Noesion Radarnoesion.ai
Survey2026-08-25

Executives from Lowe's, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bain and PwC described results from retail AI shopping assistants in an August 2026 webinar, reporting higher conversion and larger orders among customers who use them. They said the emphasis is shifting from isolated pilots to redesigning whole cross-functional processes such as store openings and merchandise planning. All advised against launching new technology during the fourth quarter and focusing instead on scaling what already works.

What changed

Retailers were running task-level AI pilots without published conversion results.

What it unlocks

Comparing in-house shopping assistant conversion figures against named peer benchmarks before peak season.

  • Lowe's: ~3X higher conversion via assistant
  • Amazon: 48% more likely to convert
  • Walmart Sparky: 40% more per order
  • 73% of parents using AI back-to-school

Sources

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