How AI and new experiences are revolutionising retail: adesso Retail Board presents the position paper “Next Retail Store”

The panel is made up of CIOs and decision-makers from renowned retail companies, including Christoph Kastaun (Tchibo), Severin Canisius (Deichmann SE), Andreas Schobert (Hornbach Baumarkt AG) and Mark Michaelis (Markant Group/MSI GmbH). Initiator Thomas Gasber, Business Area Lead Industrial & Retail at adesso, brings the IT service provider’s expertise to the working group as head of the panel. Together, the members pool their experience from different retail segments and use it to develop practical strategies for the future.

Thomas Gasber describes the special nature of the work outcomes: “The position paper means that there is now a cross-industry results document by experts for experts that not only outlines scenarios, but also sets out practical approaches to implementation. In this way, we are providing CIOs, IT decision-makers and retail companies with real guidance on how to actively shape the radical change ahead.”

Retail spaces of the future

Gasber adds: “Change in retail is inevitable. The decisive factor for companies’ competitiveness will be how quickly they invest in new store concepts and the necessary technical foundations. This position paper provides specific recommendations on how retailers can set the course for the coming years today.”

Against this backdrop, the members of the adesso Retail Board have developed two key archetypes for the retail spaces of the future:

• Store as a hub: a highly automated logistics and data centre in which AI agents and autonomous systems manage the shelves, organise the flow of goods and redefine the last mile.
• Store as entertainment: an experience space in which shopping becomes an event. Brands are presented in hybrid spaces. Digital experiences and advice in lounge and catering zones replace rigid shelf layouts. Employees embody the brand message and actively strengthen relationship management.

Both models show how bricks-and-mortar retail can be reinvented – as a logistics hub, service centre and experience in one.

Technology as the key to realisation

Another key finding of the panel is that such concepts presented cannot be realised without a fundamental technological realignment. Traditional, transaction-based ERP architectures are reaching their limits.

Future-proof retail spaces require a data-driven system architecture that is based on a flexible data core and processes information in real time. Digital twins of customers, products and shops and the use of AI agents create the basis for highly personalised offers, automated logistics processes and seamless networking across company boundaries.

“The development of IT – away from monolithic systems towards a data-driven, flexible organism – will be a critical success factor for bricks-and-mortar retail,” states the adesso Retail Board. “This is the only way in which retailers can offer both automated convenience services and emotionally engaging shopping experiences in equal measure.”

The full position paper Next Retail Store is now available to download.

Further information:

• The data-driven customer-centricity approach by adesso