Retail News CRM

Tag: Red Ant

  • HK’s Globber plans global website

    HK’s Globber plans global website

    Hong Kong-based scooter maker Globber has partnered with retail technology specialist Red Ant Asia to develop a visual-led interactive website for 16 markets across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe.

    Built using the PrestaShop e-commerce platform, the site is designed to simplify the purchase of a scooter and related products. It features an interactive quiz that links directly to product detail pages; an interactive product comparison feature; recommendations for users, and a product spec comparison page with a drop-down list – allowing comparison of features across two to three products, which has effectively reduced product queries by 95 per cent.

    The site also offers a built-in scooter spare parts form aiming to modernise and simplify the approach to ordering new parts.

    Providing a single platform for Globber’s global team as well as local distributors, the new site supports Globber’s mixed market sales strategy and its international reputation.

    Emma Cox, Globber’s brand manager, said the team at Red Ant Asia understood the markets inside out that the company wanted to target.

    Globber has been selling scooters for toddlers, kids, teenagers and adults since 2014, and now retails in more than 74 countries.

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  • Red Ant Asia brings toy-shop mascot to life

    Red Ant Asia brings toy-shop mascot to life

    UK toy retailer The Entertainer has teamed with Hong Kong retail technology company Red Ant Asia so its mascot can talk to online customers.

    They can ask the retailer’s mascot Jack (as in the jack-in-the-box toy), dressed as Santa for the occasion, about items available for the festive season. Jack, who can be addressed by either voice or text, also offers Christmas jokes and information.

    Jack also asks two profiling questions – age and price range – so he can provide an appropriate link to The Entertainer’s gift finder.

    Artificial intelligence via natural language processing identifies and classifies customer questions so Jack can give the most relevant response from his database of answers. Human helpers can continuously refine the process.

    “In many ways, Hong Kong is leading the way when it comes to the adoption of AI and conversational commerce, and it is expected to make a significant contribution to the economy over the coming years,” says Red Ant Asia regional director/co-founder Elisa Harca.

    The Entertainer head of online and digital Rob Wood says the company wanted to use Red Ant’s experience to deliver a virtual assistant that ticks all the boxes. “We wanted something fun, relevant and genuinely useful, and Santa Chat is all three. It also paves the way for future connected retail initiatives.”

    Founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Gary and Catherine Grant, The Entertainer has more than 130 stores in the UK and six internationally. Its e-commerce platform offers a 30-minute click-and-collect service.

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  • Introducing Antony, the virtual concierge built by Red Ant

    Introducing Antony, the virtual concierge built by Red Ant

    Visitors to the recent Retail Asia Expo in Hong Kong found themselves taking part in a unique experience – chatting to Antony, an AI bot fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin and eager to help them find their way around the expo.

    Built by connected retail technology specialist Red Ant, Antony was developed as a proof of concept AI and speech recognition platform. Attendees interacted with him as a virtual concierge, getting details about food and beverage options, key locations within the expo and background information on Red Ant.

    Antony was created by using a speech to text API for the input – voice commands are sent to an AI platform where they are processed – and output generated using a text-to-speech API. Users simply walked up to his terminal and were prompted to greet him. Then, through a series of guided questions, Antony was able to give information about the venue and catering arrangements.

    He proved very popular among the visitors, generating enquiries from a number of representatives from malls, office blocks, transport hubs and hotels.

    Jonathan Cummings, Managing Director of global creative agency StartJG, said: ‘It was brilliant to have Antony and his Red Ant colleagues be part of our Interact Zone at the Expo. We curated the space to demonstrate the best and most innovative things happening in retail right now and Antony was a huge hit with visitors. We hope to see much more of Antony and bots just like him in the future.’

    Elisa Harca, Red Ant’s Regional Director for Asia, said: ‘The Retail Asia Expo attracts more than 10,000 visitors from 60 countries – it was the ideal arena for showcasing Antony and what he can do. The right technology in the right place is key to ensuring customers have a first-class experience, and Antony demonstrates just how innovative and engaging the latest tech can be.’

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