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It’s estimated around US$10 billion in sales were recorded within the first hour alone, putting the online superstore well on track to achieve a 27% year-on-year increase on the previous year’s one-day event.
Meanwhile, early estimates from the UK’s Black Friday bonanza put this year’s sales at around £10 billion.2 In South Africa, a total of 5.2 million online and card transactional sales took place during Black Friday.3
As with Alibaba, a significant portion of successful online transactions in the UK, were attributed to the adoption of AI. Even now, analysts across the globe are attempting to put a size on the AI prize amid predictions it could directly contribute around US$16 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
Notable gains are spread across all sectors with the big winners set to be in financial services, automotive, retail and healthcare.4
But regardless of whether or not you believe estimates to be accurate, there’s no doubting the huge impact AI, big data and machine learning are having on industry and commerce.
We’ve already carried out in-depth research into their impact. In 2018, Forrester Consulting, working on our behalf, conducted a survey of more than 700 senior decision makers from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
It’s now universally acknowledged by more than four out of five (82%) CEOs, just how important data, analytics and AI are to business. There’s also a high degree of self-awareness among the vast majority, with many senior decision-makers readily acknowledging the increasingly competitive pressures they now face.
But organisations are struggling to meet customer expectations, make the most of the data they have, or plug into AI and machine learning techniques.
It emerged more than one in four (28%) admit they are still not sure they’re offering a friction-free experience for new customers. A similar number, (26%) also don’t believe they’re making the most of advanced analytics.
Many admit they’re under pressure as cost-of-acquisition and cost to serve continue to rise (+57%), while at the same time, nearly half (45%) say customer retention, fraud and bad debt are also proving challenging.