In this 2018 predictions episode, Jason and Scot review their hits and misses from 2017 and forecast the major shifts for the coming year. They discuss the increasing importance of omnichannel retail, the slow but steady adoption of AI and machine learning in ecommerce, and the ongoing digital transformation of laggard categories. This episode provides valuable historical context for understanding the evolution of ecommerce and how early predictions played out.
Key takeaways
Omnichannel retail was predicted to be a major theme in 2017 and continued its rise, emphasizing integrated attribution, inventory, promotions, and pricing.
AI and machine learning were recognized as crucial for competitive advantage, with a focus on practical applications in areas like recommendations and search rather than transformative customer service bots or transactional AI.
Digital adoption by laggard categories such as grocery, luxury, and QSR was a key trend, indicating a broader market shift towards ecommerce.
Cloud and microservices were identified as emerging foundational technologies for new platform implementations, signaling a move away from monolithic systems.
The hosts correctly anticipated accelerated e-commerce growth in 2017, highlighting the industry's dynamic expansion.
EP112 - Annual Predictions for 2018 2017 Recap – Predictions made on episode 64 Jason Retailers truly embrace Omni-channel (Attribution/Inventory/promotion/pricing – YES A/I – Bots for Customer Service but probably not for transactions, lots of buzz on big data AI but no game changing new experience – No Personalization – to eliminate friction, not drive new demand. Data integration not some new product or touchpoint –No Laggard categories will discover digital (Grocery, Luxury, QSR) – Yes Microservices – 50% of new platform implementations will be cloud, and Micro-service based solutions will start to emerge – Partial Jason 2017 Score 2.5/5 Scot The IPO market is going to be open, but the e-commerce companies will get crowded out by the big tech unicorns like Uber, Snap, pinterest, airbnb, spotify and the like – Partial Amazon will start to chip away at the Fedex and UPS's of the world with a service like this in the US. – No Machine learning is the new 'network effect' – everyone has caught onto the power and competitive moats available from ML and that's going to be a big theme. Every vendor you work with from carts to images to upsells to recommendations to search engine results to whatever is going to HAVE to have a ML capability to stay current and keep YOU competitive. – Yes We're going to see e-commerce growth accelerate pretty materially in 2017. We've been in this 15% band and I think we will see there was a move up in 2H16 to high teens and we could see 20's in 2017 – Yes eBay – it's a do
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Omnichannel retail was predicted to be a major theme in 2017 and continued its rise, emphasizing integrated attribution, inventory, promotions, and pricing.
What does this episode say about ai & automation?
AI and machine learning were recognized as crucial for competitive advantage, with a focus on practical applications in areas like recommendations and search rather than transformative customer service bots or transactional AI.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Digital adoption by laggard categories such as grocery, luxury, and QSR was a key trend, indicating a broader market shift towards ecommerce.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Cloud and microservices were identified as emerging foundational technologies for new platform implementations, signaling a move away from monolithic systems.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
The hosts correctly anticipated accelerated e-commerce growth in 2017, highlighting the industry's dynamic expansion.
