Ai is Ready, are Your Workers

Welcome to the Explainer. Today we're digging into a huge shift happening in retail technology. And you know what? It all boils down to one simple execution. Now before we jump in, a quick heads up. If this whole topic is something you're dealing with, you'll definitely want to join IHL for their retail AI Pulse webinar on March 26th. It's all about practical, high impact AI tools for corporate retail folks focusing on real repeatable workflows, not just, you know, the influencer hype. All right, let's get right into it. This quote here from Greg Buzek, it really sets the stage for everything we're talking about today. See the race in retail, it's not about what to buy anymore. Nope. It's a full on sprint to see who can execute the fastest. And what we're seeing out there is this, this massive gap opening up. You've got the leaders on one side, the ones who are actually deploying new technology at scale and then on the other side the got the laggers. They're still stuck in planning meetings and honestly they're falling further and further behind every single day. So let's look at how this actually plays out in the real world. We're going to talk about some companies that are way past the let's try it phase. They are deep in production. Okay, first up, 711 in the Philippines. And listen, this isn't some small test run in a few stores. We're talking about them deploying new point of sale tech from NCR Voix across their entire network. They that's more than 4,500 locations. Now that is what execution at massive scale looks like. And right here in the US Check out Hux market. They're the very first C store chain to roll out an AI native POS system in a live setting. What does that mean? Well it makes training way easier and speeds up every transaction. And they're not messing around. It's going into all 135 of their locations. And hey, this isn't all just happening at the checkout counter. Over in Germany, the fashion retailer LNT is doing something really cool. They're combining smart electronic hang tags with an AI pricing engine. This lets them tweak prices and optimize their margins in real time right there on the sales floor based on what's selling, what's not and who's shopping. Okay, but what's the payoff? This is where it gets really interesting. The hard data from IHL Group shows that retailers who adopt electronic shelf labels see their sales grow 75% higher than their competitors. And for those upgrading their POS systems, they've got a 49% advantage. I mean, the numbers really don't lie. Execution pays off big time. But look, rolling out shiny new tech is only half the story, right? The real challenge, and frankly the new bottleneck for a lot of companies is getting your people, your human employees to actually use it effectively. Think about it. Whenever we talk about AI, where's the conversation usually go? Yep, straight to job losses. But is that really the whole picture? Is AI just about replacing workers or is there a totally different and way more powerful way to look at this? Alright, look at this number. 1.6 million. What is that? Well, that's how many people Walmart employees in the US and Canada. And as the biggest private employer in the country, you better believe that what they do sends ripples through the entire industry. So what are they doing? They're making a massive bet on those 1.6 million people, not against them. They. They've kicked off this huge program to train their entire workforce from the folks in the stockroom all the way up to the C suite on how to use AI tools in their day to day jobs. And this quote from Walmart's chief People officer just hits the nail on the head. The goal isn't to replace people, it's to enable them. AI is a tool to make your workers smarter, faster and more effective. Not a pink slip waiting to happen. Okay, to really get a sense of just how widespread this whole thing execution trend is, let's fire through a lightning round of recent news from all corners of the retail world. You ready? First up, California Pizza Kitchen is using AI to get super precise with labor. Forecasting the result, they've sliced the difference between scheduled hours and actual hours by a whopping 50%. Next, Swensons drive in. They're using an AI location engine to perfectly time curbside and delivery handoffs. Translation. Way shorter wait times for everyone. Over at the gas pump, Citgo is rolling out Pluspay, a new mobile payment solution that's faster and more secure. You can pay right from your bank account. No card swipe needed. This one is cool. The Salvation army is meeting Gen Z where they live online. They've opened a virtual thrift store inside the huge gaming platform Roblox. How about pizza from a vending machine? Donatos is doing it with the Peptron. It's a fully autonomous robot that bakes and serves fresh pizza on demand in places like airports. Pretty amazing. Up in Canada, grocery giant Loblaw is teaming up with Google. Now you can shop for groceries just by talking to their conversational AI. Turning a search into a shopping cart. And finally, Walgreens is scaling up its automation big time. They're opening another robotic micro fulfillment center to handle millions of prescriptions. This frees up pharmacists to spend more time with patients, which is exactly where they should be. Alright, so after all that, after seeing all these examples, what's the big takeaway? What does all this really mean for retail? You know, it really comes down to three key things. One, speed of execution isn't just nice to have, it's the new competitive advantage. Two, the key to unlocking all this tech value isn't just the software, it's your people. And three, that gap between the leaders who are deploying now and the laggards who are still waiting, it's not just widening, it's widening fast. Look, we've really only scratched the surface today with these stories. If you want to go deeper, you can explore the full narrative with way more than 40 additional news stories and case studies over@ihlservices.com thanks so much for joining me. I'm terrified about the Abercrombie presentation because I don't have the right data to close the deal. No problem.

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