AI saves time and increases efficiency, said speakers at the NACS Show.
For a mid-size operator like Cubby’s, which operates 42 retail locations in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, sorting through vast amounts of data to leverage insights is time-consuming and daunting.
“I see all these great products [that collect data] out there, but I’m always asking myself, ‘Who in my organization has the time to go through all of this information and then take action based on it?’” said De Lone Wilson, president of Cubby’s Inc., during “Use Cases for AI Inside of the Store” at the NACS Show on Monday.
“But with AI, the technology does that for you—pulls out all the insights and presents it right to you so you don’t have to go digging for it,” he continued.
Saving time and increasing efficiency were two of the major benefits of implementing AI for both day-to-day in-store operations and corporate tasks that Wilson and Robert Hampton, VP of technology services and innovation at Jacksons Food Stores, emphasized during the presentation.
From ChatGPT to AI software they’ve deployed in store locations, the two retailers highlighted how they’ve been utilizing AI for their businesses, leveraging insights to increase safety, address problems at the store level, save time on tasks, and gain deeper insights into store metrics.
- Voice Analytics
Both Cubby’s and Jacksons are using AI to analyze voice analytics. Both retailers use InStore.ai, a provider that places microphones at the register and records conversations between customers and employees.
AI then analyzes those conversations and creates reports based on keywords for everything from alerting managers to problems at a store to what language results in the most successful loyalty sign-ups or helps to upsell promotions.
“The dashboard breaks conversations down by keywords and can show us that there are 10 mentions of a problem with a fuel pump at a specific store, for example, or that the card reader is down,” said Wilson.
“Our maintenance techs can see that and open work orders to address it.”
Jacksons, meanwhile, in addition to in-store uses, is also using voice analytics AI in its internal support center, which operates 24/7 for all of its stores.
The retailer uses DialPad to listen to conversations and make suggestions to the agent about how to proceed.
“The software will hear an incoming phone call, determine what the problem is, and then a box will pop up in the lower left of the analyst’s screen with a link to documentation that walks you through how to fix that particular issue,” said Hampton.
“That’s great for an agent who is newer or hasn’t encountered the issue before—it’s really a lifesaver.
It creates a much better experience for the agent by making them feel more empowered, and it makes for a much better experience for the store employees because they’re getting their issue resolved.”
- Security Camera Analysis
AI software can also be deployed in security cameras to increase safety or track metrics visually.
Both retailers emphasized that they added AI to existing security cameras without having to buy new equipment.
At Jacksons, the company implemented RadiusAI to track activity in the forecourt, including the number of cars that came through, time spent at the pump, and active time the fuel dispenser was in use.
That data can be leveraged for things like fraud detection and strategies to increase customer conversion rates, said Robert.
“Say you have 1,000 vehicles one day and observe 300 people walking inside—you know you have a 30% conversion rate.
You could increase that by doing A/B testing where you put two different types of promos on the pump and watch to see which one gets more people into the store,” said Hampton.
He said Jacksons has also used camera analysis inside the store at food prep areas, roller grills, and hot boxes to track how much food is present, how long food has been out, and if there is theft or food waste.
AI can then send alerts to staff to add more items or turnover food products after a certain time, for example.
- Chat GPT
In a few cases, the retailers are using ChatGPT to save time on their business operations for everything from writing job descriptions for new roles and creating questions for employee surveys to drafting the basics of store and company policies.
“The biggest benefit of ChatGPT for me is that it just helps me get started,” said Wilson.
“A lot of times when I’m sitting down to start something, like drafting a policy or procedure, the hardest part is getting started. You can use ChatGPT to just get you going.”
His advice for retailers on how to start using ChatGPT: Just open it, start playing around with it, and see how it can help you and be applied to your needs.
Wilson described Cubby’s as “technology backwards,” meaning that the company hadn’t focused on using technology effectively until recently.
“I’ve never had a single IT person at Cubby’s,” Wilson said.
“But I say that because something like ChatGPT is so easy that anyone in this room can get started with it this afternoon.”
- Transportation Safety
Jacksons has a fleet of a few hundred truck drivers and uses AI cameras installed in trucks (the company uses Netradyne) to increase safety.
For example, the cameras can identify street signs and speed limit signs and alert a driver to slow down.
They can also score drivers based on their driving safety and adherence to traffic laws, send the report to managers, and give drivers rewards for safe driving habits such as creating distance between vehicles.
“This has been a great way to reinforce drivers’ good behaviors and be able to quickly address any concerns that show up from vehicles.
It has really helped us increase safety and provide more avenues to reward drivers for good behavior, especially since employees really like gamification these days,” said Hampton.
What’s Next for AI?
Looking ahead, the retailers made a few predictions for where they see AI going and what future use cases they’re eyeing.
Hampton said he could see there being an “Alexa for the convenience store.
Maybe it’s something that’s in the back room where a manager can say ‘Hey, add more of this candy item to my order,’ and the system is already linked to your ordering software.
Or if you are having a problem with something like your books, for example, you can ask it how to do something and it can walk you through your company’s existing steps to fix something.”
Cubby’s has seven trucks on the road, so Wilson said it is evaluating cab cameras with AI that can provide all the benefits Hampton said have been a boon for Jacksons.
“Also, just last week we installed our first three AI-enabled security cameras.
We really want to dig into how those will help us,” said Wilson.
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