The use of artificial intelligence in retail stores is already here in Serbia!
A start-up Serbian company pygmyTITAN developed the first local digital sales assistant for retail stores. One of the first retailers to welcome Igigi is the famous Serbian supermarket chain AROMA.
Using computer vision and neural network technologies, Igigi is designed to detect customers in physical stores and to effectively communicate with them just like real sales assistants. Igigi gives out information about products and collects consumer behavior data that has so far been only available online.
“With the introduction of the Igigi platform, our company is among the first retail chains in the world to enter a new era of “direct to consumer” approach, offering tools in physical outlets, which until now were only available in the online world”, statement by Aroma Market.
Seeing and Understanding Consumer Behavior
Igigi operates on the basis of advanced technologies developed in the last five years, which enable computers to “see” and “understand” the environment.
The new assistant greets customers with “Hello! I am Igigi, your assistant”. Igigi is communicative, direct and does not hide his feelings. He laughs when you look at him, and he is sad if you don’t pay attention to him. He will admit to you that he is “tired” after a hard day and will tell you if something really makes him angry.
He strives to understand you, to share your worries, hopes, and joys. Igigi is on your side, always trying to brighten your day and provide you with useful information about the products on offer. His goal is to become your loyal assistant at all times and he will try to justify your trust
Optimizing Marketing and Sales during the Pandemic
For consumer goods manufacturers and retail chains, the Igigi platform offers advanced marketing and analytics tools that have been so far available only through eCommerce platforms.
Co-founders of pygmyTITAN Vita Latinovic and Nikola Nenadic stated in an interview given to the Republic of Serbia Innovation Fond:
The pandemic has dramatically affected consumer behavior. The consumer from a year ago and the consumer today have very different motives and logic. In order to be able to react properly to these changes, retailers must first understand them. Those who rely on old tools and skills, or who implement a “trial and error” strategy, will need several years to do so, but with Igigi we can save time.
Igigi has been field-tested in various store formats during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, on over three and a half million shopper sessions. The information Igigi collected during that time completely changed the “picture” that retail chains and manufacturers have on shopper motives and behavior.
Igigi is a recent innovation made in Serbia, with global ambitions, that is certain to take over the retail market in Serbia and in the region.
