Tools & Platforms

The store strikes back as a connected, AI-powered space–Bain & Company and VusionGroup

Published

17 hours ago

September 16, 2025

The store is back at the center of retail strategies with 75% of executives planning a large-scale store transformation in the next 2 years
From bottom-line improvements to enhanced experiences, tech-enabled stores are delivering big wins for retailers and customers on efficiency, customer experience, and monetization
Retailers are rapidly shifting from isolated pilots to integrated technology platforms combining AI, automation, and digital media
44% of retailers expect these investments to improve their bottom line by more than 1.5 percentage points

LONDON and PARIS, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Far-reaching technology innovations and AI advances are reshaping the future of retailers and stores in a critical new phase of transformation for the industry, Bain & Company and VusionGroup report in a study released today.

The report, The Store is Striking Back as a Tech-Enabled Space Driving Efficiency, Experience and Monetization, unveiled in Paris at NRF Europe 2025, sheds new light on how technological advances and new in-store technologies are revolutionising retail.

Drawing on a global survey of leading retailers worldwide, the Bain/VusionGroup analysis highlights how harnessing fast-changing technology is no longer experimental for the industry but is now seen by retail leaders as essential and foundational.

Against this backdrop, the study reports that a majority of retail executives plan to increase capital spending on store technology by an average 5% to 20% over the next five years, with nearly half expecting bottom-line improvements of more than 1.5 percentage points, according to the findings from Bain, the leading management consulting firm, and VusionGroup, the global leader in digitization solutions for commerce.

Retailers are moving quickly to implement integrated platforms that combine digital shelf systems, AI-powered insights, and retail media capabilities, the report finds. Stores are becoming intelligent, connected environments where commerce, media, and data converge. The analysis shows they’re evolving into hybrid spaces that fuse shopping with media, entertainment, and personalization.

“Retailers are accelerating their tech adoption not just to keep up but to lead. The winners will be those who build scalable, integrated platforms delivering measurable ROI and who future-proof store operations,” said Mauro Anastasi, partner in the Retail practice at Bain & Company. “Better systems cut costs. Lower costs give customers better prices. Better prices bring in more customers. And more customers generate more data to make operations even smarter. Retailers who master these technologies first will outprice and out-serve others – and the window to catch up will get smaller every quarter as the pace of change continues to evolve.”

“This report reflects what we see every day at VusionGroup: the store is no longer just a place of transaction. By combining AI, computer vision, and data with digital shelf systems, retailers are not only improving operations, but they are also achieving faster inventory turns, greater price accuracy, and unlocking new monetization opportunities through retail media,” said Jérôme Hamrit, SEVP of Data & Retail Media at VusionGroup. “Connected stores deliver better shopper experiences while driving both operational efficiency and top-line growth, delivering measurable ROI at a much faster pace.”

In today’s findings, Bain and VusionGroup report that four key technologies are emerging as central to the transformation of physical retail spaces, aligning directly with retailers’ top customer priorities: product availability (56%), price integrity (53%), and better customer engagement (45%), as well as their ambition to improve staff productivity (39%).

Store staff co-pilots: Almost 50% of retailers are using AI-powered assistants to help store teams manage routine tasks, from inventory checks and price errors to equipment troubleshooting and training. These tools boost productivity and morale, allowing staff to focus more on customer engagement.
AI-driven customer insights: Nearly three-quarters (73%) of retailers are exploring advanced analytics to localize assortments and personalize experiences. By analyzing purchasing behavior and in-store traffic patterns, AI helps predict demand and optimize shelf placement.
E-commerce fulfilment integration: Stores are evolving into hybrid fulfilment hubs, serving both walk-in customers and online orders. Technologies like computer vision, demand forecasting, and pick-to-light systems ensure inventory accuracy and efficient order processing – without compromising the in-store experience. Thirty percent of retailers say in-store fulfilment is already deployed at scale in their stores.
Digital in-store retail media: Smart displays and shelf tags are turning store aisles into monetizable media spaces. Brands can advertise directly to shoppers at the point of decision, creating new revenue streams. Nearly a third (29%) of retailers expect store layouts to evolve to support retail media and experiential formats in the next five years.

To drive technology adoption, the report notes that three in five (60%) C-level executives are prioritizing in-store technology investments over other retail strategies. Nearly half (44%) of retailers expect their store technology investments to improve their bottom line by at least 1.5 percentage points, while seven in ten (70%) anticipate recovering their investments in less than three years.

Despite the momentum, retailers continue to face internal barriers to faster adoption. Slow internal decision-making processes tops the list at 43%, followed by security and compliance concerns (40%) and high costs (32%) that the retailer would have to budget beyond their already planned capex.

To succeed with store technology, the report advises that retailers must focus on solving real pain points – such as out-of-stocks and pricing errors while building organization-wide support for change. The most effective strategies prioritize integrated platforms over isolated tools, invest in upskilling store teams, and rethink financial models to reflect today’s blended online-offline shopping behaviors.

The report also outlines five key principles for success in-store technology transformation:

Focusing on solving real pain points for customers and staff
Building organizational alignment and change management from the ground up
Prioritizing platform thinking over isolated tools
Investing in talent and upskilling to support new workflows
Breaking down silos between online and offline operations for more integrated financial performance

The full report is available here as well as to NRF attendees in Paris.

Media contacts
For questions or to request an interview please contact –

Bain & Company:
Gary Duncan (London) – Email: [email protected]
Amanda Folsom (Boston) – Email: [email protected]
Ann Lee (Singapore) – Email: [email protected]

VusionGroup: [email protected]

About Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.

Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today’s urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a gold rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 2% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.

About VusionGroup

VusionGroup is the global leader in providing digitalization solutions for commerce, serving over 350 large retailer groups around the world in Europe, Asia and North America. The Group develops technologies that create a positive impact on society by enabling sustainable and human-centered commerce.

By leveraging its IoT & Data technologies, VusionGroup empowers retailers to re-imagine their physical stores into efficient, intelligent, connected, and data-driven assets. The Group unlocks higher economic performance, facilitates seamless collaboration across the value chain, enhances the shopping experience, creates better jobs, cultivates healthier communities, and significantly reduces waste and carbon emissions.

VusionGroup consists of six families of solutions which bring the full potential of IoT, Cloud, Data, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to the service of the modernization of commerce: SESimagotag (ESL & Digital Shelf Systems), VusionCloud, Captana (computer vision and artificial intelligence platform), Memory (data analytics), Engage (retail media and in-store advertising), and PDidigital (logistics and industrial solutions).

VusionGroup supports the United Nations’ Global Compact initiative and has received in 2023 the Platinum Sustainability Rating from EcoVadis, the world’s reference of business sustainability ratings.

VusionGroup is listed in compartment A of Euronext™ Paris and is a member of the SBF120 Index. Ticker: VU – ISIN code: FR0010282822

www.vusion.com

SOURCE Bain & Company

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Tools & Platforms

Duke AI program emphasizes critical thinking for job security :: WRAL.com

Published

29 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

Lena Tillett, WRAL anchor/reporter

Duke’s AI program is spearheaded by a professor who is not just teaching, he also built his own AI model.

Professor Jon Reifschneider says we’ve already entered a new era of teaching and learning across disciplines.

He says, “We have folks that go into healthcare after they graduate, go into finance, energy, education, etc. We want them to bring with them a set of skills and knowledge in AI, so that they can figure out: ‘How can I go solve problems in my field using AI?'”

He wants his students to become literate in AI, which is a challenge in a field he describes as a moving target.

“I think for most people, AI is kind of a mysterious black box that can do somewhat magical things, and I think that’s very risky to think that way, because you don’t develop an appreciation of when you should use it and when you shouldn’t use it,” Reifschneider told WRAL News.

Student Harshitha Rasamsetty said she is learning the strengths and shortcomings of AI.

“We always look at the biases and privacy concerns and always consider the user,” she said.

The students in Duke’s engineering master’s programs come from all backgrounds, countries, even ages. Jared Bailey paused his insurance career in Florida to get a handle on the AI being deployed company-wide.

He was already using AI tools when he wondered, “What if I could crack them open and adjust them myself and make them better?”

John Ernest studied engineering in undergrad, but sought job security in AI.

“I hear news every day that AI is replacing this job, AI is replacing that job,” he said. “I came to a conclusion that I should be a part of a person building AI, not be a part of a person getting replaced by AI.”

Reifschneider thinks warnings about AI taking jobs are overblown.

In fact, he wants his students to come away understanding that humans have a quality AI can’t replace. That’s critical thinking.

Reifschneider says AI “still relies on humans to guide it in the right direction, to give it the right prompts, to ask the right questions, to give it the right instructions.”

“If you can’t think, well, AI can’t take you very far,” Bailey said. “It’s a car with no gas.”

Reifschneider told WRAL that he thinks children as young as elementary school students should begin learning how to use AI, when it’s appropriate to do so, and how to use it safely.

WRAL News went inside Wake County schools to see how it is being used and what safeguards the district is using to protect students. Watch that story Wednesday on WRAL News.

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Tools & Platforms

WA state schools superintendent seeks $10M for AI in classrooms

Published

54 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

Paul W. Taylor

This article originally appeared on TVW News.

Washington’s top K-12 official is asking lawmakers to bankroll a statewide push to bring artificial intelligence tools and training into classrooms in 2026, even as new test data show slow, uneven academic recovery and persistent achievement gaps.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal told TVW’s Inside Olympia that he will request about $10 million in the upcoming supplemental budget for a statewide pilot program to purchase AI tutoring tools — beginning with math — and fund teacher training. He urged legislators to protect education from cuts, make structural changes to the tax code and act boldly rather than leaving local districts to fend for themselves. “If you’re not willing to make those changes, don’t take it out on kids,” Reykdal said.

The funding push comes as new Smarter Balanced assessment results show gradual improvement but highlight persistent inequities. State test scores have ticked upward, and student progress rates between grades are now mirroring pre-pandemic trends. Still, higher-poverty communities are not improving as quickly as more affluent peers. About 57% of eighth graders met foundational math progress benchmarks — better than most states, Reykdal noted, but still leaving four in 10 students short of university-ready standards by 10th grade.

Reykdal cautioned against reading too much into a single exam, emphasizing that Washington consistently ranks near the top among peer states. He argued that overall college-going rates among public school students show they are more prepared than the test suggests. “Don’t grade the workload — grade the thinking,” he said.

Artificial intelligence, Reykdal said, has moved beyond the margins and into the mainstream of daily teaching and learning: “AI is in the middle of everything, because students are making it in a big way. Teachers are doing it. We’re doing it in our everyday lives.”

OSPI has issued human-centered AI guidance and directed districts to update technology policies, clarifying how AI can be used responsibly and what constitutes academic dishonesty. Reykdal warned against long-term contracts with unproven vendors, but said larger platforms with stronger privacy practices will likely endure. He framed AI as a tool for expanding customized learning and preparing students for the labor market, while acknowledging the need to teach ethical use.

Reykdal pressed lawmakers to think more like executives anticipating global competition rather than waiting for perfect solutions. “If you wait until it’s perfect, it will be a decade from now, and the inequalities will be massive,” he said.

With test scores climbing slowly and AI transforming classrooms, Reykdal said the Legislature’s next steps will be decisive in shaping whether Washington narrows achievement gaps — or lets them widen.

TVW News originally published this article on Sept. 11, 2025.

Paul W. Taylor is programming and external media manager at TVW News in Olympia.

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