AI and Opportunity
In a nutshell…
- New possibilities. Retailers are tapping into AI’s potential, with adoption picking up momentum across teams. While some teams are quicker to embrace it than others, there’s a growing appetite for AI’s transformative power throughout organisations.
- Empowering human-AI collaboration. Rather than replacing people, AI is freeing up teams from repetitive tasks, letting them focus on more strategic work. By complementing human efforts, AI is sparking new levels of creativity and efficiency.
- Building trust and a positive culture. Ethical AI is a priority, especially in customer-facing roles, and retailers are working to create environments where employees feel excited to explore AI’s benefits. Communication helps teams to see AI as a valuable tool, easing concerns and building trust in AI-driven innovations.
- Skilling up for an AI-enhanced workforce. As AI becomes central to many workflows, organisations are committed to upskilling their teams, unlocking new talents, and equipping employees to thrive alongside these technologies. Continuous learning means employees are better prepared to maximise AI’s potential.
- Strategic innovation amid the AI buzz. Retailers are smartly navigating the AI landscape, focusing on solutions that genuinely add value and move the needle. With a focus on high-quality data, strong oversight, and community sentiment, they’re leveraging AI for competitive advantage and long-term success.
A closer look…
AI in action
Many Retail Hive Tech Leaders are actively exploring AI solutions to help tackle complex issues, improve productivity and automate processes, freeing up human resource to deliver in the areas where they can really add value. There’s a sense that AI solutions need to be provided by experts and that seeing through the ‘noise’ in the market to find genuinely value-additive solutions is important. It’s often, therefore, falling on tech leaders, who tend to see the value in AI-enabled solutions more quickly than other teams, to educate and support the business with roll-out.
Some Retail Hive members have found events and training can help to bridge this gap, with sessions like ‘town halls’ helping to foster discussions around AI projects and clarify the potential benefits. Naturally, employees can feel threatened by the introduction of AI, and allowing all stakeholders to voice concerns, as well as take advantage of the benefits of AI can foster a more inclusive atmosphere.
While AI adoption isn’t uniform, experimentation with AI technologies is definitely gaining traction. Retailers are piloting entry platforms to enhance productivity and explore the applications of generative AI. AI is also demonstrating ROI for more complex use cases—for example, translating website issues into plain English and calculating lost sales from website downtime for one Retail Hive member, making it easier to justify spend in key areas.
For many Retail Hive members, a collaborative, human-AI interface is emerging as the ideal approach. By viewing AI as a tool to complement human efforts rather than a replacement, organisations can foster an environment where employees work alongside AI to cut down on mundane tasks and bolster their capacity and creativity.
Still to do…
Sorting the hype from the real value is important to Retail Hive members. They know AI can deliver productivity dividends, but are wary of a term which is at risk of overexposure across many different functions.
Top of the to do list: retailers must ensure that the data they use for AI training is accurate and reliable—the old adage of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ is truer than ever when it comes to AI. Retail Hive Tech Leaders have also seen some examples of poor AI execution, with high-profile cases or over-relying on AI without human oversight and damaged brand reputations. While AI excels at tasks like trend mapping and identifying patterns within large datasets, it still requires critical input from human teams to navigate complex decision-making processes effectively and should never be let loose on customers without serious fail-safes in place.
There’s also a growing question around the ethical implications and consumer appetite surrounding AI applications. Some retailers are finding their customers and communities have been vocal about AI-created or -adapted images, creating a backlash which highlights the importance of understanding community sentiment and ethical considerations before launching AI-driven projects—particularly in the short term as consumers adapt to the new status quo.
The burgeoning landscape of AI vendors is also tricky to navigate. While some solution providers are bursting onto the scene with something genuinely innovative and game-changing, retailers are also concerned that some companies have retrofitted AI capabilities into existing products as they attempt to ride the hype wave. Savvy Retail Hive members are raising questions about the depth of their understanding and the real impact on outcomes and asking questions around in house skills and expertise before committing.
Finally, retailers need to accept that the workforce and skillsets will inevitably shift as AI technologies become more prevalent. As teams adapt, they will require training and recalibration to understand AI tools and leverage them effectively. Investing in skills development will be crucial to ensure that employees feel empowered rather than threatened by AI innovations.
