AI is rapidly transforming retail CX, operational efficiency and even margins, and retailers that are too slow to harness it risk falling behind in a competitive market.
This is according to Deon Thomas, Managing Director of eBlocks Software, a software engineering specialist focusing on data, AI, DevSecOps, cloud and platform modernisation.
Thomas says a handful of local pioneers are transforming their retail operations by deploying AI strategically in their businesses; however, many others have been cautious and slow to adopt AI. “In many cases, we also see that retail organisations have attempted AI projects, but failed,” he says.
Eblocks notes in a newly released white paper that AI now touches every function across the retail value chain, turning customer engagement, operations and supply chains from reactive to predictive – and more profitable. While retailers across Africa have lagged in AI transformation, Eblocks sees opportunities for them to leapfrog the rest of the world, thanks to mobile penetration, youthful demographics and fewer legacy systems.
Thomas emphasises: “AI is no longer an abstract future state, and it’s not as complex as many people think it is. It’s already reshaping every layer of retail, globally, and we're seeing some of that locally as well. The challenge for most of the retail executives today is not whether to adopt AI, but how to orchestrate it responsibly, profitably and inclusively.
“In the local market, many retailers are struggling with so many legacy systems that investing in AI becomes a board-level decision – they struggle to tie the AI to the ROI,” he says.
“Another challenge is that many of the CIOs, chief analytics officers and chief data officers sometimes struggle to articulate the business value and the ROI of AI. Many people think of ChatGPT and recommendation engines when they think of AI. But those are only around 5% of what AI can do. It can enable measurable improvements – for example, a 2% increase in on-shelf availability, one point up on your gross margin for markdown optimisation, or a 15% faster market asset turnaround. Our measurable impact framework helps identify value metrics that they need to be able to understand and articulate to their executive teams and their boards.”
AI in global retail
Thomas says global retail leaders are harnessing AI to align with key trends – like personalisation. “There's a massive drive in retail to look at personalisation. However, even major retailers are still battling with the relatively simple issue of meaningfully using their loyalty programme information. With AI, you can use this information to do more than just personalise engagement – you can be predictive and make recommendations to the customer.”
Thomas says AI enables the customer’s digital experience to be further enhanced: “There's a big shift towards conversational search, whereby the customer has a conversation with an AI agent, and it then helps tailor your search and looks at the broader context. For example, the customer says: ‘I have a wedding coming up on X date, and I'm looking for a dress.’ The AI can look at weather patterns, the customer’s buying patterns and perhaps even take some of their pictures and images to offer dresses that would suit the customer, the weather and the occasion.”
With customer experience a big factor in retail profits, personalisation is becoming crucial.
“Equally – or even more – importantly, retail success rests heavily on stock replenishment and supply chain management. AI has really started playing a big role in helping them replenish their stock, and predict certain stock levels and revenue margins in future,” Thomas says.
“In South Africa, where there’s a massive market for retail deliveries, AI also supports dynamic routing to reduce costs and carbon footprint of delivery schedules and routes,” he adds.
Preparing for AI success
Thomas says successful AI projects start with the right partner to guide retailers on their journey.
Eblocks, with extensive AI expertise and deep retail sector experience, is perfectly positioned to help retailers make the AI shift. By building data and AI foundations and empowering retailers to re-imagine their current operations, Eblocks is helping retailers in Africa start transforming their businesses.
Thomas says: “Successful projects must have a solid AI strategy. Eblocks advisory services carry out an AI readiness assessment to identify the high value quick wins that will underline the ROI the business is looking for and align their AI roadmap with your business KPIs. Secondly, we're able to help them with their data platform engineering to build what we call the retail data foundations. These foundations connect inventory, loyalty, supplier systems, POS, CRM and more to deliver that single view of data that enables analysis, forecasting and personalisation.
“Where many organisations get stuck is applying the AI use case to their environment. We pragmatically help them build it – whether it’s localisation and copy production for on-shelf marketing, or conversational searching.”
He adds: “We don't just come in to help organisations deliver on the POCs or to build them out, we help from start to finish – from the strategy all the way through to connecting it to the implementation. We also help organisations with their crucial Responsible AI Frameworks, looking at POPIA and the National Artificial Intelligence Framework, and considering how they apply to the business.”
To empower retailers to start re-imagining retail, Eblocks has launched a white paper outlining the state of AI in African retail.
To download the comprehensive Eblock White Paper: ‘Reimagining Retail: How AI is Reshaping the Global Retail Landscape in 2025/26’, click here.
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