The most forward-thinking retailers are now leveraging AI not as a force of displacement, but as the ultimate tool for human amplification. They're building organisations in which AI handles the tedious, and humans dominate the creative, strategic, and empathetic work that truly builds brands and wins customer loyalty.

Recently, I was pleased to attend the AI in Retail Virtual Summit which brought home the sentiment that the future belongs to retailers who master the art of the human-machine partnership. Here’s what that looks like in practice, based on insights from the presenters...

Building a Magnet for Change

The biggest barrier to AI adoption isn't technical; it's cultural. Dr. Sumit Mitra of Tesco Business Solutions, put it bluntly: "AI is 30% tech and 70% culture." He introduced the concept of "change magnetism"- the art of creating an organisation so dynamic and curious that it naturally attracts and embraces innovation.

But this of course requires a fundamental shift in leadership. Instead of managing change from the top down, the goal is to foster an environment where experimentation is normalised and storytelling answers the critical "why" for every employee. Without this cultural foundation, even the best technology will fail. This was underscored by data from ServiceNow's 2025 Enterprise AI Maturity Index, which revealed that despite soaring investments, the retail industry's overall AI maturity score fell by 10.5% as a direct result of unclear strategy and talent gaps.

The leadership muscle that you need to build is around storytelling and answering the why question...so that every colleague in the business really understands.
Dr. Sumit Mitra, CEO, Tesco Business Solutions

Reimagining the Retail Workforce

We are moving beyond the concept of a fixed job. Remzi Ural from PwC outlined the rise of the "agentic organisation," where work is deconstructed into a symphony of discrete tasks. In this model, AI agents handle structured, data-heavy decisions at lightning speed, while humans are elevated to focus on what they do best: exercise judgment, show empathy, negotiate, and create.

The right question is not 'will AI take jobs?' but 'how will we reallocate capability to create new value with AI?'
Remzi Ural, PwC

This isn't about elimination; it's about liberation. It frees the retail workforce from repetitive tasks to engage in the strategic and creative work that builds brand loyalty and drives growth.

The Empathy Engine

The most counterintuitive insight from the summit? AI is becoming the key to bringing the human touch back to physical retail.

At American Eagle, this means using AI as the "store's brain." Uttam Kumar, their Engineering Manager, explained how it moves teams from being reactive to proactive, for instance, predicting a shelf will be empty in an hour and alerting staff to restock it before a customer ever encounters a gap. This transforms the role of store associates who, no longer bogged down by manual stock checks or data entry, can become "experience ambassadors," equipped with AI-powered insights that allow them to offer personalised service, tell compelling brand stories, and connect on a human level.

The key is designing the AI to augment human interaction and not to replace it...It's really about creating this hybrid model where technology amplifies what makes a brand unique and people remain at the heart of that customer journey.
Matt Redwood, VP - Retail Technology, Diebold Nixdorf

The Pragmatist's Playbook

The most successful AI strategies are grounded in pragmatism, not hype. The overall consensus was: begin with the business problem, not the tech. As Andy Laudato, COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, asserted, "I'm trying to solve a business problem with technology, not the other way around.''

  • Amplify Your People: The Vitamin Shoppe deployed an AI-driven gamification tool that personalises training for each employee. This isn't just a nice-to-have; it directly improves product knowledge, which drives key metrics like conversion rate and average order value.
  • Reimagine, Don't Just Automate: Tesco used AI to completely overhaul a cumbersome product returns process, slashing a six-month, 25-person operation to a 15-day process managed by two people. Those employees were then redeployed to higher-value strategic conversations with suppliers.
  • Build a Grassroots Movement: Fabletics’ approach, led by Logan Karam, is a masterclass in adoption. They grew AI from the ground up through hackathons and an "AI Champion" programme, embedding advocates in every department. This fosters a culture of "experimental leadership," where it's safe to learn, test, and sometimes fail, building organic momentum and trust.
The one skill I think retail professionals need the most is experimental leadership...being comfortable to learn with your company and iterating fast and guiding teams through the uncertainty.
Logan Karam, AI Program Director, Fabletics

The Bottom Line

The era of automation-only AI is over. The new benchmark for success is amplification.

The winners won't be the retailers who replaced their people, but those who empowered them. In the end, while your technology stack is a commodity, your team's creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking - supercharged by AI - are your only unassailable advantages. So ask yourself, are you building a company of operators, or a coalition of innovators?

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