AI alone isn't enough: store infrastructure decides which retailers scale
A TechRadar Pro opinion piece argues that the real bottleneck for retail AI is not the models but whether store infrastructure can turn predictions into timely, reliable action in physical locations. It cites a Deloitte 2026 survey of 200 retail and consumer products executives in which 75% called AI a top strategic priority while only 16.5% could quantify the return they get from it. The author argues that as electronic shelf labels, sensors and retail IoT devices proliferate, retailers should treat wireless connectivity as an architectural choice, matching workloads to layered networks rather than bolting on a new one for each project.
It is a reminder that in physical retail the ceiling on AI value is set by execution in stores, not by model quality.