{"id":1077440,"date":"2025-09-29T12:04:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/?p=1077440"},"modified":"2025-09-29T12:53:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:53:46","slug":"fa2-future-of-retail-transforming-the-employee-experience-with-ai-and-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/transform-nl-nl\/retail-nl-nl\/fa2-future-of-retail-transforming-the-employee-experience-with-ai-and-the-cloud\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of retail: transforming the employee experience with AI and the cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s\u00a0been a whirlwind five years for the retail sector. From the destabilizing impact of the pandemic to the rise and diversification of customer expectations, omnichannel services and employee experience, the industry has been navigating truly unprecedented times.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is particularly the case in the workforce sphere. With hybrid and flexible options now a normality for most workplaces, employees across the sector are increasingly asking for more in-person support and digital empowerment \u2013 especially among younger generations. A\u00a0<\/span>2023 Microsoft survey<\/span><\/a>\u00a0recently found 68% of employees\u00a0are currently\u00a0struggling with the pace and volume of work, with 46% of them reporting feeling burned out.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0where key technology like AI can make\u00a0a huge difference\u00a0\u2013 and many players in the sector are already taking note.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The case for a gen AI-empowered workforce\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A recent McKinsey report revealed generative AI could unlock between $240bn and $390bn in value for retailers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, our recent whitepaper \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Your Intelligent Data Strategy for AI\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 found that “organizations with AI-ready data and analytics foundations see a\u202f20% improvement in AI-related business outcomes\u202fcompared to\u00a0organizations\u00a0that don’t”.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This makes generative AI a strategic imperative for retail leaders looking to stay competitive and relevant \u2013 offering unprecedented capabilities for creating engaging content, automating customer support, and even\u00a0assisting\u00a0with product development.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the 2023 Microsoft survey, 86% of knowledge workers\u00a0indicate\u00a0that \u201cfinding information and answers\u201d is their top use case for AI in the enterprise. Meanwhile, a Microsoft and LinkedIn study from 2024 found 75% of global knowledge workers are using AI at work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gen AI in action: Albert Heijn\u2019s story<\/h2>\n

While still relatively new, this outstanding technology is already gaining huge traction across retailers in the Netherlands and beyond.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading Dutch food retailer Albert Heijn is a prime example. One of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn has a young and tech savvy workforce which the company is committed to\u00a0retaining\u00a0by using\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0technology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using\u00a0<\/span>Azure OpenAI<\/span><\/a>, they have developed a conversational assistant within their @AH Employee App for store employees which answers questions related to their tasks or customer requests.\u00a0The assistant\u00a0is able to\u00a0answer\u00a0a whole range\u00a0of questions from what needs to be restocked on shelves to where a product can be found in store.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This AI-driven approach allows them to deliver highly personalized interactions and automate complex tasks, driving both customer satisfaction and significant operational efficiency. All while showcasing how advanced AI capabilities, seamlessly integrated within the Azure cloud ecosystem, can empower retailers to create new value and accelerate innovation in a dynamic retail market.\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

Find out more <\/span>about how<\/span> Albert Heijn is <\/span>us<\/span>ing <\/span>Azure OpenAI to innovate customer experience and boost efficiency.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Read the full story.<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s\u00a0been a whirlwind five years for the retail sector. From the destabilizing impact of the pandemic to the rise and diversification of customer expectations, omnichannel services and employee experience, the industry has been navigating truly unprecedented times.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is particularly the case in the workforce sphere. With hybrid and flexible options now a normality for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":935,"featured_media":1078099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[588,590],"class_list":["post-1077440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-nl-nl","category-digital-transformation-nl-nl","specials-transform-nl-nl","verticalIndustries-retail-nl-nl","stories-hoe-richt-ik-mijn-bedrijf-in-om-innovatief-te-ondernemen-innoveren-in-je-business","stories-innovation-nl-nl","businessPriorities-data-ai-nl-nl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/935"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1077440"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1079034,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077440\/revisions\/1079034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1078099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1077440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/nl-nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1077440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}