BGF Retail Expands AI Synthetic Consumers to Store Operations
BGF Retail plans to simulate product display, customer flow and merchandise mix in a virtual store before real-store tests, etnews.com reported.
BGF Retail, the operator of the convenience store chain CU, is expanding its use of AI synthetic consumers from product planning to store operation simulation, according to etnews.com.
The company plans to simulate product display, customer flow and merchandise composition in a virtual store before testing those arrangements in real stores.
Other South Korean food and beauty companies are already applying similar tools. Lotte Wellfood has used AI synthetic consumers for concept research since early this year, combining synthetic and real consumers at equal weight to produce a hurdle score. The company has carried out about 80 concept research projects and applied the results to actual product launches.
CJ CheilJedang has piloted synthetic consumer research since last year and uses it as reference material for product planning. Amorepacific is running synthetic consumer projects with several technology companies to verify reliability and evaluate suitability and efficiency by topic.
In August, BGF Retail launched the lunchbox 'Mini Original Yubu 2-pack' using synthetic consumers; it surpassed 50,000 cumulative sales in two weeks.
Quick answers
What is BGF Retail using AI synthetic consumers for?
The CU operator is extending their use from product planning to store operation simulation, testing product display, customer flow and merchandise composition in a virtual store before real-store trials.
Which other companies use AI synthetic consumers?
Lotte Wellfood, CJ CheilJedang and Amorepacific are among the South Korean companies applying the tools in concept research and product planning.
How many concept research projects has Lotte Wellfood conducted?
About 80, with the results applied to actual product launches.