Are smaller retailers winning the AI race?

While 99% of large UK retailers have AI expertise in-house, 31% of small retailers are already using AI daily. The competitive advantage isn't about resources, it's about friction, proximity, and speed of testing.

I've been learning about AI at quite a pace recently, and it made me wonder: if individuals can move this quickly, what does that mean for smaller retailers?

Having AI expertise isn't the same as using AI day to day. One group has resources and roadmaps. The other has the freedom to test on Tuesday and see results by Wednesday.

Virgin Wines removes wine selection uncertainty by matching sensory attributes to individual preferences.

Abelini, an independent Hatton Garden jeweller, uses AR/AI so customers can see how rings look on their own hands.

ListAid helps charity shop volunteers price donations accurately in under a minute.

Finney's in Aberdeen makes three generations of jewellery expertise accessible through digital tools.

Happy and Glorious in Canterbury uses AI for admin tasks, freeing time for customer work.

The pattern? AI sits right next to decisions - customer decisions and colleague decisions. That proximity matters because when AI is close to the decision, outcomes change quickly.

In larger organisations, AI often lives deeper in infrastructure - optimising systems, forecasting demand. That work matters, but it's further from the moments where customers hesitate or teams feel unsure.

Smaller retailers have fewer layers between problem and solution. They notice issues sooner, test faster, keep what works, drop what doesn't. That ability to connect problem, experiment, and outcome is where the advantage lies.

When you look closely at your customer journey (into the detail of what actually happens) friction points stand out. Those are moments where people hesitate, teams second-guess, or customers disappear. Once you see those moments clearly, AI use cases become obvious.

Your AI plan doesn't need to run the whole business. It needs to support decisions causing friction for customers and colleagues. Tackle things moment by moment - that's your roadmap.

The competitive advantage isn't about AI. It's about noticing where customers hesitate, where staff feel anxious, where you're losing time. It's having the freedom to do something about it quickly.

The difference shows up when technology supports real decisions. When it helps someone choose with confidence. When it removes guesswork from pressured moments. When it gives people time to focus on what matters.

That's when AI has impact. That's when it gives you a competitive advantage.

Get the full show notes with all frameworks and resources mentioned at https://wheresyourcustomer.com/11

Need help with customer journey mapping? Let's chat.

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UK retail customer service hit a 14-year low in 2024. But is the problem really about better recovery, or is it about prevention?

In this episode, I share a personal story about three trips to fix a basic mistake, then examine the £7.3 billion monthly cost of preventable service failures across UK retail.

We look at why UK employees spend 20% of their time fixing problems that shouldn't have happened, explore the real sources of service failures (it's not what you think), and examine two retailers who've figured out prevention: Sainsbury's with 5% voluntary turnover, and Timpson with their two-rule approach to customer service.

In this episode:

• Why brilliant service recovery still loses 50-70% of customers
• The turnover quality spiral nobody talks about
• Three patterns for preventing failures: systems design, measuring what matters, and technology that prevents
• How to redirect recovery spending toward prevention
• What Saturday afternoon looks like in prevention mode vs crisis mode

Key insight: When a customer encounters even one service problem, satisfaction drops 20 points. We've got brilliant at recovery, but recovery happens after the damage is done. The retailers seeing sustained improvement aren't getting better at fixing things. They're redesigning systems so things don't break in the first place.

Did anything resonate with you from today's conversation? I'd love to know, particularly where you're seeing preventable service failures in your own organisation.

Get the full show notes with all frameworks and resources mentioned at https://wheresyourcustomer.com/10

Never miss an episode – Subscribe to Where's Your Customer? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

Found this valuable? Please leave a review, it helps other retail professionals discover these conversations and would honestly mean the world to me

Connect with me – Find me on LinkedIn or visit WheresYourCustomer.com for more customer service insights and resources.

Share this with someone who needs it – If someone in your network is wrestling with customer service challenges, please share this episode with them