Everyone said AI would gut retail jobs. The data says the opposite. The retailers deploying the most AI in their stores are hiring store associates at nearly double the rate of everyone else, 70% versus 36%, according to IHL’s 2026 Retail Transformation Study.
In part two of our three-part AI in Retail series, Greg Buzek of IHL Group joins Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden to break down the augmented associate: the model where AI in retail makes store associates faster and better instead of replacing them. Greg walks through the 25-year-old self-checkout lesson, voice tools that work in an associate’s native language, edge computing in the store, buy online pickup in store, last mile delivery, and the returns process where real margin is hiding.
If you lead a retail team and you are about to make a workforce decision, watch this before you cut a single role. The augmented associate is the play that separates the retailers winning the next decade from the ones quietly falling behind, and store associates are at the center of all of it.
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*The Retail Razor: Data Blades S2:E8*
*Released on June 5, 2026*
*Resource Links*
*How Retail Leaders Outperform* - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/how-retail-leaders-outperform/
*Shelf Intelligence Report* - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/shelf-intelligence-report-rebuilding-retail-relationships-through-automation/
*Adapt or Be Outpaced* - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/adapt-or-be-outpaced-tech-imperative-for-retails-midmarket/
*Fixing Inventory Distortion* - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/fixing-inventory-distortion-whos-winning-whos-failing-whats-working/
*Closing the Execution Gap* - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/closing-the-execution-gap/
*Guest info*
Greg Buzek. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbuzek/
IHL Group. https://www.ihlservices.com/
Greg Buzek is the Founder, President and Principal Analyst of IHL Group, one of the most respected retail technology research firms in the world. IHL's annual retail transformation study is the largest survey of retail technology leaders in the industry, covering more than 400 brands across every retail segment.
*Chapters*
00:00 Teaser
00:40 Show Intro
03:32 Welcome back, Greg Buzek!
04:22 Self Checkout Lessons
08:11 Augmented Associate Tools
10:17 Voice and Language Support
11:54 Edge Computing Advantage
13:18 Network and Clean Data
14:31 Enabling Tech and IT Spend
16:25 Mobile Tools and Pickup Wins
18:25 Last Mile Delivery Staffing
21:24 Making the Investment Case
23:16 Returns and Fulfillment Focus
25:42 Restaurant Speed Example
29:15 Key Takeaways and Wrap
31:27 Show Close
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