{"id":3644118,"date":"2026-04-10T15:51:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/?p=3644118"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:51:16","slug":"ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Walk into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/\">Guitar Center<\/a> on a busy Saturday, and the sales floor tells the story. Associates are stretched thin, and customers face a choice: wait for help, or scan a QR code and get instant answers.<\/p><div\r\n\tid=\"article-paywall-overlay\"\r\n\tclass=\"d-none\"\r\n>\r\n\t<div id=\"article-paywall-content\" class=\"my-4\">\r\n\t\t\n<div class=\"wpcf7 no-js\" id=\"wpcf7-f2699550-o1\" lang=\"en-US\" dir=\"ltr\" data-wpcf7-id=\"2699550\">\n<div class=\"screen-reader-response\"><p role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\"><\/p> <ul><\/ul><\/div>\n<form action=\"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644118#wpcf7-f2699550-o1\" method=\"post\" class=\"wpcf7-form init pymnts-article-paywall-form\" aria-label=\"Contact form\" novalidate=\"novalidate\" data-status=\"init\">\n<fieldset class=\"hidden-fields-container\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7\" value=\"2699550\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_version\" value=\"6.1.5\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_locale\" value=\"en_US\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_unit_tag\" value=\"wpcf7-f2699550-o1\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_container_post\" value=\"0\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_posted_data_hash\" value=\"\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_recaptcha_response\" value=\"\" \/>\n<\/fieldset>\n<div class=\"free-articles-prompt-intro\">\n\t<h2 class=\"mb-2\">Get the Full Story\n\t<\/h2>\n\t<p class=\"mb-4\">Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content \u2014 no additional logins required.\n\t<\/p>\n\t<div id='registrationContainer' class='container px-0'>\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"firstName\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary\" id=\"firstName\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"First Name*\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"firstName\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"lastName\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary\" id=\"lastName\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Last Name*\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"lastName\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"YourTitle\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary\" id=\"inputTitle\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Title*\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"YourTitle\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"YourCompany\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary\" id=\"inputCompany\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Company*\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"YourCompany\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"YourEmail\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-email wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-email form-control border-secondary\" id=\"inputEmail\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Email*\" value=\"\" type=\"email\" name=\"YourEmail\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"YourCountry\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary\" id=\"inputCountry\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Country*\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"YourCountry\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-hidden\" id=\"inputEmailHidden\" value=\"\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"yourName\" \/>\n\t\t\t<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-hidden\" value=\"\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"email\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"newsLetterChoice\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox me-1\" id=\"checkNewsletter\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item first last\"><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"newsLetterChoice[]\" value=\"yes\" checked=\"checked\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">yes<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"small\">Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"small lh-base\" style=\"font-size:.9rem;\">By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https:\/\/pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https:\/\/pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net\/terms-conditions\/\">Terms and Conditions<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p><input id='hiddenPath' type='hidden' name='path' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='userDeviceId' id='userDeviceId' \/><input type='hidden' name='pageTitle' id='pageTitle' \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id='formButtonRow' class='container mt-1 px-0'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner btn btn-dark text-uppercase py-2 px-5 small\" id=\"theSubmitButton\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"post_id\" value=\"3644118\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"source\" value=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/\" \/><p style=\"display: none !important;\" class=\"akismet-fields-container\" data-prefix=\"_wpcf7_ak_\"><label>&#916;<textarea name=\"_wpcf7_ak_hp_textarea\" cols=\"45\" rows=\"8\" maxlength=\"100\"><\/textarea><\/label><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ak_js_1\" name=\"_wpcf7_ak_js\" value=\"86\"\/><script>document.getElementById( \"ak_js_1\" ).setAttribute( \"value\", ( new Date() ).getTime() );<\/script><\/p><div class=\"wpcf7-response-output\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"article-paywall-hidden-content\">\r\n\t\n<p>That\u2019s where artificial intelligence (AI) is stepping in. Tools like Guitar Center\u2019s Rig Advisor, an AI-powered shopping assistant, are designed to replicate what a human associate can do, delivering product guidance on demand. And it\u2019s not just one retailer or one category. Across the industry, AI is moving directly into the shopping experience, reshaping how customers browse, decide and buy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is basically everything an associate can do, on your app or on your mobile device,\u201d Guitar Center CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gabrieldalporto\/\">Gabe Dalporto<\/a> told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernretail.co\/technology\/retailers-are-bringing-ai-into-stores-in-more-ways\/\">Modern Retail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>From Fitting Rooms to the Aisle<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitaminshoppe.com\/\">Vitamin Shoppe<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vitaminshoppe.com\/2026-01-27-The-Vitamin-Shoppe-R-Opens-New-Innovation-Store-on-New-York-City%E2%80%99s-Upper-East-Side\/\">opened<\/a> an innovation store on New York City\u2019s Upper East Side in February, it introduced a \u201cShoppe Advisor\u201d touch screen that delivers product information, wellness content and inventory data.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.craveretail.com\/\">Crave Retail<\/a> put smart fitting room screens inside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.victoriassecret.com\/us\/\">Victoria\u2019s Secret<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.underarmour.com\/en-us\/\">Under Armour<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footlocker.com\/\">Foot Locker<\/a> locations, where customers can request different sizes, get styling suggestions or browse product information without flagging down an associate.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nike.com\/\">Nike<\/a>\u2019s House of Innovation flagship stores use RFID technology to identify customers as they enter and pull recommendations from their Nike profile\u2014such as color preferences, favorite sports or foot measurements\u2014before they\u2019ve reached a single shelf.<\/p><div id=\"pymnt-1068445181\" class=\"pymnt-content pymnt-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 50px;\"><p style=\"text-align:center\">Advertisement: Scroll to Continue<\/p><script async type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"dianomi_context_script\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dianomi.com\/js\/contextfeed.js\"><\/script> \r\n<div class=\"dianomi_context\" data-dianomi-context-id=\"4329\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walmart.com\/\">Walmart<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate.walmart.com\/news\/2025\/10\/31\/walmart-announces-new-holiday-shopping-experiences\">added<\/a> AI-generated audio summaries to product pages on its app for more than 1,000 beauty items. Shoppers using AI-powered tools spent 25% more on average, the retailer said in a release.<\/p>\n<p>The common thread is personalization at the moment of decision.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Invisible Layer<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While customer-facing tools get the attention, deeper investments are often out of sight.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.starbucks.com\/\">Starbucks<\/a> has run its Deep Brew AI platform since 2019. The system drives labor scheduling, inventory levels and cold brew prep timing in the app, all adjusted to local demand and time of day. Deep Brew connects to point-of-sale systems so baristas can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/loyalty-and-rewards-news\/2024\/starbucks-uses-artificial-intelligence-powered-personalized-rewards-boost-frequency-check-size\/\">anticipate a customer\u2019s order<\/a> before it\u2019s placed. The platform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theaireport.ai\/articles\/how-starbucks-uses-ai-to-make-a-30-roi\">serves<\/a> 17 million app users and handles about a quarter of all Starbucks transactions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/melissa-minkow\/\">Melissa Minkow<\/a>, global director of retail strategy and insights at <a href=\"https:\/\/ciandt.com\/us\/en-us\">CI&amp;T<\/a>, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernretail.co\/technology\/retailers-are-bringing-ai-into-stores-in-more-ways\/\">Modern Retail<\/a> that most in-store AI still operates out of view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAI has been used for two decades at this point in retail,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s used in a lot of processes, but it\u2019s not a very front-facing tool. It\u2019s a support tool to achieve something front-facing.\u201d For instance, the RFID scanners at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uniqlo.com\/us\/en\/\">Uniqlo<\/a> self-checkout areas may use AI on the back end to process scan data and flag replenishment needs. Customers never see it.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Consumer Appetite and Open Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Business consulting firm Capgemini <a href=\"https:\/\/www.capgemini.com\/news\/press-releases\/71-of-consumers-want-generative-ai-integrated-into-their-shopping-experiences\/\">found<\/a> that 71% of consumers want generative AI integrated into their shopping experiences. Gen Z and millennial shoppers reported the strongest interest. As PYMNTS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/artificial-intelligence-2\/2026\/why-ai-shopping-is-still-just-a-smarter-search-bar\/\">reported<\/a>, 33% of consumers who have used AI for shopping discovery say it has replaced their previous methods, signaling a measurable shift away from traditional search and browsing toward conversational interfaces.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/greg-carlucci-88993360\/\">Greg Carlucci<\/a>, a senior director analyst at Gartner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernretail.co\/technology\/retailers-are-bringing-ai-into-stores-in-more-ways\/\">told<\/a> Modern Retail that hesitation persists on the retailer side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrands are still trying to figure out what consumers want, because it is such a new technology,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s this first-mover hesitation right now to understand what will be positively received and also what creates a value add.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Minkow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernretail.co\/technology\/retailers-are-bringing-ai-into-stores-in-more-ways\/\">pointed<\/a> to AI color-matching in beauty as a case where the technology hasn\u2019t yet caught up to the human associate. \u201cThis technology is iterative, and it needs as many entries as possible to aggregate and then get smarter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>AI is becoming a permanent layer in physical retail, much like it already is online. Stores are no longer purely physical environments. They are hybrid spaces where digital intelligence shapes how customers browse, decide and buy.<\/p>\n<p><em>For all PYMNTS AI and digital transformation coverage, subscribe to the daily\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/pymnts.com\/subscribe\/\"><em>AI and Digital Transformation Newsletters<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>\r\n\twindow.pymntsAllowedArticleCount = 2;\r\n\twindow.pymntsPostID = 3644118;\r\n<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Walk into a Guitar Center on a busy Saturday, and the sales floor tells the story. Associates are stretched thin, and customers face a choice: wait for help, or scan a QR code and get instant answers. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3644367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4089],"tags":[9498,19817,9206,133069,9621],"class_list":["post-3644118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail","tag-ai","tag-digital-transformation","tag-news","tag-pymnts-news","tag-retail"],"acf":{"suggested_titles":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As store staffing thins, retailers are putting AI in front of customers to answer questions, recommend products and close the sale.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail | PYMNTS.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walk into a Guitar Center on a busy Saturday, and the sales floor tells the story. Associates are stretched thin, and customers face a choice: wait for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PYMNTS.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"PYMNTS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pymnts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pymnts\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"PYMNTS\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9f0152ca483ca33a5d8121739eadfe4b\"},\"headline\":\"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"AI\",\"digital transformation\",\"News\",\"PYMNTS News\",\"Retail\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Retail\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/\",\"name\":\"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"As store staffing thins, retailers are putting AI in front of customers to answer questions, recommend products and close the sale.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"AI, physical retail, shopping assistants\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/news\\\/retail\\\/2026\\\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"PYMNTS.com\",\"description\":\"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PYMNTS\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png\",\"width\":3329,\"height\":687,\"caption\":\"PYMNTS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pymnts\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/pymnts\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9f0152ca483ca33a5d8121739eadfe4b\",\"name\":\"PYMNTS\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"PYMNTS\"},\"description\":\"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pymnts\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/pymnts-com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/pymnts\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/author\\\/pymnts\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail","description":"As store staffing thins, retailers are putting AI in front of customers to answer questions, recommend products and close the sale.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail | PYMNTS.com","og_description":"Walk into a Guitar Center on a busy Saturday, and the sales floor tells the story. Associates are stretched thin, and customers face a choice: wait for","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","og_site_name":"PYMNTS.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts","article_published_time":"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"PYMNTS","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@pymnts","twitter_site":"@pymnts","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/"},"author":{"name":"PYMNTS","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0152ca483ca33a5d8121739eadfe4b"},"headline":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail","datePublished":"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/"},"wordCount":676,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","keywords":["AI","digital transformation","News","PYMNTS News","Retail"],"articleSection":["Retail"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","name":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-04-10T19:51:16+00:00","description":"As store staffing thins, retailers are putting AI in front of customers to answer questions, recommend products and close the sale.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","width":1200,"height":720,"caption":"AI, physical retail, shopping assistants"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AI Is the New Sales Associate in Physical Retail"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/","name":"PYMNTS.com","description":"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization","name":"PYMNTS","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png","width":3329,"height":687,"caption":"PYMNTS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/","https:\/\/x.com\/pymnts"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0152ca483ca33a5d8121739eadfe4b","name":"PYMNTS","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/679fcf5c2ed5358e99e8e23b22e3b5d761e37bdb76fa7b0e13d8ecd9ff01bf88?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"PYMNTS"},"description":"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/pymnts-com","https:\/\/x.com\/pymnts"],"url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/author\/pymnts\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/pymnts.com\/news\/retail\/2026\/ai-is-the-new-sales-associate-in-physical-retail\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/pymnts.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-physical-retail-shopping-assistants.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3644118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3644372,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644118\/revisions\/3644372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3644367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3644118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3644118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3644118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}