TLDR: At the recent FT Live Future of Retail event, top executives shared their strategic investments and applications of artificial intelligence within the retail sector. Discussions highlighted AI’s role in enhancing customer experiences, optimizing operations, and driving innovation, with a strong consensus that 2025 marks a pivotal year for AI integration, particularly generative AI, into mainstream retail processes. Companies like Pandora and Kingfisher showcased advanced AI initiatives, while the inaugural AI in Retail Awards celebrated groundbreaking technological advancements.
Leading figures from the retail industry convened at the FT Live Future of Retail event in London, offering profound insights into their strategic adoption of artificial intelligence. The summit underscored a collective commitment to leveraging AI for significant advancements in customer engagement and operational efficiency, with many experts identifying 2025 as a transformative year for AI, especially generative AI, to become deeply embedded in everyday retail business processes.
Catarina Runa Miranda, Global AI Director and London Digital Hub Lead at Pandora, detailed the company’s focus on ‘AI-based storytelling.’ She described this as a crucial opportunity to enrich online interactions through sophisticated AI assistants. Miranda highlighted an innovative project in Australia where Pandora launched a fully immersive, AI-powered platform designed to help customers select charms for personalized bracelets. This platform moves beyond conventional chatbots, offering tailored suggestions based on user interests and the narratives behind their purchases. Pandora aims to expand this AI assistant service globally, integrating an avatar for an even richer user experience.
Mohsen Ghasempour, Chief AI Officer at Kingfisher, presented insights into ‘Hello Casto,’ the company’s public-facing virtual DIY assistant. Hailed as a world-first, Hello Casto had already facilitated over 350,000 chatbot conversations by mid-2025, continuously refining its learning capabilities. Ghasempour emphasized that the current stage of AI development transcends pilot programs, necessitating substantial strategic investments in AI technology from organizations.
Martin Bailie, an executive from VusionGroup, shared key takeaways from the event, noting the rise of ‘agentic AI’ as a game-changer for retail. These autonomous systems are enhancing front-end search, streamlining product recommendations, and facilitating seamless payment processes, thereby offering personalized shopping experiences. Bailie stressed a crucial mindset shift: ‘Use AI to solve your pain points. It’s a solution, not a strategy.’ He further highlighted that the framework and governance surrounding AI deployment would dictate the speed of success and sustained relevance in an increasingly automated marketplace.
The discussions also touched upon the broader impact of AI innovations, including predictive analytics, hyper-personalization, and breakthroughs in supply chain management. Experts suggested that AI could boost sales by 9.6% through optimizing just 20% of inventory and unlock profit margin improvements of 420 basis points in merely three months.
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Further solidifying AI’s growing importance, the event saw the launch of the inaugural AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub. These awards aim to recognize groundbreaking technological advancements that are reshaping areas such as customer personalization, inventory optimization, and overall retail operations. The winners are slated to be announced at a formal ceremony on January 29 at The Barbican in Central London, underscoring the ongoing transformation within the retail sector.
