Retail's Reality Check

The Camera Knows Before You Do: Vision Intelligence is Running Retail

What if your store's cameras stopped watching and started deciding? That shift is already underway — and this week on the Retail Reality Check, brought to you by IHL Group, we trace exactly how vision intelligence has moved from passive recording to active, real-time decision-making across retail's most critical operations. Cameras that once sat silently on ceilings are now evaluating fresh produce in distribution centers, coaching delivery drivers in real time, generating personalized luxury wardrobe previews, and eliminating checkout lines entirely. In this episode, we dig into five specific deployments — Albertsons, RPM Pizza/Domino's, OTB Group, Disneyland, and Amazon at Tropicana Field — that show the full spectrum of where this technology is landing today. In This Episode, You'll Discover: * How Albertsons built an in-house AI quality control tool using Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise agentic AI platform, standardizing produce inspection across distribution centers with zero variability between inspectors or shifts * Why RPM Pizza — one of the largest U.S. Domino's franchisees — achieved a 66% reduction in at-fault crashes in its first quarter after deploying Netradyne AI dual-facing cameras in 1,000+ delivery vehicles * How OTB Group (parent of Diesel and Jil Sander) is using Google's virtual try-on API to give store advisors hyper-realistic, 360-degree clothing previews for personalized luxury clienteling * How Disneyland deployed optional facial recognition at select California park entrances to speed entry lines and actively prevent ticket fraud * Why Amazon Just Walk Out technology is thriving in high-volume stadium environments at Tropicana Field — and what it means for the future of frictionless commerce * A rapid-fire global retail tech lightning round covering Amazon logistics, IKEA sustainability, Giordano's POS transformation, Global Payments' largest-ever QSR deal, and more * The strategic question every retailer must answer: as cameras become active decision-makers from the supply chain to the drive-thru, is your tech stack keeping up? 00:00 - Introduction and episode theme: vision intelligence is running retail00:30 - IHL Group's Greg Byzik on the shift from passive observers to active decision-makers00:55 - Webinar announcement: How Top Retailers Are Winning on Shrink, May 19, 11 AM ET01:00 - Albertsons: in-house AI quality control tool with Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise Vision AI02:00 - RPM Pizza (Domino's franchisee): Netradyne AI cameras, 66% crash reduction in Q103:00 - OTB Group (Diesel, Jil Sander): Google Cloud virtual try-on API for luxury clienteling03:30 - Disneyland: optional facial recognition for entry speed and ticket fraud prevention04:00 - Amazon Just Walk Out at Tropicana Field: frictionless stadium commerce04:40 - Lightning round begins: Amazon Einride EV trucks, UK Prime Air drone delivery, Alexa for Shopping05:30 - Ingka Group/IKEA: 47.5 million meals saved via Winnow AI + Too Good To Go05:45 - Hattie B's Hot Chicken app, Carrefour GS1 QR codes, Coty generative AI content, MAKO Network fuel security06:10 - Giordano's: Toast POS across 50+ locations in 16 months, voice AI pilot06:40 - Global Payments: Genius platform exclusive deal across 2,400+ Hardee's and Carl's Jr. locations07:00 - Pouch Nation 83% faster ticket scanning; East of England Co-op cashless store; Stadium ERP upgrade07:35 - Closing provocation: Is your tech stack keeping up?07:50 - CTA: ihlservices.com — 40+ detailed case studies IHL Group: * Full narrative + 40+ case studies: www.ihlservices.com [www.ihlservices.com] * Weekly newsletter: www.ihlservices.com/newslette [www.ihlservices.com/newsletter]r * Webinar — "How Top Retailers Are Winning on Shrink [https://www.ihlservices.com/how-top-retailers-are-winning-on-shrink/]": Tuesday, May 19, 11 AM ET (on-demand replay available via link in description)

Retail's Vision Revolution

Retail's Vision Revolution: Are You Next or Left Behind? Episode Duration: ~8 minutes Vision AI and computer vision have moved from pilot programs to massive full-scale production deployments across food service, grocery, pharmacy, and beyond. In this episode, we break down three real-world deployments that prove the shift is here, share IHL research showing profit leaders are 43x more likely to already be deploying computer vision, and run through a lightning round of the biggest retail tech moves happening right now across supply chain, loyalty, media, and operations. * 00:49 — Webinar Invitation: How Top Retailers Are Winning on Shrink (May 19, 11 AM ET), where we cover why leading retailers treat loss prevention technology as an EBITDA lever * 01:00 — Why Vision AI is no longer optional: the simultaneous deployment wave across food service, grocery, and pharmacy signals a fundamental structural shift * 02:00 — Section 1: AI in Production, Scaling Up — Three Real-World Examples * 02:05 — Culver's + Berry AI: Deploying camera vision across 1,000+ locations nationwide for real-time drive-thru visibility, service execution tracking, and throughput optimization, all within a privacy-first framework * 02:50 — Ahold Delhaize (Albert brand): Brain Corp AI shelf-scanning robots deployed across 350 stores in Czech Republic, roaming aisles during live operations to find empty shelves, check price tags, and flag restocking needs * 03:30 — Shelf-scanning accuracy results: consistently hitting high-90s% against a 90% baseline target, drastically cutting manual errors and catching outdated tags * 03:50 — CVS Health: Highly automated warehouse in New Jersey using AutoStore and Tomkins Robotics, replacing traditional manual picking with orchestrated robotic systems * 04:10 — CVS processing 2 million items weekly for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic stores, with plans to double to 4 million by year-end * 04:30 — IHL Data: 63% of retailers cite lost sales from out-of-stocks as their biggest cost impact, making automated warehousing a margin protection imperative * 04:40 — IHL Research: Computer vision users averaged 27% higher profit growth in 2023, with the gap expected to widen to 51% in 2024 * 05:00 — The headline number: Profit leaders are 43x more likely to already deploy computer vision technologies. The early mover window is closing fast. * 05:20 — Section 2: Lightning Round News Ticker — Major moves across the industry * 05:25 — Supply Chain & Delivery: Amazon turning its supply chain into a third-party logistics platform; DoorDash expanding grocery access with Snap/EBT payments across 2,700 Kroger locations; Goody Goody Liquor testing robotic QR code-driven fulfillment in Dallas * 05:50 — Loyalty & Pricing: Academy Sports scaling AI pricing tools across 300+ stores for local markdown optimization; Bed Bath & Beyond unifying rewards with Bilt across its home portfolio; Dick's Sporting Goods relaunching credit card with 10% back in rewards * 06:00 — Media & Engagement: Dollar General + Kable unifying on-site and off-site ad inventory for full-funnel approach; Disney/Hulu launching immersive gesture-controlled digital storefronts; Kohl's rolling out conversational AI gift finder on Google Cloud * 06:25 — Operations & Security: Asda piloting vending machines for high-theft items; Boot Barn deploying Aptos One mobile POS across 500+ stores for omnichannel agility; Little Caesars automating conversational phone orders with AI * 07:00 — Section 3: Your Next Steps — The Core Reality Check * 07:15 — Visit ihlservices.com for the full narrative, 40+ case studies, and detailed strategies * 07:30 — Closing Thought: * Full Report & Case Studies: Visit ihlservices.com [https://www.ihlservices.com] for the complete narrative, 40+ real-world case studies, data, and strategies * Upcoming Webinar: How Top Retailers are Winning on Shrink, May 19 at 11 AM ET. Register at ihlservices.com [https://www.ihlservices.com] * Subscribe: Don't miss the next Retail Reality Check. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

AI Meets the Physical Store

The physical store is having a moment, and it has nothing to do with the experiential retail concepts consultants have been pitching for a decade. According to IHL Group's Greg Busick, what is happening in retail right now is a genuine operational transformation driven by artificial intelligence. (c:100) Physical store footprints are being rebuilt around AI, and the retailers moving fastest are creating competitive advantages that compound every quarter. The data behind this shift is striking. Retail leaders have increased store IT spend by 52% over a five-year timeline, compared to just 9% growth among laggards. (c:100) AI now accounts for 15% of total retail IT spend and that figure is growing at 27% annually. (c:100) This episode walks through exactly where that investment is going, who is executing, and what the widening execution gap means for retailers still on the sidelines. This episode covers four categories of AI-driven store transformation: the execution gap in physical retail investment, AI tools going directly into the hands of store associates, automation that bypasses traditional labor constraints, and a rapid-fire round of industry deployments across retail, food service, and hospitality. Whether you run stores or advise those who do, this explainer delivers a ground-level view of what AI-powered retail looks like in practice today. In This Episode, You'll Discover: * Why retail leaders have outpaced laggards by 43 percentage points in store IT investment over five years and what that gap means going forward * How Walmart's 650-store remodel program integrates digital touchpoints alongside wider aisles and upgraded pharmacies, and why physical and digital investment are now the same strategy * How Matalan's Toshiba POS rollout was shaped by the fact that more than 70% of their shoppers choose to self-scan in-store, making checkout speed a top priority * Why retailers who modernize to mobile POS software see a 49% sales growth advantage and what that means for technology investment decisions * How Ace Hardware's "Hey ARMA" AI assistant, deployed across more than 2,300 stores, puts real-time product knowledge directly in associates' hands at the moment of customer interaction * How Home Depot replaced phone tree menus with Google Cloud Gemini voice AI, resolving customer calls four times faster while freeing up associates for in-store service * How White Castle's 1,000 Crave & Go automated kiosks extend the brand into hospitals and college campuses with no per-location labor costs * How Kroger's 2D barcode rollout across 1,230 stores accelerates checkout and enables automated expiration date tracking simultaneously * 1:00 — IHL's Greg Buzek on the physical store's operational transformation moment * 1:15 — Section 1: The Execution Gap — retail leader vs. laggard IT spend data * 2:00 — Walmart's 650-store remodel: wider aisles, pharmacies, and digital touchpoints * 2:30 — Matalan's Toshiba POS rollout and the self-scan majority finding * 3:00 — The 49% sales growth advantage tied to modernized POS and mobile POS software * 3:15 — Section 2: Tech in the Aisles — AI at the point of customer interaction * 3:20 — Ace Hardware's "Hey ARMA" AI assistant across 2,300+ stores * 3:50 — The 59% sales growth premium tied to associate-facing technology * 4:00 — Home Depot's Google Cloud Gemini voice AI: 4x faster call resolution * 4:30 — Section 3: Automation Everywhere * 4:35 — White Castle's 1,000 Crave & Go automated kiosks * 5:00 — Kroger's 2D barcode rollout across 1,230 stores * 5:30 — Section 4: Industry Lightning Round * 5:30 — Circle K EV charging, Little Caesars drone delivery, Superdrug digital shelf labels * 5:45 — DoorDash/Empire, LL Bean, Batteries Plus, Papa John's AI ordering agent * 6:00 — Hyatt, Instacart, Uber Eats, Sam's Club, Hershey, Chow Tai Fook * 6:30 — Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Etsy, and Gap in Google Gemini * 7:00 — Closing thought: Is your tech stack closing the execution gap or widening it? * 7:30 — CTA: Full narrativ

AI Powered Supply Chains

Retail supply chains have spent decades playing defense. Reacting to stockouts, scrambling through peak seasons, patching problems after the fact. AI is ending that era. In this episode of Retail Reality Check, IHL Group breaks down how the shift from reactive to predictive supply chain management is generating real, measurable results for retailers across grocery, beauty, furniture, foodservice, and global e-commerce. From Albertsons reporting a 10% increase in basket size using Google Cloud's Conversational Commerce AI, to Biyoute Trading maintaining 98% on-shelf availability through Chinese New Year using RELEX Solutions , the proof points are stacking up fast. This episode covers four segments: the predictive supply chain revolution, AI in customer experience, smarter store operations, and the state of unified omnichannel commerce. The episode also previews IHL Group's upcoming webinar, "The CFO's Guide to Visual Intelligence," scheduled for May 19th at 11:00 AM Eastern , on treating loss prevention technology as an EBITDA driver rather than a security cost. * How Albertsons achieved a 10% increase in basket size using AI-powered search built on Google Cloud's Conversational Commerce agent and OpenAI * How Biyoute Trading hit 98% on-shelf availability during Chinese New Year using RELEX Solutions * Why RELEX Solutions is becoming a universal platform across grocers, beauty retailers, beverage distributors, and furniture chains * How Macy's built and launched the "Ask Macy's" AI shopping concierge in just four weeks using Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience * How Ann Summers cut staff safety incidents by 42% using body-worn cameras from Reveal Media * Why Sobeys is investing $51 million in electronic shelf labels across 300-350 stores, while Walmart has already deployed them in roughly 2,300 U.S. locations * How Dooney & Burke's platform migration from Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify illustrates the unified commerce shift happening across retail * 0:00 — Introduction: The shift from reactive to predictive supply chains * 0:22 — Webinar preview: "The CFO's Guide to Visual Intelligence," May 19th * 0:38 — Episode roadmap: predictive revolution, customer experience, store ops, e-commerce * 0:55 — The predictive revolution: Why AI is putting retailers on offense * 1:12 — Albertsons: 10% basket size increase with Google Cloud AI search and OpenAI assistant * 1:54 — CEO Susan Morris on the Albertsons step-change vision * 2:13 — RELEX Solutions and the global supply chain movement * 2:35 — Biyoute Trading: 98% on-shelf availability during Chinese New Year * 2:56 — RELEX across retail segments: Douglas, Forever Cheese, GEPP/PepsiCo bottler, POCO * 3:17 — Lightning Round 1: AI in customer experience * 3:34 — Macy's "Ask Macy's" concierge built in four weeks with Gemini Enterprise * 3:55 — Little Caesars ChatGPT ordering and Dairy Queen voice AI in the drive-thru * 4:15 — Lightning Round 2: Smarter store operations * 4:15 — Sobeys' $51M electronic shelf label rollout; Walmart's 2,300-store deployment * 4:38 — Eagle Stop automated fuel pricing; Heron Foods wireless headsets; Ann Summers body cams * 5:00 — Lightning Round 3: Omnichannel and e-commerce * 5:21 — Bauhaus shipping 750,000 orders from stores using nShift * 5:21 — Dooney & Burke migrating from Salesforce to Shopify * 5:39 — Jenni Kayne launching DTC shipping to 18 countries * 5:39 — Big picture takeaway: AI is no longer optional in retail * 6:17 — Visit ihlservices.com for the full narrative and 40+ case studies IHL Group Resources: * Full newsletter: ihlservices.com * Webinar: "The CFO's Guide to Visual Intelligence," May 19th, 11:00 AM Eastern

POS Modernization Arms Race

#POSModernization #RetailTechnology #RetailTransformation "Retailers defending legacy POS are defending a position the market has already moved past," Greg Buzek, IHL President. That's the through-line of this week's Retail Reality Check. POS modernization has shifted from IT backlog to full arms race, and this week gave us three headline examples at three different scales. Pilot signed a five-year deal with NCR Voyix to deploy the Voyix Commerce Platform across 900-plus locations serving 1.2 million customers daily . Papa Johns is tearing out a 20-year-old in-house POS and replacing it with PAR's POS and PAR OPS across 3,200 stores, with rollout running through 2027 . Huck's Market, operated by Martin & Bayley, Inc., is rolling Tote's AI-native POS platform to 135 Midwest stores after a launch in Carmi, Illinois, with full deployment expected by year-end . The 2026 IHL Retail Transformation Study backs up what the headlines show. 42% of retailers now list POS infrastructure refresh as a top priority . 80% of SMB retailers rank POS refresh as their number one tech priority . Retail leaders dedicate 52% of IT budget to innovation, while laggards manage just 24% . Leaders are 92% more likely than laggards to have already modernized POS and mPOS software to microservices architecture . The lightning round covers American Express backing AI agent purchases, David's Bridal on Shopify Agentic Storefronts inside ChatGPT and Copilot, Birch Coffee on Square's unified platform, Bubbakoo's Burritos with Bikky, Tapestry on Cordial across five regions, Campari Group's SAP Cloud ERP go-live, Tesco and Adobe on Clubcard, and Better Trading in China hitting 89% forecast accuracy and 98%+ on-shelf availability with Relex . * Pilot committed to NCR Voyix for five years across 900-plus locations, future-proofing fuel and convenience checkout for 1.2 million daily customers * Papa Johns chose velocity over legacy control, replacing a 20-year-old in-house POS with PAR across 3,200 stores through 2027 * Huck's Market is leapfrogging incremental upgrades with an AI-native POS rollout to 135 stores * 42% of retailers list POS infrastructure refresh as a top 2026 priority, per the 2026 IHL Retail Transformation Study * 80% of SMB retailers rank POS refresh as their #1 technology priority * Retail leaders put 52% of IT budget into innovation versus 24% for laggards * Leaders are 92% more likely to have modernized POS to microservices architecture, enabling feature releases in weeks instead of year-long cycles * 0:00 Welcome to Retail Reality Check and the POS arms race framing * 0:22 Sponsor spotlight: North America POS/mPOS Software Share tracker, 184+ ISVs * 0:44 Greg Busick's take: defending legacy POS is defending lost ground * 1:02 Pilot signs NCR Voyix across 900-plus locations, 1.2 million daily customers * 1:24 Papa Johns replaces 20-year-old POS with PAR across 3,200 stores * 1:45 Huck's Market deploys Tote's AI-native POS to 135 stores * 2:07 2026 IHL Retail Transformation Study: 42% of retailers prioritize POS refresh * 2:50 Exponential advantage: 52% vs 24% innovation budget allocation * 3:12 Leaders 92% more likely to have modernized to microservices * 3:30 80% of SMB retailers rank POS refresh as #1 priority * 3:50 Lightning round: Amex AI agent purchase protection, David's Bridal on Shopify Agentic Storefronts, Birch Coffee on Square, Bubbakoo's Burritos with Bikky, Tapestry on Cordial, Campari on SAP, Tesco with Adobe, Better Trading with Relex * 5:47 Closing takeaway: the gap is now a chasm, platforms chosen today define winners for the next decade