Artificial intelligence (AI) can help retailers unlock hidden revenue in underperforming inventory, improve customer targeting and streamline operations — but only if companies stop treating it as a time-saving shortcut and start using it as a strategic tool. That was the message from two digital commerce experts during a keynote at The Inspired Home Show 2026, held March 10-12 at McCormick Place.
Udayan Bose, founder and CEO of AI-first digital agency NetElixir, and Aaron Conant, co-founder of commerce technology platform BWG Connect, addressed attendees at the show hosted by the International Housewares Association (IHA).
Moving past the basics
For retailers managing large SKU counts and tight margins — a daily reality for independent grocers and specialty food retailers alike — Bose said AI offers concrete revenue opportunities that most businesses haven’t tapped.
“It’s time to move from using AI to save time on simple tasks to using it for predictive analytics that drive business growth,” Bose said. “There’s lots of money hidden in those dead SKUs, and AI can help unlock that revenue.”
He cited a company that used AI-driven experimentation to revive 1,100 SKUs, generating 39 percent total growth in orders and $1 million in incremental revenue within three months. Predictive analytics, he explained, can identify which customers are most likely to purchase, which are at risk of churning, and where marketing dollars should be concentrated.
The GEO Shift
Conant said AI is also changing how consumers find brands online, introducing a new discipline retailers can’t afford to ignore.
“It’s not about SEO anymore — e-commerce companies need to be concerned about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) now,” Conant said. “This means you need to change how you structure the backend of your website and how you do social. You have to be focused on GEO. If you don’t, your brand won’t be included in AI searches.”
AI won’t replace people — but it will change their jobs
Both speakers pushed back on the idea that AI poses a broad threat to employment. Bose said the more useful frame is how organizations redeploy the time that automation creates.
“AI should be the starting point, not the end goal,” Bose said. “The opportunity for business leaders is to take the time saved and apply it to time for human judgment — the creativity, intuition and strategic thinking that AI cannot replicate.”
Framework for getting started
Bose offered four principles for AI adoption: treat AI like electricity — its value depends on how you apply it; work backwards from business outcomes, not the technology itself; keep humans in the loop; and start small with fast experimentation.
He also encouraged retailers to pressure-test long-standing internal processes. “Ask yourself, do you still need those 38 steps, or can you do it in 14? Leave your pride behind and look at that process you’ve been using for 19 years and see how you might be able to improve it,” Bose said.
On building the right team for AI experiments, he added, “This is a time when hierarchies don’t matter. Bring together a small, multigenerational group to tackle one problem. Encourage people to speak up and create psychological safety. If you don’t adapt, you won’t survive.”
His closing message was direct: “Start today. The right time is now. Start with one problem. Use AI to figure out the problem. And work back from there. Experimentation is the way of the future.”
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