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Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How AI-Powered Technology Is Fueling Small Business Growth
Artificial Intelligence In today's dynamic environment, business continuity is no longer a one-size-fits-all concept. Small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners are under increasing pressure to adopt innovative strategies that ensure not only sustainability but scalable growth of their enterprises. One of the most transformative tools now available to them? Artificial intelligence (AI). According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, nearly 30% of consumers already use generative AI, while another 18.8% say they're excited to experience it. This early AI adoption and growing popularity is trickling steadily among SMBs and it's not hard to see why. AI-powered tools offer flexibility, efficiency and insight that were once out of reach for smaller enterprises. While some business owners remain hesitant, many are eager to embrace AI—they just aren't sure where to begin and effectively weave AI into their operational strategies. Prosper - Heard of Generative AI The good news is that AI technology is now more accessible, scalable, and tailored to the evolving needs of smaller businesses. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Eric Yu, SVP & GM, WW Commercial Product Center & SMB Segment at Lenovo's Intelligent Devices Group; he shared valuable insights into the challenges SMBs face today, the trends shaping AI adoption and how smart integration of AI can drive lasting growth. Here are four ways AI-powered technology is helping small businesses thrive and grow, as well as some key takeaways from my conversation with Lenovo's Eric Yu: 1. AI Improves Efficiency AI-enabled devices, such as PCs equipped with tools like Copilot+ or Lenovo AI features such as Lenovo AI Now, are helping users become more productive by optimizing device performance through a blend of local processing and cloud-based AI. These tools continuously learn user behaviors, allowing them to anticipate needs, automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows. "In today's fast-paced business environment, especially for SMBs, the ability to do more with less is critical," said Yu. "AI-enabled PCs are designed to not only boost individual productivity but also enable smarter, more efficient operations across teams, ultimately freeing up time for employees to focus on innovation and strategic growth." In the Prosper survey, those already using generative AI cited high adoption for writing assistance (36.8%), research (48.8%) and customer support (26.8%), which are all core areas where SMBs can benefit from automation. This shift allows employees to focus on strategic, high-value work and efficiency gains of this nature can significantly improve overall business output. Prosper - Use Generative Artificial Intelligence For 2. AI Supports Hybrid Work Collaboration The hybrid work model is here to stay and AI is playing a crucial role in making it seamless. AI-powered collaboration tools improve communication across dispersed teams, helping bridge the gap between in-office and remote work. Devices optimized with AI can adjust to users' environments in real time, enhancing both performance and experience. Features like intelligent noise cancellation, automatic lighting and video and battery optimization help employees stay productive and professional, whether they're at home, in the office, or on the go. 3. AI Futureproofs Your Business with Robust Security Cybersecurity is a major concern for SMBs, especially those operating without dedicated IT staff. User concerns reflect this need: 32% of consumers are extremely concerned about privacy risks from AI, with an additional 26.5% very concerned, according to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey. Prosper - Concern About Privacy From AI AI can significantly bolster security strategies by providing real-time threat detection, alerting teams to potential issues, enabling rapid response to vulnerabilities and in turn, reducing downtime – as well as providing peace of mind to both owners and customers. AI-based email security, automated incident response systems and AI-powered cybersecurity platforms offer SMBs enterprise-grade protection without requiring an enterprise-grade budget. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, AI offers a flexible, scalable solution for safeguarding business-critical data and reduces the risk of costly breaches. 4. Personalizes the Customer Experience Prosper data reflects users reported using generative AI for creative writing (23.4%), content creation (18%), and chatbot development (10.2%), all of which support deeper customer engagement. AI makes it easier than ever to understand and engage your customer base. By analyzing customer behavior, preferences and engagement patterns, AI helps businesses tailor marketing campaigns and communications to individual customers—driving stronger engagement and loyalty. It also enables real-time insights into website traffic and user behavior, helping businesses identify trends, refine their digital strategies, and optimize the customer journey. These personalized experiences aren't just a nice-to-have—they're a competitive advantage that will help them break through the noise in the long run. Prosper - Use Generative Artificial Intelligence For Looking Ahead AI isn't just reshaping how big enterprises operate; it's redefining what's possible for small businesses too. As Yu emphasized, achieving success with AI doesn't always require a massive investment or a full-blown transformation. It starts with identifying the right tools for your business needs and incorporating them in ways that drive measurable impact. For SMBs looking to stay competitive, resilient, and forward-thinking, now is the time to embrace AI as a strategic partner for smarter growth.
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Splurging on Dad: See what's hot and how much we'll spend for 2025 Father's Day
Splurging on Dad: See what's hot and how much we'll spend for 2025 Father's Day With Father's Day around the corner, spending is expected to reach $24 billion this year, a record high. According to a 2025 National Retail Federation (NRF) survey, shoppers plan to spend $199.38 per person. That's about $10 more than last year. When is Father's Day 2025? Although it's not recognized as a federal holiday, Father's Day is celebrated every year in June, and for those of you who still want to purchase something, this year it falls on June 15. The first Father's Day dates back to 1910, but it took more than six decades for the day to become an official holiday. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated the third Sunday in June "Father's Day." Six years later, President Richard Nixon declared it an official holiday. This Father's Day, Americans are projected to spend $24 billion, according to the NRF. That's a significant increase from last year, when consumers were expected to spend a record-breaking $22.4 billion to celebrate their dads. The annual survey is conducted by NRF in collaboration with Prosper Insights & Analytics. They surveyed 8,225 consumers ages 18 and older until May 7 to gather data on projected spending for Father's Day. Those ages 35 to 44 tend to spend the most on the holiday: $278.90 on average. These shoppers are also spending significantly more compared with last year, increasing their budgets by $27 on average. How much does the average person spend on Father's Day? It's clear that consumers are ready to show some love and appreciation for dads: Americans are expected to spend an average $200 per person. Where are we finding gifts for Father's Day? When looking for Father's Day gifts, about half of consumers said it's most important they find a gift that is unique or different (46%) or creates a special memory (37%). In line with last year, online is the most popular shopping destination at 41%, followed by department stores, discount stores, specialty stores and local/small businesses. 'As consumers prioritize Father's Day gifts that are unique or create special memories, categories such as special outings and personal care items have seen an increase in popularity this year,' said Phil Rist, Prosper executive vice president of strategy. As in recent years, 58% of Father's Day shoppers plan to buy a greeting card, followed by clothing, a special outing and gift cards. 'Americans are embracing meaningful traditions and holidays, and this Father's Day, spending on gifts and other holiday items is expected to reach record levels,' Katherine Cullen, the NRF's vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a press release. SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; National Retail Federation
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Rethinking Retail- Kohl's Learns The Cost Of Customer Guesswork
Retailer Apps Tada Images - Retailers like Kohl's are learning the hard way that financial spreadsheets may drive boardroom decisions—but they don't drive consumers into stores. Over the past five years, Kohl's steadily alienated its core shoppers by limiting the very thing that brought them in: coupons. In a world of inflation, price-checking apps, and value-driven shopping, Kohl's tried to optimize margins at the expense of understanding the psyche of their customer. The decision backfired. After years of market share erosion, declining sales, and shuttered stores, Kohl's is now reversing course—expanding coupon access and reintroducing broader promotional offers. But the damage is done. While Kohl's retreated, Amazon surged. Consumers didn't stop shopping; they just stopped shopping at Kohl's. Behind this shift lies a critical lesson for retailers: if you're not measuring what motivates your customer, you're guessing. And in today's environment, guessing is expensive. A newly released book, Rethinking Retail, authored by professors from the Retail Analytics Council at Northwestern University's Medill School, explores the profound challenges reshaping today's retail landscape. According to the book, 'Retailing is undergoing transformational change. What we've experienced in the past is likely never to be repeated. Those who argue that 'once things return to normal, we'll be able to regroup and recover' are likely in for a rude awakening. Today and the near future represent a new normal. …this is a period of discontinuous change. A time when the future is often not foreseeable to anyone.' The Data They Ignored Over the past 60 months, Prosper Insights & Analytics has tracked millions of data points from U.S. consumers. Their syndicated monthly survey, one of the largest and longest-running of its kind, reveals not just where people buy—but what drives their choices. Let's start with one stark trend: preference for women's clothing. According to Prosper, in May 2020, 11.0% of U.S. adults cited Kohl's as their preferred retailer for women's apparel. As of May 2025? Just 7.2%. Amazon, on the other hand, rose from 3.6% to 9.4% during the same period—more than doubling its share. Shop Most Often for Women's Clothing Prosper Insights & Analytics The shift isn't just about price. It's about consistency, trust, and respect for how consumers make decisions under pressure. Understanding the Economic Realities of Kohl's Shoppers Prosper's data also highlights a deeper truth about Kohl's core customers: they're under financial stress. For the past five years, consumer confidence among Kohl's shoppers has lagged the national average—sometimes by as much as 10 percentage points. Consumer Confidence Prosper Insights & Analytics More importantly, they behave accordingly: Restricting coupons in this environment was not a strategic evolution—it was a strategic oversight. The typical Kohl's shopper wasn't trading down from luxury to mid-tier; she was already stretching every dollar. Removing one of her most powerful shopping tools felt like a betrayal. The Human Element Retailers Keep Missing Retail isn't just about what people buy. It's about why they buy—and how they feel about that decision. The problem is, most retail forecasting models don't account for emotional and psychological factors. They're built around transactions, not intentions. Retailers need data that includes psychographics, future spending intentions, happiness metrics, and emotional drivers like impulsivity and fear of missing out …human-oriented datasets in a world dominated by historical sales figures and backward-looking analytics. Retailers that fail to tap into these forward-looking insights risk being blindsided—again and again. Forecasting Failure and the Cost of Disconnection Consider Kohl's women's apparel sales forecast. Month after month, for five years, Prosper's data shows that spending intentions among Kohl's shoppers have consistently trailed the broader market. If leadership had paid attention to those early signals, they might have reconsidered the wisdom of tightening promotional offers. Instead, it appears financial modeling won out over consumer reality. That's a common failure across retail: spreadsheets trump psychology. And yet, no retailer has ever cost cut its way to loyalty. Why Retail Needs Time Series Behavioral Data Retailers don't need more dashboards—they need better data. Data that reflects the future, not the past. This is where long-term, structured consumer intelligence plays a vital role in helping retailers to: This kind of foresight is especially critical in the age of AI, where model accuracy is only as good as the data that trains it. Plugging emotional, forward-looking data into predictive engines can supercharge their utility—and protect retailers from strategy missteps that are obvious in hindsight. Final Thoughts: Don't Just Count Sales—Understand Them Kohl's course correction is welcome, but overdue. Expanding coupon access will likely slow the bleeding, but rebuilding customer trust takes time. The real issue wasn't the loss of discounts; it was the loss of understanding. Retailers that want to stay competitive need to rethink how they define market intelligence. Knowing your inventory is not the same as knowing your customer. The future belongs to those who measure sentiment, motivation, and behavior—and use those insights to shape strategy. As emphasized in Rethinking Retail, 'Consumer behaviors are what drive retailers' marketplace success. It is not so much what the retailer buys and stocks, or even what is promoted—it's what consumers do in response to their desires and the retailer's actions.' Kohl's misstep was not inevitable. It was predictable. And that's the point.
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Retailers Are Using AI And Emotion To Build Loyalty In 2025
Artificial Intelligence Customer loyalty isn't something retailers can take for granted in today's crowded marketplace. It's something they have to earn and re-earn through ongoing, meaningful engagement. And changing consumer behavior is only adding to the complexity. Shoppers today no longer think solely in terms of 'online' or 'in-store.' According to VML's Future Shopper 2024 report, 61% of shoppers globally want seamless communications across sales channels, with their journey documented and data following them the whole time – up five percent from just one year prior. They expect what is often called a 'phygital' experience: a seamless journey that spans digital and physical channels, where retailers can adjust to customer preferences, life events, and life stages in real time. To meet these rising expectations, retailers are reimagining loyalty as not a points system or occasional reward, but an ongoing relationship. A recent report from Braze, the 2025 Global Customer Engagement Review (CER), explores the ways leading brands are stepping up to meet the moment by rethinking how they engage and retain their audiences. According to the report, leading retailers break away from a one-size-fits-all approach by blending together AI-powered personalization, emotional resonance, and experimentation. These retailers are treating loyalty not as a fixed outcome, but as a continuous conversation – one that is shaped at every touch point, treating it both as an art and a science. AI is powering the next generation of retail engagement It's no secret that AI is now a key driving force behind the next generation of retail experiences. Retailers already use it to analyze sentiment, predict behavior, and personalize at scale, with leading brands being 39% more likely to use AI to adjust messages based on real-time interactions. As AI becomes more embedded in workflows, it's not just about automating tasks, but also unlocking new levels of impact. Braze Chief Product Officer, Kevin Wang, shared 'the real magic of AI is in helping marketers operate with greater efficiency and creativity. It allows teams to deliver personalized experiences in the moment faster and more seamlessly than ever before, while driving meaningful business results.' But with great power comes greater responsibility. As AI and data driven strategies advance, so does the need for transparent, consent driven data practices. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 58.5% of consumers are either extremely or very concerned about AI using their data, signaling a growing public unease that can't be brushed aside. In response, retailers are increasingly cautious about how customer data is used and shared. Prosper - How Concerned are You About Privacy Being Violated From AI Using Your Data More notably, Braze's 2025 Retail CER shows that internal data sharing now outweighs legal or regulatory worries among surveyed marketing executives, suggesting that today's retailers are motivated not just by compliance, but by a deeper commitment to doing right by their customers. The future of AI-powered retail engagement depends not only on smarter technology, but also on how thoughtfully it's applied, in addition to how well it sustains consumer trust. As marketers unlock new levels of capability, the next challenge is ensuring those interactions feel authentic, and emotionally resonant. Leaning on technology to drive emotional connection Beyond efficiency and seamless journeys, retailers that are doing this well today are leaning into technology to listen to their customers' digital body language, delivering messages that resonate in the moment and create emotional connections, not just transactions. Braze data found that brands that are emotionally connecting with their customers are the ones who are more likely to exceed their revenue goals. Moreover, top leaders show a strong willingness to course-correct when messaging misses the mark. According to Prosper Insights & Analytics, 73.3% of shoppers prefer to speak with a live person while making online purchases. This highlights that technology should enhance, not replace, the human element of engagement. Prosper - Prefer To Communicate With Live Person or AI Chat Program for Online Shopping Technology allows brands to reach customers one-on-one, but without great content, those connections fall flat. If the endgame is enduring relationships with customers, a focus on customer retention and the relative cost of customer acquisition makes perfect sense. But what does that mean in practice? It means using customer data more efficiently, leaning on technology to enhance, not replace human connection, and embracing a culture of experimentation to continuously improve. In fact, Braze data shows that 93% of retailers rely on technology to add emotional resonance to their messaging, whether through personalized channel preferences, milestone triggered messages, or community based campaigns. A strong example of this can be seen when looking at e.l.f. Cosmetics, a brand under e.l.f. Beauty. The company partnered with Braze and Stitch to revamp its digital engagement strategy and loyalty program. By expanding into channels like SMS and push notifications, the company saw a 125% increase in monthly mobile app usage (over six months) and stronger customer connections. This demonstrates how creative, cross-channel messaging can drive both emotional resonance and measurable results. Culture of experimentation separates leaders from the less agile Leading retailers share a common trait: they work collaboratively and prioritize frequent experimentation. There is no doubt that the most successful teams are agile, cross-functional, and committed to refining engagement strategies to uncover valuable customer insights. These efforts go beyond marketing alone. 'The most forward-thinking retailers treat experimentation as a team sport. When marketing, data, and engineering come together around a shared goal, that's when real innovation and customer understanding happens,' shared Wang. Top brands are bringing in analytics, engineering, and other teams to build a more robust and dynamic understanding of their customers. Still, there's room for growth. While many retailers have embraced experimentation, too few are breaking down internal barriers. This lack of shared ownership creates gaps that could be closed through stronger communication and alignment. Ultimately, retailers that foster a culture of testing and collaboration are far better positioned to meet changing customer expectations and lead with greater agility. Winning Loyalty is an Ongoing Conversation Loyalty isn't a one-and-done achievement; it's a continuous dialogue between brands and their customers. To win loyalty, retailers must listen closely and evolve with each interaction. AI and emotional resonance give retailers the tools to do this at scale, but it's the commitment to transparency, experimentation and human connection that sets leaders apart. The retailers who will thrive in 2025 and beyond will be those who lean into their customers' digital body language, and treat engagement as a relationship to be nurtured, not a transaction to be optimized.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Father's Day gift spending forecast to reach all-time high
Spending on Father's Day gifts is forecast to reach an all-time high of $24bn in the United States this year, according to findings from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The projected figure marks a significant increase from $22.4bn in 2023 and surpasses the previous record of $22.9bn set the same year. The annual survey, which highlights consumer behaviour around the popular June celebration, shows that 76% of Americans plan to take part in Father's Day festivities. Average spending is expected to rise to $199.38 per person, nearly $10 more than last year. Those aged between 35 and 44 are predicted to be the highest spenders, averaging $278.90 each. The study found a growing preference for unique Father's Day gifts that carry emotional or personal value. Nearly half of respondents (46%) said they seek gifts that are 'unique or different,' while 37% prioritise presents that create lasting memories. Popular gift choices include greeting cards (58%), clothing (55%), and special outings (53%). Gift cards remain in high demand, with half of all shoppers planning to purchase one. Experiential gifts and subscription boxes are seeing a steady rise in interest. Around 30% of consumers say they will opt for experiences such as events or activities, up from 23% in 2019. Subscription boxes, offering recurring deliveries of curated items, have also increased in popularity, with 43% planning to give them this year compared to 34% five years ago. Online shopping continues to be the preferred method for many consumers, with 41% indicating they plan to make their Father's Day purchases digitally. Department stores follow at 35%, with discount retailers (23%), specialty shops (22%), and local businesses (19%) also attracting customers. Retailers are expected to respond to demand with a range of personalised gift options and flexible purchasing methods. While digital platforms lead in convenience, in-store shopping still plays a notable role in consumer choice, especially among those looking for tangible, last-minute items. The survey results suggest a positive outlook for discretionary spending, particularly around family-oriented holidays. The increased spending among middle-aged consumers reflects a willingness to invest in meaningful celebrations and thoughtful gifting. Conducted between May 1 and May 7, the survey gathered responses from 8,225 adults and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points. The NRF continues to monitor holiday-related consumer behaviour as part of its broader retail industry analysis. "US Father's Day gift spending forecast to reach all-time high" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
