Building resilience in an AI-powered retail marketplace

"Retailers have always focused on earning customer loyalty while driving operational efficiency. AI changes how we achieve those goals, but the fundamentals haven't changed. The retailers that succeed will be the ones that use AI to become more resilient, more responsive and more relevant to their customers."

Retailers face constant pressure to improve efficiency, respond faster to changing consumer behavior and protect already thin margins. At the same time, AI is reshaping both how they operate and how consumers shop. We spoke with Bernard DeLisi, a leader in our retail practice, about how organizations can modernize successfully while maintaining operational stability and business value.

What are retail leaders most focused on as they think about modernization today?

The first thing that comes to mind is resiliency. In retail, every minute of downtime matters. If a customer pulls up to a fuel pump, swipes their card, and the system doesn't work, they're not going to wait around. They'll simply go across the street to a competitor.

That's why retailers care so much about uptime, reliability and customer loyalty. Resilience has become a commercial differentiator. Customers rarely give retailers a second chance when technology fails. Technology sits behind every one of those outcomes. Modernization isn't just about replacing legacy systems. It's about ensuring stores stay operational, transactions flow smoothly and customers can get what they need without friction.

The challenge is that retailers operate on tight margins. They can't simply throw more infrastructure or more spending at the problem. They need modernization investments that improve resiliency while delivering business value.

How is AI changing the way retailers approach modernization?

What AI changes is the ability to solve problems before they impact the business. Historically, organizations spent a lot of time reacting to issues. Today, AI allows us to proactively monitor environments, identify anomalies and resolve problems before stores even know they exist. That shift from reactive to predictive operations is incredibly valuable in retail because uptime directly impacts revenue.

I remember a conversation with a retail executive where we were reviewing the value we had delivered. We had helped generate millions of dollars in savings, but what caught his attention wasn't the cost reduction. It was the fact that through network modernization and proactive monitoring, we had improved store uptime by more than 100 minutes per store each month. His reaction was immediate: those additional minutes of uptime were worth far more to the business than the cost savings because every minute a store is operational creates an opportunity to serve customers and generate revenue.

That's the real shift in modernization today. AI enables retailers to move beyond efficiency programs and toward measurable business outcomes. AI is also helping accelerate delivery. In one large retail environment, we helped reduce application deployment timelines significantly by combining automation, intelligent testing and modernization practices. The result wasn't just faster delivery. It was better quality, fewer defects, less disruption and faster delivery of customer-facing capability.

That's where I see the biggest change. Modernization is no longer just about reducing technical debt. Successful modernization isn't simply an IT initiative. It's an enterprise capability that continuously improves how the business operates.

Retailers are investing heavily in AI, yet many still struggle to scale it. Why?

Most organizations don't have a shortage of AI ideas. They have a shortage of alignment. What we're seeing across the industry is widespread experimentation. Different business units are pursuing pilots independently. Technology providers are bringing new solutions to the table every day. Before long, organizations find themselves with dozens of disconnected initiatives and no clear path forward.

Many retailers today are being approached by multiple AI vendors, evaluating new platforms and running pilots across different parts of the business. The challenge isn't identifying opportunities. It's bringing those efforts together into a coherent strategy.

Many organizations have accumulated AI experiments faster than they've developed an enterprise strategy to scale them.

That's where governance becomes critical. It isn't there to slow innovation. It's what allows organizations to innovate confidently at scale. Organizations need clear guardrails around security, privacy and responsible AI use. Technology will continue to evolve, but organizations with the right governance can adopt new capabilities confidently, responsibly and at scale.

How is AI changing the relationship between retailers and consumers?

One of the biggest shifts happening right now is that consumers are using AI as part of their buying journey. Customers increasingly rely on AI tools to discover products, compare options, evaluate alternatives and, increasingly, complete purchases. In many cases, AI is influencing buying decisions before customers ever visit a retailer's website or store.

As AI becomes another participant in the buying journey, trust becomes even more important. Customers need confidence that recommendations are relevant, transparent and aligned to their needs.

That's why I believe retail is evolving beyond transactions. It's becoming more about identity, personalization and relevance. The question is no longer just whether you have the right product at the right price. It's whether you're creating the kind of experience and trust that keeps customers connected to your brand.

What advice would you give retail leaders as they begin the next phase of their modernization journey?

First, be prepared for continuous change. The pace of AI innovation today is dramatically different than it was even a year ago, and it's only accelerating. Second, don't chase technology just because everyone else is. We've seen this before with virtualization, cloud and every major technology shift. Every technology wave brings new tools. The organizations that create lasting value are the ones that stay focused on solving business problems rather than becoming distracted by the technology itself. The question shouldn't be, "How do we implement AI?" The question should be, "Where does AI create meaningful value for our business?"

Finally, establish the right governance, operating model and partnerships. Technology will continue to evolve, but organizations that build a strong foundation will be in a much better position to adapt, scale and create long-term value.

The retailers that create lasting competitive advantage won't necessarily be the ones with the most AI. They'll be the ones who understand where AI creates genuine business value, embed it into the way they operate and use it to strengthen resilience, improve decisions and build lasting customer trust. That's how modernization becomes a sustained capability rather than a one-time initiative.