Best AI for Retail Business

AI in retail, job by job

Retail AI is sold by platform, but it is easier to choose by job. Six jobs cover most of the back office of an independent or mid-sized retailer.

By The editors · Updated · 3 min read

A store manager counts ceramics and linen on wooden shelves with a clipboard before opening while a colleague folds textiles at the counter.
The stock count is where most retail AI projects should start, and where most are measured.
Contents
  1. Why retailers are cautious
  2. Six jobs and the tools that fit
  3. Stock and reordering
  4. Supplier work
  5. Customer questions
  6. How to choose
  7. Questions buyers ask
  8. Sources

An independent retailer's back office is a set of small jobs that never stop: counting, reordering, chasing suppliers, answering customers. AI tools now exist for each, but they come from different kinds of vendor and stop at different boundaries.

Why retailers are cautious

Around 14% of US retail trade firms used AI in spring 2026, below the 19.8% average across all businesses⁠1. Retailers have reason to be careful: a wrong reorder ties up cash, and a wrong answer to a customer costs a sale. The safest way in is one job at a time, with the tool chosen for that job.

Six jobs and the tools that fit

JobWhat AI doesTools, as published
Stock and reorderingForecasts demand and drafts or recommends ordersLightspeed Insights⁠2; Inventory Planner⁠3; OpenLazarus inventory manager⁠4
Supplier documentsTurns invoices and order confirmations into purchase ordersLightspeed AI Doc Import⁠2
Supplier follow-upTracks POs and delivery dates, writes to suppliersOpenLazarus, from its own inbox⁠4
Customer questionsAnswers order, tracking and returns questionsGorgias AI Agent⁠5; Klaviyo Customer Agent⁠6; OpenLazarus customer care⁠7
MarketingPlans and writes campaignsKlaviyo Composer⁠6; Sidekick campaign requests⁠8
Questions about the businessPlain-language answers on sales dataSquare AI⁠9; Sidekick⁠8

Stock and reordering

Most POS and commerce platforms now include some forecasting. Lightspeed includes Insights, with forecasting and order recommendations, on every Retail plan⁠2. Inventory Planner forecasts demand SKU by SKU and creates purchase orders across Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce and other channels⁠3. OpenLazarus describes an inventory manager that checks stock every four hours, runs reorder analysis every morning and drafts purchase orders that account for lead times, minimum order quantities and supplier performance, asking before it sends⁠4.

Supplier work

Supplier work is where retail AI is thinnest. Lightspeed's AI Doc Import creates draft purchase orders from supplier documents⁠2. OpenLazarus gives its inventory manager its own email address, so suppliers can confirm orders, update delivery dates or report problems, and it tracks purchase orders and flags delays⁠4. The other tools in this guide did not describe supplier correspondence on the pages we read.

If a tool only raises alerts, someone still has to place the order. Ask whether it drafts the purchase order and who sends it.

Customer questions

Customer-service AI is the most mature category. Gorgias sells an AI agent inside its ecommerce helpdesk, with SMS and voice support, priced per automated interaction⁠510. Klaviyo offers a Customer Agent as an add-on, with ten free resolutions a month⁠6. OpenLazarus's customer-care teammate answers tracking and returns questions by mail, chat and phone in the customer's language, and passes refunds without a return to a person⁠7.

How to choose

  1. List the back-office jobs and the hours each takes in a normal week.
  2. Pick the one that costs most when it is late.
  3. Check what your POS or platform already includes for that job.
  4. If the job crosses systems or lives in the inbox, look at a tool that works across them.
  5. Run it for one reorder cycle and measure one number.

For the ranked list, see our main guide. For the difference between better forecasts and faster operations, see forecasting versus operations.

Questions buyers ask

How is AI used in retail stores?

The most common uses in independent and mid-sized retail are stock forecasting and reorder recommendations, turning supplier documents into purchase orders, answering customer questions about orders and returns, marketing email, and plain-language answers about sales. Large chains also use AI for replenishment, space planning and pricing.

What retail jobs should AI take on first?

The ones that cost money when they are late, such as reorders on fast sellers, supplier follow-up on overdue deliveries and customer questions left open overnight. Each has a simple number to measure before and after.

Does a small retailer need a separate AI tool?

Not always. Check what the POS or commerce platform already includes. Shopify includes Sidekick, Lightspeed includes forecasting and order recommendations, and Square offers Square AI in beta. A separate tool makes sense when the job sits across several systems or in the inbox.

Sources

  1. Large firms with at least 20 employees biggest AI users. US Census Bureau, 26 May 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  2. Lightspeed Retail pricing. Lightspeed. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  3. Inventory Planner pricing. Inventory Planner by Sage. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  4. AI inventory manager. OpenLazarus, 26 Dec 2025. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  5. AI Agent. Gorgias. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  6. Klaviyo pricing. Klaviyo. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  7. AI for e-commerce. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  8. Sidekick. Shopify. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  9. Square AI. Square. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  10. Gorgias pricing. Gorgias. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.

Updated 8 Nov 2026: First published.

Further reading