Holland & Barrett is keen to invest in generative AI and plans to use it on a trial basis.
At the Amazon Web Services (AWS) summit, chief data officer Dobo Radichkov told Retail Week the health retailer has a “few use cases” for generative AI it is looking to trial.
He said the company is already investing heavily in the technology powered by AWS, and is currently using it to improve the customer experience and internal operations.
“We’re using data science and AI models to get the best possible forecast of demand so we can get the products on the shelves and make sure the customer can easily find the items they want to purchase when they go in store,” Radichkov said.
“It sounds simple but it’s actually a very difficult problem and can be very expensive. But we’re doing this with in-house technology and building it ourselves.”
He added that both the store and online experience is important to Holland & Barrett, and AI is being used to improve all aspects of the business.
Radichkov emphasised that, although the retailer is keen on building its use of AI, the human aspect remains just as significant.
“I think what these tools allow us to do is elevate the level of abstraction for employees so we can be more productive,” he says.
“But we still need the human expertise of judgement and creativity. That’s never going to go.”
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