(Artificial) Intelligence on Display

KEVIN Welcome back to ENDORIENCE. In today’s episode, we’re looking at one of the most talked-about—and often misunderstood—forces in modern retail: artificial intelligence. From smart POS displays that adapt to customer behaviour to AI-assisted design workflows and predictive planning, AI is no longer simply a future concept. It is already entering the industry. I’m joined again by Gergő Nidermayer, founder of ENDORIENCE and owner of TRUSTED, to explore how AI is being used today in both customer-facing environments and behind-the-scenes design and production processes. Welcome back, Gergő. GERGŐ Hello, Kevin. Great to be here. Thank you for having me. KEVIN When we talk about AI in retail, what technologies are we actually talking about? GERGŐ I think we need to separate AI in retail into two broad areas. The first is how experts and designers use AI to design and create spaces and experiences. The second is how AI operates inside the finished retail environment—during daily operation, maintenance and customer interaction. The first is about how we create a better environment. The second is about how that environment performs once customers are inside it. KEVIN Let’s start with design. How good are these tools already? GERGŐ I think we need to say clearly that if you are not using AI in the creation of spaces today, you are already falling behind. It is becoming an essential tool. KEVIN Is that mainly because it saves time? GERGŐ Time is one major factor. We no longer need to spend the same amount of time and energy exploring every initial direction. But there is another important factor. Historically, both time pressure and the individual knowledge of designers created limitations around how many ideas could realistically be explored. AI changes that. KEVIN Projects often need to happen almost immediately. How much difference does AI make? GERGŐ Before AI, early product or spatial design exploration could easily take several days. With AI, some of that work can now happen in less than a day. Time used to be one of the biggest bottlenecks for creative exploration. AI significantly reduces that limitation. KEVIN What about more advanced questions such as material selection? GERGŐ That is where expertise remains critical. When we use AI for design, we can explore patterns, colours, shapes, forms, proportions and spatial relationships. But we still need the brain behind it. If you ask the wrong question, you get the wrong answer. The same is true in design. You still need experts and know-how behind the AI. The advantage is that those experts can explore a much wider range of materials, colours and possible solutions. KEVIN So it removes some of the repetitive work and gives designers more time for the areas where their expertise creates value. GERGŐ Yes. And there is another benefit. When you have more time, you can search for better and bigger ideas. KEVIN One criticism of generative AI is that it tends towards generic output. How do you avoid that? GERGŐ Again, it depends on the questions and the data. The point of AI is not simply to generate an answer. It can speed up the process and give us more perspectives from which to examine a problem. When designing a specific retail environment, you need information about the customers, the product, the space and the region. AI can help find and analyse that information. That can lead to a much more relevant answer. KEVIN Let’s move to the customer experience. How is AI changing retail in ways customers may not even realise? GERGŐ Digital signage is a good example. A few years ago, digital signage often meant simply installing screens that repeatedly displayed one or two pieces of content. That is changing. AI allows the customer journey to become significantly more responsive. Systems can analyse what customers are buying, connect with inventory information, consider the weather and adapt content accordingly. If the weather changes, for example, the store can immediately change which products it communicates. That is a very different level of personalisation. KEVIN So AI is allowing retailers to use large amounts of data in real time. GERGŐ Exactly. And increasingly, customers expect more relevant and personalised communication. Retailers therefore need to understand customer needs and behaviour and adapt content accordingly. Eventually this can go beyond digital signage. Lighting can change. Music volume can change. Potentially scent and other environmental variables can change. KEVIN There is always a gap between technology hype and reality. Where does AI go wrong? GERGŐ One difficulty is that if you are not the designer, you may not even know whether AI is being used. But we are already seeing experiments, particularly in large American grocery and department-store environments. Imagine an ERP system identifies that a large quantity of a product needs to be sold quickly. AI can connect that information with digital signage and promote recipes or complementary products that encourage customers towards that inventory. KEVIN There are two ways to look at that. It could reduce waste and improve sustainability. But it could also be interpreted as manipulation. GERGŐ Exactly. And that is where the boundary becomes important. If something I do not want is constantly being pushed towards me, personally I think that goes too far. If you connect information from your phone, social media and store behaviour, companies can potentially know an extraordinary amount about you. They may become extremely effective at selling you products that you never intended to buy. For me, that is where the question becomes uncomfortable. KEVIN At the same time, customers do want personalised experiences. So where do you draw the line? GERGŐ That is difficult. There is another perspective. If a system genuinely understands what you need, perhaps you don’t need to spend two hours searching inside a store. You could spend five minutes and find exactly what you came for. So the technology has both sides. KEVIN You recently attended conferences in the United States. Did you see innovative AI applications there? GERGŐ AI is an extremely hot topic in the United States. Many companies are experimenting with AI bots, design tools and large-scale data analysis. In responsive and personalised digital signage, the US is currently ahead of much of Europe. In Europe, many of these applications are still at an earlier stage. KEVIN Can you give an example? GERGŐ Connected shopping experiences are one. If you select one product, the next screen—or potentially your phone—can immediately recommend complementary products or recipes. If the system has enough information, it can even recommend products at a price level that it believes is appropriate for you. So it doesn’t simply recommend cheese. It may recommend the particular type and price category of cheese that the system believes you are likely to purchase. KEVIN That brings us directly to regulation. Europe and the United States are taking different approaches to AI and consumer protection. How do you see that from a retail perspective? GERGŐ From the customer’s point of view, stronger protection can obviously be positive. From an innovation and expert perspective, however, regulation can limit what companies are able to develop and test. That can make it harder for European businesses to compete with the United States or China in certain areas. On the other hand, customers understandably want to know where their data goes and how it is being used. So there is a genuine tension. KEVIN If we look five to ten years ahead, which part of design, build and installation will be most affected by AI? GERGŐ Based on today’s technology, design is the obvious answer. But development is moving so quickly that it is difficult to predict. Manufacturing could be the next major area. AI can help optimise production, increase capacity, improve products and dramatically accelerate access to technical and material information. KEVIN And that is relevant to you directly because you operate manufacturing facilities. GERGŐ Exactly. We are already using AI in areas such as production timeline optimisation. And these are only the first steps. I also believe AI can have a major impact on retailers themselves. After the difficult years physical retail has experienced, AI could become one of the technologies that helps make retail significantly more relevant again. KEVIN A fascinating topic, and clearly one we’ll continue discussing. Gergő, thank you again for your time. GERGŐ Thank you, Kevin.