What’s blocking retailers from scaling AI? That’s what theCUBE's John Furrier and Lindsey Peters, retail and consumer goods industry lead of Celonis, unpack in this theCUBE + NYSE Wired: AI & Retail Trailblazers segment. From fragmented systems to a shortage of contextual insight, Peters outlines the operational hurdles slowing AI adoption across the retail industry. While NRF buzzed with AI excitement, Peters notes that many retailers remain stuck in pilot mode – not due to lack of ambition, but because they lack visibility into how their businesses truly run. Celonis aims to solve this through process intelligence, giving retailers the clarity needed to move from experimentation to value-driven execution.
The conversation cites real-world outcomes from companies like IKEA, which used Celonis to refine buy-online, pick-up-in-store models and reduce cancellation rates. Peters also shares how AI-augmented customer service during the holiday rush improved CX by enabling proactive outreach. With enterprise-wide deployment in focus, she emphasizes the need for IT-business alignment and explains how Celonis helps track tangible ROI from agents in live production – not just theory. For retail leaders, the message is clear: to scale AI successfully, you must first understand your business deeply.
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What’s blocking retailers from scaling AI? That’s what theCUBE's John Furrier and Lindsey Peters, retail and consumer goods industry lead of Celonis, unpack in this theCUBE + NYSE Wired: AI & Retail Trailblazers segment. From fragmented systems to a shortage of contextual insight, Peters outlines the operational hurdles slowing AI adoption across the retail industry. While NRF buzzed with AI excitement, Peters notes that many retailers remain stuck in pilot mode – not due to lack of ambition, but because they lack visibility into how their businesses truly ru...Read more
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What was the overall impression and key themes discussed at the NRF event this year?add
What are some examples of how customers are successfully using supply chain solutions in e-commerce?add
What are the key challenges and considerations for companies when transitioning from proof of concept to enterprise-wide AI deployments?add
What advice should leaders consider when implementing AI strategies in their retail businesses?add
>> Welcome back. I'm John Furrier, host of theCUBE here at our NYSE Studios on the East Coast. Of course, we have our Palo Alto Studios, connecting Silicon Valley and Wall Street. This is our Retail AI Leaders here, as we talk to the people making it happen. Of course, it's retail week in New York City with NRF kicking off the year CES and NRF one two punch to start the year. Lindsey Peters is here, Retail Consumer Goods Industry lead at Celonis. Lindsey, thanks for coming in. Good to see you. Thanks for coming bye.>> Yeah, John, thank you for having me.>> The show was huge. 40,000 people at NRF. Retail technology is the story.>> Yes.>> Agents are the story. Physical AI right around the corner.>> Yup.>> So all this kind of plays into the wheelhouse of Celonis, which we've covered on theCUBE and SiliconANGLE in depth. What's your take right now? Because looking at it from the side of workflows and technology, retail, I wouldn't say they're a slow emerging vertical market, but money's involved. Consumer behavior votes with their wallet, so they're very attentive to money making. User experience.>> Yep, absolutely.>> So what's your take of NRF this year?>> It's been super exciting. I sort of was joking, it's like a small family, or large family reunion I should say, because getting back together. I think it's super exciting to see what everyone's talking about. AI is definitely the tip of everyone's tongue, but I think we're also, to your point, seeing very slow adoption in the retail space. And I think a large reason for that is because they don't have the context as to how their business is operating. So they're doing all of these POCs and trying to deploy AI and not necessarily seeing the success from that regard.>> Something that, I wrote a story, a piece on SiliconANGLE titled Retail 2026: When AI Becomes the Operating System. Now I threw operating system in there in the title, a little bit nerdy, but it kind of leans to the NVIDIA conversation we've been having on the AI infrastructure side, but also brings in this moment in retail where we've kind of cross the threshold. All the signals are there. Analytics have been involved in the business for years.>> Yeah.>> Now you're starting to see insights to action.>> Yeah.>> You're starting to see it from supply chain all the way up to the boardroom. The strategy is clear, put AI into all the business. Now the execution seems to be the theme. Do you see it the same way and what would be your take on this, the operating system, the execution focus?>> Yeah, absolutely. I think that's where we believe that process intelligence is super key. And basically what that is really giving companies the understanding of their business context and how they're operating. And I think, to your point, supply chain and resiliency, how do you actually drive success or understanding where the business challenges are? We truly believe that's where you need process intelligence, and that's where we're seeing a lot of success with our customers as well.>> Do you see customers zooming out and looking at the big picture, like a systems thinker? Are they still kind of, I got my emails over here, I got this system? How are you seeing them either abstract that away or how are they rethinking or thinking about more of a platform environment which would enable autonomous process management, these automation techniques and intelligence?>> So to your point, especially in the retail space, there's a ton of fragmented systems. There's a lot of things that are also still duct tape and super glued together, whether it's through Excel spreadsheets or core systems, and really are seeing our retail customers start to think about how do they bring that all together so that they can really orchestrate across multiple different systems and processes.>> You guys have a lot of customers. We talked to a lot of your partners. You have a great ecosystem developing around Celonis. What's the use cases that you're seeing. Could you highlight some of the things you're seeing within your business and in our NRF ecosystem around where people are now?>> Yeah, so we're seeing a lot of success and excitement, like I said, in the supply chain space, especially from e-commerce omni-channel perspective. So one of our customers, Ingka, or IKEA, is actually using us from a buy online pick up and store perspective. So really looking to understand how are they performing across the market, where are the opportunity areas? And actually leveraging Celonis, they identified markets where they were maybe performing better than others. And they actually found that when they had smaller pick up windows, they were able to lower their cancellation rate. So that's just one example, but I think really working with our customers to get to their business problems and helping them drive outcomes across their business.>> Lindsey, one of the themes last year was obviously AI, and I think the pioneers were talking about agents. Clearly, you guys were too. But not everybody was. This year, we're hearing use cases and specific examples of, yeah, we put agents in place last year. Now one year in, record profits, record revenue, revenue growth. Can you share what you guys are seeing? Because the ones that leaned in on the agent side early are reaping that benefits now. That's kind of not what the so-called studies are showing.>> Yeah.>> There was an MIT study that, by the way, I poo-pooed big time because it's like, "Oh yeah, half the projects fail." I think they have the wrong sample size or no sample size, but there's clearly evidence, cost reductions check, but real top line revenue.>> Yep. No, absolutely. And I think I will say, as you mentioned earlier at the beginning of the segment, retailers are a bit slower to adopt. I do think we are seeing some winners, whether it's Walmart or Tractor Supply Company as an example. But I think as we see companies deploy agents, they're sort of stuck in this POC purgatory, at least from what I'm seeing in the retail space. And how do they move away from that is really having that business context and making sure they're deploying against the biggest problems and ensuring that those problems should actually be solved with AI.>> Are those blockers on the POC kind of backlog? Is the blocker people or time? How would you guys see that? Because you have successes.>> Yeah. Yeah, I would say it's people culture. I think that's actually been a really hot topic as part of NRF too is are people actually willing to adopt these changes? And then also being able to see the value associated with it. I think before, people were just deploying AI for AI sake, but now companies are really looking to understand what that value is. And again, that's where we're able to actually track how your process is improving because of the agents that we're deploying alongside your humans, which I think is also super exciting to see.>> Yeah, the theme I have this year from NRF is power to the people. Meaning the people in retail are getting a lift on all that heavy lifting, abstracted away, but also better service for them to perform their jobs. So that notion that, yeah, some jobs will go away, but actually there's more performance and productivity.>> Absolutely.>> Are you seeing the same thing?>> For sure. So one of our customers, we actually help them during holiday to empower their customer service reps to be more proactive. So if they saw an issue within their processes, their customer service rep could reach out to you or I and say, "Hi, I am so sorry, but your item's actually going to be a delayed. It's going to arrive on this date." Versus that item arriving late and the customer reaching out saying, "Where's my item? What's going on?" Upset, frustrated. So definitely seeing that leveraging AI and technology, that companies are able to be more proactive, which I think is going to be a competitive advantage in the future.>> So Lindsey, I have to ask you, because you're at NRF and probably stacked with meetings with customers, what was the conversations like with customers? If you had to globalize the narrative, what was the top three things that kept repeating itself in the conversations?>> Yeah, so I think the biggest thing was really around how do you move from POC to enterprise-wide deployments. The other thing that we were hearing a lot about too is how do you actually track and monitor the value associated with your AI deployments? And then I think the other piece too is just driving efficiencies across their business. So I think a lot of retailers are margin-constrained and trying to figure out ways to take cost out of their business. So those were really the topics that we were hearing.>> And on a year-to-year change from last year, what's the biggest sentiment change? Enthusiasm, more confidence? How would you peg the attitudinal scale?>> I think there's a lot of ... No, I think there's a lot of excitement. I would also say too, I think there is a sense of urgency to act. So the NRF kind of slogan was, "Next now." I think the retailers that aren't taking action, they're going to be left behind. So I think there's excitement, but there's also a need to move.>> So I'm looking at some stats here, and one of the things you guys are saying, only 11% of companies are seeing measurable business results from their AI projects. Obviously that's the ROI question. Where's that right now from your standpoint? What's the ROI conversation? Is it just POCs or is it more ... How are they thinking about the ROI? I guess that's a better question.>> Yeah, so again, I think maybe a year ago people were like, "Let's see what happens on this AI journey." But now they really do want to see and be able to track and monitor that return on investment. And again, I think what's really key there is understanding that business context and where the opportunities are to drive that value. So I think that's super key.>> On Celonis' technology, which we've been covering as I said, it was clear you guys had the agent thing nailed down. You guys processed the way you guys attacked that. What's the retail agent story today? Is it beyond chatbots? Is it more action? What's the industry vibe on the state of where agents are? I mean, obviously it's hyped up, but there are proof points.>> Yes. I will say it's chatbots. I also think they're working to embed it from a shopping experience perspective, a customer experience perspective. I think we'll see more of that in this coming year, which will be really exciting because everyone's using it in a day-to-day basis. So you really expect it to be in your shopping experience.>> Okay, so here's a fun question. Pick your favorite child use case. The most exciting thing this past year going into this year. It could be deployment, it could be from a success standpoint, pick your favorite.>> Yeah, so I think for me->> Or customer.>> Yeah. Well, I would say, I think one of my favorites this past year was a customer came to us with a burning need and time for holiday, and basically we helped them go live in six weeks because they were just hyper-focused on driving that customer success and experience going into holiday. So it does tie back to the example I gave earlier, but really being able to drive that impact for our customers.>> So they were like, everyone's on the team, they're all engaged, they laid everything out. You guys just came in, boom, done.>> Yep. They knew they had a problem that they needed to solve for and they needed that real-time insights into how their business was operating, and they saw that we would be able to drive that for them.>> That brings up a good point. I have to ask the next question on that thread. We hear POC purgatory a lot, especially in a lot of the enterprise AI use cases. What is the best practice to avoid that? Is it to be hyper-focused? Is it to have one demonstrable problem that you can quantify? Or is there another best practice you guys see?>> Yeah, I think what we're seeing is really understanding what your business problems are and the outcomes that you're looking to drive, and then making sure, based on that, whether or not AI is needed or not. Because sometimes you don't need AI to solve those business problems. And I think the key is, like I said a few times, is really having that business context and understanding how your company is operating. Because otherwise you're just deploying AI for AI's sake.>> Yeah. Talk about the retail business with Celonis. What's some of the stats? Can you share the momentum and successes?>> Yeah, so we're super excited. This year, we've seen significant growth within our retail industry. And again, I think that's because the message in the market is resonating. Specifically, there is no AI without PI, and I think that's retailers are seeing and understanding that. So it's been a really exciting year for us in retail.>> It's interesting, on theCUBE, we do a lot of nerd talk and translate it into CFO talk or business talk. On retail, what's interesting, this, again, that's why I put operating system in my posts because it's almost as if it's a whole platform mindset. I've never seen this in retail before. Telcos have had a platform, network platform view, but they've been the slowest. That's a whole nother discussion, and we'll do that at MWC, but retail, they're money focused, but they'll put stuff in place. But this is the first time I've ever seen a holistic systems mindset from executives.>> Yes.>> This isn't like an IT thing. We're seeing more of, "Hey, we know how to do AI strategy," but execution. Do you agree?>> I absolutely agree. And I think it's also how do you bring the business and IT together to be able to drive collective results and success together. We're definitely seeing more of that.>> Okay. So strategy risk, not so much. Take that hill, put AI into everything. The risk shifts to execution.>> Yup.>> What's your take on the execution risk? How does a company that's going to roll out either a global or national retail strategy, how do they manage that execution risk if you had to give advice?>> So I think for me is if you're going to do that, you need to be using process intelligence to really understand how your business is operating. And I think retail is made up of a bunch of processes end to end, and that truly depicts how your company is operating. So to be able to execute at speed and at scale, you need to understand where the gaps are and where the challenges are.>> Sounds like an operating system to me.>> Exactly.>> All right, so those are the system elements. How does the personas change for that? Who's involved? Take me through how you see the ideal organization. It's different for every company, but->> Correct.>> Is there a pattern in the stakeholder configuration of who's involved? Because process management, process improvement, process decomposition, that requires domain skills, technical skills, a lot going on. How do you see that stakeholder architecture?>> Yeah, absolutely. So I think for us, the business absolutely has to be involved because we're a business process ... We're helping solve business challenges. I think more and more, we're seeing the need from an IT perspective and making sure that IT teams are in the boat with us and driving collective success. Especially because a lot of times AI is sitting more with the IT team. So as we're driving success with the business, making sure then IT is in the boat with us to drive from a system perspective as well. So it is really a collective cohesive engagement across your business end to end.>> It's exciting. We're still early in, so I have to ask this next question, which is, as I mentioned, MWC, the network is a big part of this. The edge IOT environment, which is basically sensors, cameras now involved, a lot of processors are kind of going into this edge piece. What areas do you see that are evolving? Because evolution, it's not like it's a blocker yet, it's just not yet functional. What areas do you see coming online that will move the needle? More customization, more personalization, better operations? Is it edge? Are there areas you guys are watching in the flow and workflow?>> It's a good question. I think even being at NRF, you see all these different innovative technology companies. Even from an IoT perspective, electronic price tags or things, cameras, and how do you take cameras to see someone's facial recognition and how do they buy? And then how do you tie that in from a process perspective as well. So I think taking as much data as we can to then really be able to tie that back from a process perspective is super exciting.>> So when someone says, "I'm sold, tell me about the technology. I'm worried about being too static," how do you answer that question? I don't want to get locked into ... The workflows might shift based upon the generative or the situational.>> Yeah, absolutely. I think for us, as long as we have the data, we can actually track how things are evolving. And again, you might solve one problem and it might cause something else downstream or upstream. It's then being able to understand what that looks like and how we can help you solve that. And again, I think what's really exciting is understanding how humans and agents, as an example, come together and being able to track where you see the successes.>> The human piece is huge because I think the creativity can be more powerful. Again, small becomes big in retail with AI. The people become more creative, more superpower oriented. We're going to have a retail focus this year on AI, so I'm super excited. I guess in that vein, what would be advice for leaders out there who are thinking this through? You're seeing a lot through your lens. What advice would you give someone who's, "Okay, we need to put some execution in place. The strategy's clear, put AI everywhere, now go figure it out," what advice would you give?>> Yeah, I think the advice is, to be able to drive enterprise value at scale is you need to understand how your business is operating. So to be able to do that, you need process intelligence. So I think that's super key.>> Lindsey, thanks for coming in. Appreciate you spending the time with us.>> Amazing. John, thank you. Yeah.>> Kicking off our Retail Leader series. Thanks for coming in.>> Yeah, John, thank you for having me. Super appreciate it.>> All right, I'm John Furrier, host of theCUBE, AI leaders here explaining kind of what's happening as the physical and digital worlds come together. The data is the key, the experiences are key. The business operations being efficient will be key as a complete threshold has been crossed. All the signals point to it, from supply chains at the boardroom. Thanks for watching.
