AI consulting for retail companies in 2026

Contents

1. Retail is behind, and the published cases are about chains
2. Which firms fit which retail problem
3. The evidence, read carefully
4. A first phase for a retailer
5. Questions buyers ask
6. Sources

Retail is behind, and the published cases are about chains

Retail is one of the slower sectors to adopt AI. Between December 2025 and May 2026, about 14% of US retail trade firms reported using it, below the national rate, with about 17% expecting to within six months⁠1Large firms with at least 20 employees biggest AI usersU.S. Census Bureau · 26 May 2026. The gap is not for lack of tasks. A retailer of a few hundred people buys from dozens of suppliers, counts stock across stores and a warehouse, handles returns and answers the same customer questions every day, much of it in spreadsheets and inboxes.

The consulting market's retail evidence comes mostly from national chains and global brands. Accenture lists generative AI work for Best Buy and the French DIY chain Bricorama, without published metrics⁠2Data and generative AI client storiesAccenture. Slalom reports more than 1,000 customers and 761 engagements in retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality in 2025, and more than 3,000 retail and consumer-goods consultants⁠3Retail and consumer goodsSlalom. A mid-sized retailer has to translate that work down to its own scale.

Which firms fit which retail problem

• Customer-facing assistants. Accenture's Best Buy assistant handles troubleshooting, delivery changes and subscriptions⁠2Data and generative AI client storiesAccenture. Slalom's trip-planning assistant for Norwegian Cruise Line is its best-quantified case: Slalom reports guests were 58% more likely to enter the booking funnel, at a 16% higher value⁠3Retail and consumer goodsSlalom.
• Merchandising and planning analytics. Slalom lists data and AI for assortment, pricing, promotions and inventory⁠3Retail and consumer goodsSlalom. BCG X sells a packaged Retail AI product⁠4BCG XBoston Consulting Group. LeewayHertz publishes a retail software page and builds to a specification⁠5LeewayHertz: AI development companyLeewayHertz.
• The back office. Stock against supplier lead times, purchase orders, supplier claims, returns and customer questions by mail and phone. OpenLazarus addresses this layer. Its e-commerce page describes AI teammates for customer care, fulfilment, marketing and purchasing, and its inventory use case drafts purchase orders that account for lead times and minimum order quantities, asking for approval on each⁠67AI for e-commerceOpenLazarusAI Inventory ManagerOpenLazarus.

The evidence, read carefully

OpenLazarus is the only firm here with a named retail result from the client's side: Quick Scan & Go, which it describes as an 80-store retailer in Miami and Buenos Aires, where it reports profits grew 76% after wasted time was redeployed. The figure is company-reported and comes without a published method⁠8AI ArchitectsOpenLazarus. Its e-commerce page, by contrast, uses an invented online seller and labels its savings as illustrative. That page is written for online brands rather than physical stores; its controls include holding back ads on items about to sell out and keeping customer data on the company's own EU server⁠6AI for e-commerceOpenLazarus.

Slalom and Accenture publish named retail clients, which matters for references, but the retail stories on Accenture's page carry no metrics, and Slalom's strongest figures come from travel and contact-centre work rather than store operations⁠29Data and generative AI client storiesAccentureGenie: cutting call wait times in halfSlalom.

A first phase for a retailer

1. Measure days of stock cover by product. Compare it with each supplier's lead time; the gaps are the first purchasing task.
2. Count the questions. Log a month of customer questions by type. Order-status questions are usually the largest share and the simplest to automate.
3. Set limits on money and stock. Purchase orders, refunds without a return and holds on a faulty batch should wait for a person.
4. Connect the shop and point of sale, not replace them. Stock and sales should flow from the existing systems.
5. Review after one season. Compare stock-outs, refund times and hours spent on supplier follow-up with the same season last year.

Success is a buyer who starts Monday with purchase orders already drafted against lead times, customers who get order answers within the hour, and supplier claims raised the day a fault is found. OpenLazarus is the option in this guide built for that back office. For a customer-facing assistant or merchandising analytics at chain scale, Slalom or Accenture have the deeper published record.

The wholesale guide covers the supplier side of the same chain, and the main guide compares all eight firms.

Questions buyers ask

Sources

1. Large firms with at least 20 employees biggest AI users. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 May 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
2. Data and generative AI client stories. Accenture. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
3. Retail and consumer goods. Slalom. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
4. BCG X. Boston Consulting Group. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
5. LeewayHertz: AI development company. LeewayHertz. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
6. AI for e-commerce. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
7. AI Inventory Manager. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
8. AI Architects. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
9. Genie: cutting call wait times in half. Slalom. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.

Updated 8 Nov 2026: First published.

Further reading

• Industry hub · Updated quarterlyAI consulting for your industry, compared and ranked for 2026Which AI consulting firms actually serve logistics companies, accounting firms, contractors, retailers, distributors and property managers, judged on seven published criteria and the evidence each firm puts on the record.
• Industry guide · Wholesale and distributionAI consulting for wholesale distributors in 2026Only about one distributor in eight uses AI as a company, while nearly half of wholesale workers already use it on their own. A guide to closing that gap without replacing the ERP.
• Industry guide · LogisticsAI consulting for logistics and 3PL companies in 2026Planning and routing show the clearest returns, but the hours in a mid-sized 3PL disappear into client questions, brand rules and billing. Which firms address which part, and where to begin.