COVID-19 has created many challenges for retail stores that were accustomed to shoppers physically coming to their stores to purchase their products. With a decrease in foot traffic, businesses have had to adapt to this new digital environment to determine the best ways to connect with their customers. In an interview with Luigi Caroggio, President of Amorino North America, Franscesco Rulli, Global CEO of Querlo, discussed these challenges and the role that Artificial Intelligence can play in the future.
Founded in 2002, Amorino is a gelato company based in Italy. The company currently has over 200 stores across 17 different countries. Three years ago, Amorino partnered with Querlo and adopted its first version of Artificial Intelligence both to do research and also to educate people about the difference between gelato and ice cream. Recently, the company has partnered with Locally24 to promote the distribution of gelato across Long Island.
Francesco began the interview by asking Luigi about the challenges that COVID-19 created and the new opportunities in the post-COVID era. Luigi discussed how “Gelato is an impulse purchase and lack of foot traffic translated into a dramatic reduction on our turnovers.” Like many other retail stores, Amorino has had to look for alternative distribution channels, such as ordering on a phone or online for curbside pickup. However, Luigi noted that through the pandemic, he and his company have been able to discover new ways to serve customers which will be helpful in the future.
Looking to the future, Luigi talked about the chatbot as a new way to engage with customers to both gather and push information. Additionally, offering gelato across Long Island at Locally24.com/amorino has become a new and beneficial means of connecting with customers, especially those who were living in New York City and moved to Long Island during COVID-19.
