store, to focus\u00a0on the mission, to have a long-term\u00a0plan, to choose a key location wisely,\u00a0and to have the ability to create emotions and desires. You must also provide exceptional customer service<\/a> and build strong relationships with the customers showing care, and love,\u00a0and being a good listener about customers’\u00a0needs. At once and regardless of the store size, category,\u00a0or brand, retail operations management is\u00a0key for a successful store. Inventory\u00a0efficiency, marketing and communication, maintenance, measuring\u00a0and analyzing\u00a0performance,\u00a0and customer data are the main activities to keep you\u00a0on track daily and a positive P&L.<\/p>\n

The most successful loyalty programs are the ones that foster a sense of community, where you have a feeling of belonging\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How is customer loyalty achieved? How do you engage your customers?<\/b><\/h3>\n
I believe that the most successful loyalty programs are the ones that foster a\u00a0sense of community, where\u00a0you have a feeling of belonging and you also can share experiences.<\/div>\n
Several services, customized rewards, exclusive\u00a0offers or collaborations\u00a0and incentives are strategies used to engage and have strong relationships with customers.<\/div>\n
In the future and with the integration of AI technology<\/a>, loyalty programs will jump into hyper-personalization and will help to maintain consumer loyalty for life.<\/div>\n
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\"Tiendas<\/div>\n

How do you see the future of retail?<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
The Fashion industry is constantly facing challenges on\u00a0the horizon due to several factors: the global economy, climate urgency, new sustainability rules., AI technology, integration, and shifts in\u00a0consumer behavior\u00a0are some examples but even so it\u00a0has shown\u00a0resilience in the past years despite the pandemic period. The capacity for\u00a0adaptability\u00a0and flexibility plus creativity in developing new business models with revolutionary technology\u00a0will always create new opportunities for Retail.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Natacha Villas Boas, Group Retail Director at VIA Outlets, to discuss the current and future trends in the retail industry. With extensive experience in the field, Natacha offers a deep insight into the challenges and opportunities facing retail in an increasingly digitalized world. From the enduring relevance of physical stores to the pros and cons of online shopping, we explore how technology is reshaping customer experiences and what it takes for a store to thrive in today’s competitive market. Natacha also shares her views on the importance of customer loyalty and how artificial intelligence could be the key to the future of retail. Join us in this conversation to uncover the strategies that are defining the future of commerce!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[607,625],"tags":[473],"class_list":["post-57478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-shopping-malls-interviews","tag-interview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57478"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57552,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57478\/revisions\/57552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flameanalytics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}