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Okay, so imagine you're walking into a store, right?

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And before you even say a word about what you need,

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this sales associate just comes up to you

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and suggests the perfect thing.

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Like how cool would that be?

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It's like they can read your mind or something?

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And that's kind of what everyone's saying

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AI can do for retail.

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Yeah, there's definitely a lot of hype around AI right now.

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Everyone's talking about how it's gonna revolutionize

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the way we shop everything from personalized suggestions

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to super smart inventory management.

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But here's the thing, even the best algorithms

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in the world won't work if you're missing one crucial piece.

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You mean like the human element?

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Exactly, specifically your staff.

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I mean, think about it, retail has notoriously

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high turnover rates.

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So how can you even hope to implement

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any sort of cool tech or whatever

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if you're constantly dealing with new employees

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who don't even know the ropes yet?

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Right, it's like that article from old media plus

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we're looking at today was saying,

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they made a really good point about how like,

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no matter how fancy your AI gets,

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none of it really matters if you haven't invested

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in proper training for your employees.

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They even said it's like building a house on sand,

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which I thought was a pretty powerful analogy.

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Oh, for sure, because like while AI can definitely

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do a lot to personalize the online shopping experience,

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you know, like serving up ads and stuff,

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most people like 82% actually still say they prefer

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talking to a real person when they're physically in a store.

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Someone who knows their stuff and can offer helpful advice.

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Yeah, it makes sense.

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There's just something about that human touch,

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you know, like feeling seen and heard by an actual person

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that AI just can't replicate at least not yet.

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Totally.

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And that's actually a perfect segue into the next point

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I wanted to bring up about customer service

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and product knowledge.

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Like the article argues that these old school concepts

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are actually more important now than ever before

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in the age of AI.

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So how do those two things factor into all of this?

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Because it does seem like customer service and product

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knowledge are kind of taking a backseat

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to technology these days.

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Well, the thing is good customer service

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and in-depth product knowledge can make a huge difference

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for retailers.

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I mean, we're talking about things like increased customer

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satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately more sales.

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Because when your employees know what they're talking about,

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they can create those aha moments for shoppers,

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you know, where the customer feels understood and valued.

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And that kind of personal connection

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is what keeps people coming back for more.

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So it's not just about making the sale,

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it's about building a relationship with the customer.

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Exactly.

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And that's something that AI just can't do on its own,

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at least not yet.

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It's like you said, it's not just about making the sale right.

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You want to build that relationship.

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And to do that, your employees need

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to really know their stuff, like inside and out.

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They need to be able to connect the dots

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between what the customer is looking for

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and what you have in stock.

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Right, like bridging the gap between data and that human touch

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we were talking about.

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Exactly.

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And that can be tough, especially with the high turnover rates

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we see in retail, constantly having

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to bring new people up to speed.

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Which brings up another good point from the article,

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onboarding.

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They made this whole argument about how crucial it

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is to have a really solid onboarding process in place.

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And not just for improving employee performance,

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but also for shaping the company culture.

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Oh, absolutely.

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Onboarding is so important.

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I mean, think about it.

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When you rush through the onboarding process

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and just throw a ton of information at new hires,

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it just creates confusion and frustration.

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And what happens?

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They end up quitting.

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Yeah, it totally backfires.

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Right.

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So the article suggests taking a more long-term approach

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to onboarding.

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A focus on really developing your employees' skills

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and knowledge instead of just trying to get them up

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to speed as quickly as possible.

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So it's about investing in your employees for the long haul.

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Exactly.

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And that kind of leads into the solution they highlight

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in the article.

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Have you heard of the Insight platform?

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Yeah, they mentioned it a few times.

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Sounds like it's supposed to help with this whole training

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and onboarding thing.

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But how does it actually work?

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Is it just like another one of those learning management

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systems?

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Not even close.

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Insight is way more than that.

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It's like this really cool interactive hub

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where employees can access all kinds of training materials

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and resources.

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Plus, it has these built-in communication tools

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so everyone can stay connected and get support

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when they need it.

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That sounds way more engaging than just reading through a bunch

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of manuals or whatever.

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Oh, yeah, totally.

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And the best part is it's tailored to each individual

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employee's needs.

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So they're not just getting bombarded

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with irrelevant information.

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It's all about making sure they have

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the specific knowledge and skills they need

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to succeed in their role.

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That's smart.

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So it's kind of like AI is actually

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helping to personalize the employee experience, too.

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Exactly.

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And it doesn't stop there.

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Insight also has these really cool performance tracking

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tools for managers so they can see how their team is doing,

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identify any areas where they might need extra support,

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that kind of thing.

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Oh, wow.

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So it's like bringing everything full circle.

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You're using AI to not only improve the customer experience,

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but also the employee experience.

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Exactly.

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It's all connected.

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And when you invest in your employees

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and give them the tools they need to succeed,

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everybody wins.

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Yeah, for sure.

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It really seems like the big takeaway here

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is that retailers need to find that balance.

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Yeah.

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Like, yeah, AI is cool and everything,

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but you can't forget about the human side of things.

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100%.

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It's about using technology to enhance the human element,

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not replace it.

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Think about it for a second.

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Right now, we can literally order anything online, right?

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Groceries close, even furniture.

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But you know what?

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People still like going to physical stores.

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Because they want that in-person experience.

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Yeah.

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They want to talk to a real person, get advice,

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maybe even just have a little chat.

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You can't get that from a website.

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It's true.

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There's just something about connecting with someone

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face to face that you can't replicate online.

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Like, it's about building trust and feeling confident

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in your purchases.

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And that's what makes this whole conversation so interesting,

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right?

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It's not about choosing between AI or humans.

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It's about figuring out how to combine those two things

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in a way that creates the best possible experience

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for everyone.

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So like a future where AI is working behind the scenes

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to help retailers understand their customers better.

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But then you still have those human interactions

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happening on the front lines.

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Exactly.

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Imagine walking into a store and the sales associate

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already knows exactly what you're looking for based

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on your past purchases or what you've been browsing online.

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But then they also take the time to get to know you personally,

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ask about your day, offer suggestions that are tailored

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specifically to your needs.

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That would be pretty awesome.

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Yeah.

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So it's not about replacing jobs.

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It's about making those jobs even better.

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Precisely.

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And that kind of brings us to a final thought

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I wanted to leave our listeners with.

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What if instead of asking, will AI replace human workers,

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we started asking, how can we use AI to empower our employees

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and create a more human-centric retail experience?

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That's a really good question.

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Like, how can we use technology to not only improve efficiency

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and personalize recommendations, but also

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to build stronger relationships with our customers?

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It's definitely something we're thinking about.

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Definitely.

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Because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about,

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creating meaningful connections and building

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relationships that last.

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And if we can use AI to help us do that even better,

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then I think the future of retail is looking pretty bright.

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I agree.

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Well said.

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This is a great conversation.

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Thanks for joining me today.

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Thanks for having me.