For retailers, AI should power, not replace, the human touch
For retailers, AI should power, not replace, the human touch
Publish Date: 2026-02-16 13:11:00
Source Domain: www.designerstoday.com
- Retailers at the Las Vegas Market learned how to effectively utilize AI to enhance operations and customer engagement from Dovr Media CEO Jake Freedman.
- Freedman emphasized the importance of personalization, smart search capabilities, and predictive analytics for revenue growth in the furniture retail sector.
- He asserted that intentional, data-driven personalization, rather than mere automation, is key to winning in furniture retail.
- Freedman advised auditing existing technology use, identifying customer journey friction points, prioritizing impactful automation, and training teams alongside technology rollouts.
- He highlighted the need to avoid common mistakes like “chasing shiny tools without a plan” and over-automating customer interactions, emphasizing that AI should be part of a holistic strategy.
- Successful retailers, according to Freedman, gradually adopt new technology while unifying online and showroom experiences, and consistently measure outcomes.
- He suggested measuring online conversion rates and investing in automation to preserve relationship-driven selling and improve customer context.
- Freedman stressed AI’s role in suggesting new products, sending personalized offers, and generating consistent website content, but urged balancing automation with human creativity.
