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Techday NZ
14-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Eagle Eye Execs Embrace AI Appreciation Day
Insights from industry leaders on the ethics, impact and future of AI in the loyalty industry As the march of artificial intelligence continues, its impact is increasingly felt in how businesses operate and serve customers. In the retail and loyalty sector, AI promises significant changes to personalisation and customer value creation. However, this transformation raises important questions around ethical data use, integration challenges, misconceptions about AI capabilities, and the practical realities of implementation. Executives at AI-powered personalisation and SaaS loyalty platform Eagle Eye have been navigating these changes firsthand, and have taken the timing of AI Appreciation Day to offer insights on both the opportunities and challenges ahead. Why AI Appreciation Day matters When considering the broader implications of AI's rapid development, Jonathan Reeve, Vice President APAC at Eagle Eye, reflects on both personal and professional transformation. "I've been thinking about AI advancement a lot lately as we watch AI and automation start to reshape our working lives," he says. "Like many others, I've invested years developing particular skills and expertise. It's not easy to imagine large parts of my work being automated, but I recognise I need to start asking: What problem do I solve for people? Could that problem be solved differently? And how might I evolve to stay relevant and valuable? It's challenging, but it also gives us a chance to step back, reimagine, and maybe evolve to improve our prospects." On the question of why AI Appreciation Day matters, Reeve casts his mind back to retail and notes the importance of tracking AI progress, especially as it has already moved from experimental to practical application for some retailers. "For the first time, retailers can start measuring real returns on AI investments rather than just talking about potential. We're seeing early adopters like Tesco and Carrefour overseas already achieving measurable results from predictive AI in personalised marketing. Celebrating this acknowledges the transformation that's already happening while pointing out the leaders who are lighting the way." Aaron Crowe, Regional Director Asia at Eagle Eye, sees the day as serving multiple educational and developmental purposes. "AI Appreciation Day is important for reflection, showcasing real-world value, sparking future development conversations, and promoting education among experts and customers around innovation," he says. Common misconceptions about AI Both Jonathan Reeve and Aaron Crowe believe there are significant misunderstandings about what AI can actually do for retailers. Reeve points to a particular issue with how companies approach personalisation, noting that grouping customers based on broad data segments does not lead to effective customer experiences. "Many retailers think they're doing personalisation when they're actually just doing sophisticated segmentation," he says. "True personalisation means moving beyond grouping customers into segments and instead creating genuinely individual experiences, like tailoring specific reward thresholds based on each customer's unique purchase history and preferences." Crowe approaches the misconception from a different angle, focusing on the relationship between AI and human workers rather than AI replacing them entirely. "AI augments, not replaces, human expertise; speeding data analysis while preserving human judgment and local market insights," he says. Ethical considerations and data handling When it comes to ethical issues, the executives share some common concerns but each brings a different perspective to the discussion. Jean-Matthieu Schertze, Chief AI Officer at Eagle Eye, identifies three areas that businesses need to focus on to ensure responsible AI implementation. "Bias and fairness: ensuring AI systems do not perpetuate or exacerbate social, cultural or economic biases," he says. "Next is transparency and accountability: making AI decisions explainable and ensuring that there is clear accountability for outcomes driven by AI systems. Third is privacy and data protection: safeguarding personal and sensitive data from misuse, breaches or exploitation." Cédric Chéreau, Managing Director of Eagle AI, emphasises privacy as particularly relevant to their retail personalisation business. "In our business (personalisation in retail) it is key to respect the choice of customers, making sure retailers collect the opt-ins and respect them. GDPR in Europe is the model to follow." He also highlights the social impact of AI acceleration, noting that workforce adaptation will be necessary. "With AI acceleration, many employees will have to adapt," he says. "They need training; they need to be eager to learn. They need to understand that AI will code better and faster than any developers in the world." So, how can retailers adopt ethical considerations into the way they manage customer data? Aaron Crowe offers practical steps that retailers can implement to ensure responsible data handling. "Obtain explicit customer consent, anonymise or pseudonymise personal data, enforce role-based access controls and conduct regular privacy audits," he says. Similarly, Schertzer encourages retailers to adopt a sensible framework covering a few key areas. "Grocery retailers can ensure ethical use of AI in customer data handling by limiting data usage strictly to what is necessary for improving customer experience and operational efficiency; ensuring robust data security measures are in place to protect customer information; and communicating openly with customers about how their data is being used," he says. Integration challenges The executives identify several significant obstacles that businesses face when trying to implement AI practically. Jonathan Reeve highlights two particular disconnects that he believes will become more problematic as AI adoption increases. The first relates to how AI systems will discover and evaluate business offers. "The biggest disconnect is between AI capability and discoverability," he says. "Companies are building AI systems, but they're not preparing for how AI agents will find and evaluate their offers. If your program's benefits can't be found and understood by an AI assistant, you'll be excluded from consideration when customers ask where they can access certain benefits or products." He continues by explaining how traditional mass marketing approaches may become unsustainable in an AI-driven environment. "Another major disconnect is between mass market thinking and AI optimisation," he says. "Blanket promotions available to all customers become financially unsustainable when AI agents are built to identify and exploit the most generous public offers. This cherry-picking approach will render mass offers increasingly unprofitable. The solution requires rebuilding underlying technologies for an age where AI intermediaries might evaluate thousands of offers per second to find the best fit for their users." Aaron Crowe identifies more operational challenges that need to be addressed for successful AI adoption. "Businesses need to overcome data silos, close talent gaps in AI/ML skills, and secure frontline buy-in through training and change-management to ensure AI adoption delivers value," he says. Zyed Jamoussi, Group Chief Technology Officer at Eagle Eye, emphasises the importance of moving past excitement to focus on practical business value. "It's about getting away from the hype, understanding what integrating AI into their operations means practically and making sure that whatever usage they are preparing is meaningful for the business and fits smoothly into business priorities," he says. Coordinating retail efforts with AI When it comes to bringing together marketing, loyalty, and retail media efforts, both Aaron Crowe and Zyed Jamoussi see AI as the connecting factor. Crowe outlines a systematic approach that builds from unified data to optimised performance. "Build a unified customer profile, apply AI-driven segmentation and propensity models, orchestrate omnichannel promotions, and close the loop with performance-based optimisation," he says. Jamoussi suggests a more fundamental rethink of how retail value chains operate with AI at their centre. "Redesigning the value chain using AI to generate one to one personalised offers and feed them to the right consumers touch points based on brand objectives and budgets is probably the best way to go about it," he says. The broader impact and future Jean-Matthieu Schertzer sees GenAI creating new possibilities for handling unstructured data, like text, at different scales, including: "At an individual scale: using ChatGPT-like conversational interfaces for personal productivity or for coaching/learning a topic," he says. "At a team scale: using shared AI agent workspaces and workflows to partially automate some processes. At a company scale: making company knowledge more discoverable and searchable. And finally, integrated into SaaS products: enabling conversational interfaces where they add value to the product experience." Schertzer also believes Agentic AI opens up a new way of interfacing systems. "Agentic AI is about making systems easily accessible, not just to humans, not just to other systems through APIs, but to AI Agents with a degree of autonomy to interact with the system," he says. "This represents a new paradigm for both system-to-system and human-to-system communication." Cédric Chéreau sees the potential for completely new customer experiences that go far beyond current personalisation efforts. "AI is just getting started," he says. "Real one-to-one offers, using shopper individual behaviors, personal potential, delivered at the right moment with the adapted image through the preferred channel will completely change the way customers interact with retailers." He also places AI in historical context alongside other transformative technologies. "Like steam engines, electricity, or the internet, AI is a real revolution," he says. "We need to celebrate it as a massive innovation that will change our environment." Opportunities for Australian retail Reeve sees particular potential for Australian retailers to benefit from global learnings without having to repeat the experimental phase. "The most exciting opportunity is that Australian retailers can learn from global successes and implement proven strategies quickly," he says. "The technology exists to deliver personalised experiences at scale, with implementation possible in weeks rather than months." He notes that Australia has good foundations but faces a particular challenge around digital engagement. "Australia has the right ingredients: an established digital consumer base and significant opportunity for growth that could accelerate with increased personalisation," he says. "However, the key challenge is digital engagement. Most retailers only connect with a small fraction of their customer base through apps and websites. If only one in 20 customers are on the app, most customers miss out on the benefits of personalised reward programs."
Techday NZ
02-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
APAC retailers are missing out on the benefits of personalisation technology
The tech exists, the business case is proven, and early adopters are already seeing results. Why shouldn't retail be personal? It feels like, once upon a time, it was; a local shopkeeper knew your name, preferences, and even your shopping patterns. That connection made interactions relevant and valuable. Somewhere along the way, we lost that relevance and value – I think it's time to bring it back. At Eagle Eye, we're passionate about helping retailers across Asia-Pacific rediscover the power of personalisation, but now at a scale that would have been unimaginable to that corner shop owner. The convergence of market pressures, consumer expectations, and breakthrough technology has created the perfect conditions for a personalisation revolution, and APAC retailers are well positioned to lead it. Several powerful forces are set to reshape retail across Asia-Pacific, creating challenges and significant opportunities for forward-thinking retailers. Market pressures, for one, are intensifying. Amidst a cost of living crisis, loyalty has the opportunity to ease pressures for consumers while providing retailers with an advantage, should they choose to adopt it, to maintain customer relationships and drive growth. We also know that consumer expectations have fundamentally shifted. McKinsey research reports that 71% of consumers now expect companies to deliver personalised interactions. If you think about Spotify's weekly playlists or Netflix's viewing recommendations, customers now expect that same level of "made for me" experience wherever and whenever they shop, whether that's online, in-store, or through mobile apps. Meanwhile, we find ourselves in the middle of a new wave of technological transformation, where AI, data, and cloud-driven platforms and architectures can be powerful enablers of new ways to shop and save money. The tools to deliver true 1:1 personalisation at scale are no longer just the domain of tech giants, they're accessible to retailers of all sizes. The magic of omnichannel personalisation At the recent NRF APAC Conference in Singapore, Jonathan Reeve, VP APAC for Eagle Eye, and I discussed the magic of omnichannel and personalisation. We explained that when these are done right, they should feel almost magical. Getting it right requires retailers to understand that omnichannel and personalisation are essentially two sides of the same coin, where omnichannel is the organisational goal and personalisation is what the customer expects. This isn't just about being nice to customers (though that matters enormously). The business case for personalisation has never been stronger. Boston Consulting Group's latest research is striking: "Over the next five years, US$2 trillion in revenue will shift to companies that create personalised experiences and communications." The most compelling evidence for personalisation's power comes from those already making it work. Take Tesco's recent success with their Clubcard Challenges. As CEO Ken Murphy shared in January 2025: "We introduced personalisation and gamification through Clubcard Challenges to over 10 million customers, and that had a great effect. There was a really, really strong response to that." Clubcard Challenges effectively reward participants who meet shopping or purchasing goals presented via the Tesco app. These might manifest as a big points boost for purchasing a particular item or category of product from certain brands in a given period. When Tesco targeted 10 million Clubcard members with these challenges, 76% of distinct visitors to the Clubcard Challenges pages converted to players, and 62% of players became winners by reaching their first reward. These aren't just impressive engagement metrics – they represent real customer value and business impact. EagleAI models make over 190 intelligent decisions to assign each individual a single personalised challenge, ensuring that targeted products, categories, spend thresholds, and rewards are perfectly tailored for each participant. Each challenge is designed to reward incremental spending, creating benefits for the customer, retailer, and participating suppliers. Our analysis of personalised loyalty leaders shows consistent patterns, sales growth, and digital customer satisfaction scores. People often ask about the technology that powers intelligent loyalty solutions like this. At Eagle Eye, we've built our entire platform on Google Cloud, using services like BigQuery, Looker, Kubernetes, and to deliver real-time personalisation at scale. Kubernetes handles promotion execution in real time, processing thousands of API calls per second; BigQuery serves as our data lake for billions of weekly offers; Looker enables retailers to analyse and optimise campaigns in real time; and powers our personalisation algorithms that tailor offers to individual customers. These components represent an effort to orchestrate technology in the service of customer experience. When customers interact with retailers using our platform, they feel recognised and rewarded in real time, see offers perfectly tailored to their needs and preferences, and experience programs that keep getting better over time. The profitability possibility for APAC organisations We know that personalisation will become a key driver of profitability, and we know of the growth experienced by early and sophisticated players, as analysts have told us, and we have observed it firsthand. For example, we've seen that it's much more effective to be personally relevant than to rely on broad-brush discounts. We have observed scenarios wherein a generic 25% discount might only achieve a 5% redemption rate, wasting promotional spend on 95% of recipients. However, a personalised 13% discount, offered to customers who want that product, can achieve a 60% redemption rate. Retailers could spend less on the discount but achieve dramatically higher engagement and sales impact. The potential for personalisation extends far beyond traditional offers and promotions. We're seeing early innovations in personalised cooking programs, health and wellbeing tracking, charitable giving options, and sustainability initiatives. The goal isn't just to sell products but to create genuine value for customers. We expect that predictive and generative AI will accelerate this expansion dramatically. Whether you're a regional chain in Australia, a growing retailer in Southeast Asia, or an established brand expanding across multiple markets, the technology and expertise needed for personalisation success are now accessible. Personalisation will reshape retail, and the only question is whether your business leads or follows. This transformation works across our client base, from Woolworths to Carrefour, and Morrisons to Loblaws. The technology exists, the business case is proven, and customers expect it. Shopping used to be personal. Now retailers can bring that relevance back at scale.
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
BetaNXT Announces Next Phase of DataXChange Platform for Wealth Firms After Successful Pilot with Early Adopter Clients
Built on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud, DataXChange Accelerates Data Modernization and Maximizes Operational Efficiency with a Single Source of Near Real-Time Data NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BetaNXT, a leading provider of wealth management technology solutions with near real-time data capabilities and an enhanced advisor experience, announces that its groundbreaking DataXChange platform is now fully operational and broadly available after a successful pilot with early adopter clients. Launching three months ahead of schedule, after having fully onboarded a significant number of leading wealth management firms, DataXChange, Powered by Snowflake, is ready to help forward-thinking wealth enterprises accelerate their data modernization journeys, innovation efforts, and overall growth. 'One of our core beliefs is that data management is a long game—and the first step is to build the right data foundation that's secure, nimble, and customizable,' said Don Henderson, CTO of BetaNXT. 'DataXChange is enabling us to deliver a better client experience today, that also serves as the foundation for faster innovation and seamless integration of AI and other new capabilities in the future. According to some of our pilot participants and early adopters, this is a real 'game-changer' for wealth enterprises, advisors, and investors, and we are grateful to Snowflake for partnering with us to bring forward the future of Connected Wealth and Connected Data.' DataXChange, which began pilot testing in September 2024, brings internal and external inputs—BetaNXT data, clients' proprietary data, partner data, and third-party data—together in one data management ecosystem to deliver a flexible, customized, and connected experience that optimizes what data can do for wealth enterprises and their clients and partners. Going forward, all BetaNXT innovations and updates will be built on and available through the DataXChange platform, and all BetaNXT partnerships with third parties will be fully integrated with DataXChange as well. 'The flexible, future-proof wealth experience that DataXChange enables will serve as a springboard for the development of all our new products and services,' said Jonathan Reeve, Head of Product Strategy and Development for BetaNXT. 'DataXChange's secure ecosystem makes it easy to collaborate internally and externally, speeding up innovation efforts and new product releases.' Over the next several months, BetaNXT will introduce the first wave of new products and services built on DataXChange to further streamline and optimize the data experience for wealth enterprises and their clients. Announcements about these technology rollouts and updates will be available on the BetaNXT website. DataXChange's design incorporates and provides: A Common Data & Governance Framework: BetaNXT clients can experience DataXChange capabilities through Client Data Vaults, unique instances which utilize a common data and governance framework for the exchange and protection of data. Customized Client Views: In addition, the processes and contents of each Client Data Vault are customized for each BetaNXT client's unique integrations and needs. For example, by blending BetaNXT's quantitative data on client positions and holdings with non-financial CRM data on investors' favorite hobbies or life goals, a client can create a proprietary householding view of investors for a wealth advisor. Agnostic Aggregation & Commingling: DataXChange is a data-agnostic platform with an open framework for seamlessly ingesting new data sets and integrating new partners—and seamlessly blending proprietary and third-party data. Anytime Access: DataXChange makes clients' data accessible at any time and from any location, in real time. Wealth enterprises no longer need to wait for overnight reports or batch delivery—allowing users to decide what they want to call, how, and when. Intelligent Automation—DataXChange enables wealth enterprises to instantly eliminate time-intensive processes, and utilize automation to create more efficient workflows that give them more time to spend with investors. A Secure Platform for Innovation—DataXChange creates a secure environment where clients' data is ready to power whatever experiences and applications they want to create. Users can harness the DataXChange platform as an incubator for innovation from their own teams, the BetaNXT network, and an ever-growing universe of partners. 'BetaNXT has created a solution that empowers the wealth management industry to unlock operational efficiencies and most importantly deeper insights from their data—and do so at scale, as they grow,' said Rinesh Patel, Global Head of Financial Services at Snowflake. 'BetaNXT continues to be a leader in anticipating industry change and bringing to market solutions that make it easier for wealth enterprises and advisors to succeed with their clients.' By building on Snowflake, product and engineering teams can develop, scale, and operate their applications without operational burdens—and deliver truly differentiated products to their customers. By becoming Powered by Snowflake, builders receive access to resources to help them design, market, and operate their applications in the AI Data Cloud. To learn more about how organizations are building on Snowflake, and becoming Powered by Snowflake, please visit: About BetaNXT BetaNXT powers the future of connected wealth, investing in platforms, products, and partnerships to accelerate growth. We are a leading provider of frictionless wealth management enterprise solutions, real-time data capabilities, and an enhanced advisor experience. Through our software, data, and operations-as-a-service approach, we empower our clients with flexible, efficient, connected solutions that anticipate their changing needs. Our comprehensive model reduces enterprise cost, streamlines operations processes, increases advisor productivity, and strengthens the investor experience. Together with BetaNXT, wealth management firms are transforming their platforms into game-changing differentiators that enable enterprise scale and stimulate commercial growth. For more information visit Media Contacts Laura Marvin Simkins
