AI Insights in ProConnect Commerce help retailers plan what to buy. Now suppliers can sponsor them, giving wholesalers a new source of supplier funding from their online store.

Last month we introduced AI Insights to ProConnect Commerce: weather, sport and seasonal moments, shown on a wholesaler’s store homepage to help retailers plan what to buy. Since then, ProConnect Commerce has had a redesign and the insights now sit more subtly in the shopping journey.

Today we’re adding another great new feature for our ProConnect Commerce customers. Suppliers can now sponsor AI Insights.

See it in action

AI that turns what’s happening into what to stock

Each AI Insight links a real-world moment to products the retailer can order straight away. A warm weekend, a big match or a seasonal event appears as a short prompt alongside the products in the store.

Select an insight and a panel explains the opportunity: the key dates, the expected level of demand and the categories worth considering. From there, one click takes the retailer to the relevant products.

It’s a simple path from spotting an opportunity to adding stock to the basket, built into the order the retailer is already placing.

Suppliers can now take over an insight

With sponsored AI Insights, a supplier can take over an insight that fits its range. In our example, M&M’s takes over the Halloween Stock-Up insight with:

• branded artwork, clearly labelled as sponsored
• the key dates retailers need to plan around
• its own featured products
• a button that takes retailers straight to the range

The insight is still useful to the retailer – it tells them why Halloween matters and what to stock – but now the supplier’s products are front and centre at the point the order is being planned.

What it means for wholesalers

For wholesalers, sponsored AI Insights are a new way to generate supplier funding from the ecommerce channel. Rather than another banner, suppliers pay to be part of content that’s relevant and timely, and that helps your retailers decide what to buy.

What it means for suppliers

For suppliers, it’s a chance to reach retailers at the moment they’re planning their order, tied to the occasions that drive demand for their products, with a direct route to buy.

As far as we’re aware, it’s one of the first examples of supplier-sponsored activity being built into AI in the B2B wholesale channel.

Bring AI Insights to your store

If you’re a ProConnect Commerce customer, talk to us about switching on AI Insights and offering sponsored insights to your suppliers. If you’re a supplier interested in sponsoring insights, we’d like to hear from you too.