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What happens to the human side of retail when everyone at the conference is talking about agents?

Bryan Amaral spent three days at Retail Club AI in Huntington Beach, a beachside festival with about 2,000 retailers, brands, investors and technology leaders. He went with his usual lens, listening for what each group thinks the others are missing. In this solo episode, he passes along the handful of ideas that matter most to anyone who cares about clienteling, assisted selling, personalization, and the relationship between customers and the people who serve them.

The episode opens and closes with a Stitch Fix story about a client named Deborah and her stylist, Wendy. Along the way, Bryan covers how Under Armour, Helzberg, Batteries Plus, Fabletics, Daydream and others are actually putting AI to work. He also shares takeaways from the Retail AI Council panel he moderated with Fujitsu’s Nick Lee and retail operator Mike Relich. The conclusion is optimistic, but it comes with a challenge: the industry spent three days talking about context, memory and trust, and barely mentioned the store associate, who is best placed to earn all three.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Why a Stitch Fix client called her stylist, not her app, her “hero”
• How Stitch Fix stylists handle about 10x the volume with AI while keeping humans at the center
• The winners aren’t doing the same things faster. They’re doing different things.
• How Under Armour cut a six-week product-copy process to six days by building it around its in-house expert instead of working around her
• A simple test for executives: where does the judgment live, is the process written down, and who owns it?
• McKinsey’s finding that high performers are about 3x more likely to have redesigned their workflows
• Agents for the routine basket, humans for the considered and emotional purchase
• Helzberg’s “agent in between”: clienteling with an AI front door
• Kearney’s view of the margin pressure agentic shopping will put on commodity retailers
• Why investors expect a reckoning for software that doesn’t solve a big, hard problem
• Context as the buzzword of the show, and why the richest context lives in the conversation between associate and client
• Batteries Plus: search time was cut by 75%, an AI voice agent named Edison, and a “MythBusters” approach to change management
• Fabletics using AI for associate role play and multilingual support
• From the Retail AI Council panel: start with the economics, AI utilization is not ROI, and improve one decision in the next 90 days
• The gap no one talked about: equipping the associate in the moment

Notable Quote:

“That’s not the future of clienteling. That’s clienteling finally getting the tools it’s always deserved.”

AI works best as preparation. The value of the brand still comes through the people who build the relationship.

Listen & Connect

Bryan’s full write-up on LinkedIn, AI Is Changing Retail, Probably Not the Way You Think: https://lnkd.in/p/eHb6NA6f

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the Fujitsu-sponsored series Engaging Deeper & Scaling Smarter for more conversations with leaders in retail innovation: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595750/episodes/18780866

Bryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanamaral/

Bryan’s Website: https://www.clientricity.net

Bryan’s Email: bryan@retailtechexec.com
Call Bryan: 404-348-4849

Tags: #retail #clienteling #clientricity #RetailClub #AgenticCommerce #RetailAI #StoreAssociates

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What does it really take to scale innovation inside a modern retail organization?

In this episode of The Clienteling Podcast, Bryan Amaral sits down with retail industry veteran Andy Laudato, EVP & Chief Operating Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe and Co-Founder of the Retail AI Council, for a candid discussion about leadership, customer-centricity, operational excellence, and the realities of implementing innovation at scale.

Drawing on decades of experience spanning technology, supply chain, digital commerce, and retail operations, Andy shares why successful retailers focus on solving customer and business problems—not chasing technology trends—and how AI can create real value when applied thoughtfully.

The conversation explores the intersection of retail operations and customer experience, the challenges of scaling innovation across hundreds of stores, and why great execution still comes down to people, processes, and a relentless focus on the customer.

Whether you’re a retailer, technology executive, consultant, or industry leader, you’ll find practical insights that go well beyond the latest buzzwords.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How Andy’s journey from technologist to retail operator shaped his leadership philosophy

• Why retailers should never “solve technology problems with business” and how that lesson applies directly to AI

• The difference between building a prototype and scaling a solution across hundreds of locations

• The hidden operational complexities behind omnichannel retail and customer experience

• Why inventory accuracy remains one of retail’s most important—and difficult—challenges

• How The Vitamin Shoppe uses AI to gather and analyze store feedback at scale

• The critical role store associates play in driving customer engagement and loyalty

• Why innovation is often more about people and processes than technology

• The importance of psychological safety in fostering innovation inside large organizations

• Why so many retail pilots fail to scale—and how leaders can avoid common mistakes

• Practical applications of AI that are delivering measurable value today

• AI governance, employee education, and responsible deployment strategies

• The future of composable commerce and why Andy believes retailers should focus on building flexible, service-based architectures

• Why customer-centricity remains the most important competitive advantage in retail

Notable Quote:

“I don’t have an AI strategy. I have a sell-more-vitamins strategy.”

That simple statement perfectly captures the central theme of this conversation: technology matters, but only when it helps retailers better serve customers and achieve meaningful business outcomes.

Listen & Connect

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the series Engaging Deeper & Scaling Smarter for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of retail innovation.

Andy Laudato's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlaudato

Bryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanamaral/

Bryan’s Website: https://www.clientricity.net

Bryan’s Email: bryan@clientelingpodcast.com or bryan@retailtechexec.com

Call Bryan: 404-348-4849

Fujitsu's FNAI Engaging Deeper & Scaling Smarter Podcast Series:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595750/episodes/18780866

Tags: #retail #clienteling #clientricity #R

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Episode Summary

This episode is a rebroadcast of the first episode Bryan recently hosted for Fujitsu Retail on the Engaging Deeper and Scaling Smarter Podcast. The link for the series can be found below or follow Fujitsu wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, Bryan Amaral sits down with retail innovation leader Michelle Pacynski (former VP of Digital Innovation & Consumer Technology at Ulta Beauty) to explore what it באמת takes to scale innovation in high-engagement retail categories like beauty.

Michelle shares firsthand insights from helping grow Ulta’s eCommerce business from $125M to over $2B, unpacking how customer-centricity, disciplined experimentation, and strong business cases turn promising ideas into enterprise-wide impact.

From AI-driven personalization to unified commerce and the future of digital engagement, this conversation blends strategy with practical execution—offering a clear lens into how retailers can innovate with purpose, not just speed.

Key Topics Covered

• Why customer-first thinking is the foundation of scalable innovation
• The gap between pilot success and enterprise rollout—and how to close it
• Building a business case that earns prioritization inside large organizations
• The real challenges of unified commerce across digital and physical channels
• How to evaluate emerging tech like AI without falling into hype cycles
• When to stop an innovation and what “success” really means in experimentation
• Rethinking personalization in an era where “creepy” is being redefined
• Governance, trust, and responsible AI in beauty retail
• What separates scalable innovation from point solutions that stall
• The future of digital: conversational, immersive, and interactive experiences

Notable Insights

• “Scaling smarter starts with solving a real customer problem—not just launching something new.”
• “Winning experiments don’t scale themselves—you have to sell them internally.”
• “Success in innovation isn’t always outcomes—it’s often what you learn.”
• “Being early can feel a lot like being wrong.”
• “Retailers need to shift from a portfolio of products to a portfolio of customers.”

Looking Ahead

Michelle emphasizes that the next wave of retail innovation will be driven by two-way, conversational digital experiences—blending AI, video, and human-like interaction to mirror the best of in-store engagement.

About the Guest

Michelle Pacynski is a seasoned retail and technology executive and former VP at Ulta Beauty, where she led digital innovation and consumer technology. Today, she advises companies, founders, and investors on how to translate emerging technologies into scalable business value.

Listen & Connect

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the series Engaging Deeper & Scaling Smarter for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of retail innovation.

Michelle's Email: mpacynski@ivantedgeadvisors.com

Michelle's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pacynski

Bryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanamaral/

Bryan’s Website: https://www.clientricity.net

Bryan’s Email: bryan@clientelingpodcast.com or bryan@retailtechexec.com

Call Bryan: 404-348-4849

Fujitsu's FNAI Engaging Deeper & Scaling Smarter Podcast Series:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595750/episodes/18780866

Tags: #retail #clienteling #clientricity #R