Julie Palmer writes about the impact of AI on retail for The Grocer

Following the recent announcement of job cuts in retail, Julie Palmer, Managing Partner at BTG, has written to The Grocer, highlighting that as companies in the sector turn to AI to produce their own ways of increasing productivity there will need to be a focus on taming the AI lion, not simply unleashing it.

Julie writes:

“Previous investment in automation has reaped rewards for productivity and seen the skillsets of employees evolve or become redundant. For some, these changes due to automation have been quite intimidating. However, automation is a comparative kitten to the roaring lion of AI.”

Whilst it seems these recent job losses are not being replaced with AI, businesses shifting to using new technology or AI across retail need to be aware of the importance of proper integration.

Julie continues:

“It [AI] is a different beast to automation and a rapid, rather than gradual, upskilling of employees is needed to keep up with it. For the industry – and indeed all industries adopting AI – this isn’t just about keeping jobs, it will be about justifying the initial and ongoing compliance costs of AI.

“Whilst the initial announcements of greater AI and streamlining of costs could be of appeal to shareholders, there is going to be even greater benefit for those businesses that not only unleash but give employees the power to tame the lion and its roar.”