By Sachin Mohan · AIM Media House
Three of America's largest retailers reported second quarter earnings last week. All three disclosed AI deployments.
Taken together, the three earnings calls suggest that AI's retail value depends less on replacing stores than on connecting digital experiences to local inventory, fulfillment, and in-store execution.
Home Depot disclosed that they have expanded Magic Apron beyond its existing digital experience and into store aisles, where customers and associates can use it to locate products and ask project-related questions in real time.
According to the company, the updated version knows which specific store it is operating in and tailors its inventory and product answers to that location, not the general catalog, but what is actually on those shelves.
"The nature of your questions and the nature of the help that we can give you is better if we understand, hey, you're in this store," said Jordan Broggi, EVP Customer Experience and President Online at Home Depot.
Magic Apron is now receiving millions of questions per month, with Home Depot's app identified as its highest growth digital surface in Q2. Walmart and the Cross-Channel Memory Walmart's Sparky disclosure described a different version of the same physical-digital integration.
The AI shopping assistant recognizes ingredients a customer has recently purchased both online and in-store, and excludes them from new cart recommendations, building around what the customer already owns rather than starting from a blank slate.
CEO John Furner shared the capability through a specific customer example on the earnings call: a shopper asking for a weekly high-protein meal plan received recipes and meal kits with one-click cart building, with recently purchased items automatically removed.
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