Modeling Omnichannel Retail Marketing Driven by Artificial Intelligence

Organizations should reform their brand and data management, as well as execute their marketing and sales activities faster and more effectively, to optimize their omnichannel marketing strategies. The focus of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that underlies omnichannel retail marketing, with its core being powered by artificial intelligence (AI). We begin by reviewing the main ideas of omnichannel retail and the use of AI in marketing, followed by the results of statistical research on buyer behavior toward omnichannel retailers conducted with participants in Athens, Greece. Based on the literature review and our research results we propose a conceptual framework which is divided into two main sections: data collection, planning and strategy; and touchpoint operations and customer service. The first section includes the continuous collection of an extended amount of data based on which an AI-driven planning and strategy system can handle parts of the omnichannel retail marketing strategy in an automated way and propose next moves to human decision-makers. The second section of the proposed framework refers to the use of AI for touchpoint operations and customer service. The research findings offer a scientific basis for retailers to incorporate AI into their omnichannel marketing strategy, although they still must prioritize data privacy, algorithmic fairness, and cybersecurity.