RETHINK RETAIL

What if the real problem with AI in retail isn’t intelligence—but expertise? Recorded live at Shoptalk Spring in Las Vegas, this conversation breaks down how Boot Barn is tackling one of retail’s hardest challenges: scaling deep, technical product knowledge across 500+ stores—without losing credibility on the floor. Instead of relying on generic chatbots, Boot Barn built a custom AI “associate” designed to know the difference between looking right and being right—especially when safety, compliance, and performance matter. Key Insights: - AI is only as good as what it knows. Boot Barn uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to ground AI in real product specs, safety standards, and brand knowledge—reducing hallucinations and increasing trust where it matters most. - The real unlock isn’t AI—it’s humans training it. Professional copywriters aren’t being replaced—they’re evolving into AI trainers, shaping how the system communicates and ensuring the brand voice stays authentic to the Western and workwear customer. - Expertise, on demand. In a high-turnover retail environment, AI becomes a “digital co-worker”—giving store associates instant access to complex product knowledge they might otherwise take years to learn. - Search is no longer the battleground. As discovery shifts toward AI-driven answers, Boot Barn is preparing for a world where visibility depends on how well your knowledge is structured for machines—not just humans. Listen to the full conversation to see what retail AI actually looks like when it works.

Moving Beyond the Buzzwords Unified Commerce isn't a new term, but true execution remains the "Holy Grail" for enterprise retailers. In this episode, Steven Bailey, Partner at EY and Jonathan Aitken, SVP at RADAR, discuss why the gap between vision and reality is still so wide, and how to close it. The Foundation of Real-Time Retail From the friction of in-store returns to the high cost of order cancellations, the duo explores how fragmented data ruins the customer experience. They break down why "throwing AI at the problem" isn't a fix for a broken architectural foundation. Key Insights include: - Journey vs. Channel: Why structural alignment matters more than technology. - The Smart Store: Transitioning physical locations from "sales points" to "intelligence hubs." - Inventory Truth: Why 99%+ accuracy is the non-negotiable starting point for 2026.