LAS VEGAS — Artificial intelligence is reshaping the retail landscape, sparking a conversation among industry leaders about its role, potential and limitations.
As the technology evolves, retail executives are grappling with how best to integrate AI into their operations and customer-facing functions.
Some view AI as a transformative force that demands constant experimentation and adaptation, urging businesses to explore innovative ways to leverage its capabilities to maintain a competitive edge. Others emphasize the enduring importance of the human touch in retail. While AI can streamline processes and enhance efficiency, they argue that genuine human interaction remains a cornerstone in fostering trust and emotional connections with shoppers.
While some predict that chatbots will revolutionize customer service across all types of purchases, others believe their utility will be limited to high-value transactions, where the stakes are higher and personalized assistance is more critical.
These varied perspectives underscore the complexity of AI’s integration into retail. Here’s what some of the top minds in the industry are saying about the technology.
1. Sven Gerjets, chief technology officer, Gap Inc.
“Right now, it's moving so fast that we have to keep trying things. Something that didn't work yesterday will work tomorrow.”
2. Jordan Broggi, EVP of customer experience and president of online, The Home Depot
“Customers want to be helped, and they want to be helped in the right moment by the right tool. And if that's a human, that's a human. If that's a chatbot, that's a chatbot. It's really about: Can I be helpful in the moment?”
3. Karin Tracy, group lead, retail and e-commerce, Meta
“It's not a feature. It is the foundation at this point.”
4. Amanda Bailey, vice president of customer marketing and loyalty, Lowe’s
“AI is changing all of our lives, whether we realize it or not. … It's certainly changing the way our customers are shopping. … Customers aren't just coming and shopping keywords and searching keywords to find a specific product. They're starting to ask full-blown questions, which means that brands have to have full-blown answers, and so it's no longer good enough just to serve up a product. You now have to meet them where they are, and you have to kind of take them through this whole journey, from dreaming to planning their project to doing the project to taking care of it after it's done.”
5. Bret Taylor, co-founder and CEO, Sierra; chairman of the board, OpenAI
“I think the more considered the purchase, the more consumers will use personal AI to help them make that decision. Are you buying a new car? Are you refinancing your home? … I think the idea that every single retail experience is to be driven by a personal AI agent — I don’t completely buy. I think there’s a lot to how you think about what you purchase and why that goes beyond the transaction. It’s why things like Google Shopping never quite panned out the way I think really smart people pontificated about 20 years ago.”
6. Denise Paulonis, CEO, Sally Beauty Holdings
“I think certainly in the beauty world, you can’t forget that retail is a human-centric experience. You want trusted partners. AI is not going to tell you does that color look good on you. It can give you an indication it will — but it won’t give you that final comfort zone that you’ll get from that human experience.”
7. Barbie Cameron, chief stores officer, Macy’s
“We have colleague product knowledge available through AI technology, where they can learn about products, understand how things fit, what goes together, so that they can have more confidence when they're connected with their customers. We also have some AI that's working for our store leadership team, so that they can have all of their reporting pulled together for them and summarized, so that they can be out of their offices on the floors with their customers and colleagues. Again, that human connection is so important.”
