AI is no longer a buzzword or future concept — it’s a business-critical tool for modern retailers. With acquisition costs rising and margins shrinking, retailers are under pressure to work smarter, not just harder.
Those still hesitant to adopt AI for retail risk falling behind.
This was the central message in Galvia’s recent webinar, Making AI Work for Retail, where Declan Gallagher, Head of Innovation at Petstop, and Jean McCabe, CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland, shared their experiences and insights. The takeaway was clear: standing still in this fast-moving landscape carries more risk than getting started.
“If we don’t buy a ticket in this arena, we’re going to be left behind.” – Declan Gallagher, Head of Innovation, Petstop
The Hidden Cost of Inaction
The cost of not using AI in retail doesn’t always appear on a balance sheet, but it’s felt through inefficiencies, missed insights, and outdated decision-making. From siloed systems and disjointed reporting to gut-led decisions and untracked trends, inaction leads to operational drag.
As Declan Gallagher put it, when he started his AI journey with Petstop, the business was rich in data but poor in clarity: “We had data everywhere… Excel spreadsheets here, documents over there… And therefore, let’s try and get all together so that collectively we’re making data-driven decisions as opposed to emotional decisions.”
AI in Action: The Petstop Story
Petstop didn’t adopt AI for the sake of it. In fact, they initially approached Galvia to help solve a specific business issue: inventory management. But once the project began, they realised that their bigger problem was a lack of unified data visibility.
“We thought we were going to be solving for an inventory problem… but we weren’t. We were solving for a visualisation of getting all the data in the one place.” — Declan Gallagher
That shift in focus opened the door to predictive sales forecasting, customer cohort analysis, and basket insights; capabilities that drove real, measurable business outcomes. Petstop made the bold move of pausing its paid ad spend and instead focused on engaging existing customers more intelligently. “That was our best online sales outside of the Christmas period in our fiscal year.”
Petstop used the Galvia platform to run an RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary value) model on over 200,000 customers. This allowed them to identify key segments — including loyal, promising, and hibernating customers — and tailored email campaigns to each group.
AI in Action: The Petstop Story
Petstop didn’t adopt AI for the sake of it. In fact, they initially approached Galvia to help solve a specific business issue: inventory management. But once the project began, they realised that their bigger problem was a lack of unified data visibility.
“We thought we were going to be solving for an inventory problem… but we weren’t. We were solving for a visualisation of getting all the data in the one place.” — Declan Gallagher
That shift in focus opened the door to predictive sales forecasting, customer cohort analysis, and basket insights; capabilities that drove real, measurable business outcomes. Petstop made the bold move of pausing its paid ad spend and instead focused on engaging existing customers more intelligently. “That was our best online sales outside of the Christmas period in our fiscal year.”
Petstop used the Galvia platform to run an RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary value) model on over 200,000 customers. This allowed them to identify key segments — including loyal, promising, and hibernating customers — and tailored email campaigns to each group.
What Retailers Are Getting Wrong About AI
There’s still a perception that AI is too technical, too expensive, or only for large enterprises. But as Petstop and Retail Excellence Ireland highlighted, the biggest barrier is often mindset, not resources.
“You don’t need to be a technical whiz to adopt AI… just someone who’s curious, understands the business, and is willing to ask questions.” – Karina Kelly, Galvia
The key is to start with a problem worth solving. Whether that’s understanding customer churn, predicting future demand, or spotting cross-sell opportunities, AI can work quietly in the background to surface insights and prompt smarter decisions.
The Competitive Edge of AI Integration
AI isn’t replacing decision-makers — it’s augmenting them.
Retailers who harness AI get:
- Real-time insights and forecasting
- Unified customer and sales data
- Smart prompts for marketing, promotions, and operations
And, most critically, they gain a competitive edge against businesses still relying on spreadsheets and gut instinct.
“It’s about bringing your in-store data and your online data together… and seeing what’s happening across your business much more clearly.” — Jean McCabe, CEO, Retail Excellence Ireland
How to Get Started
Retailers don’t need to overhaul their IT infrastructure to get started with AI. Instead, Galvia recommends a phased approach:
- Identify a business problem worth solving
- Assess your existing data and its quality
- Start with a narrow project that can show actionable results
That’s how Petstop began. As Declan said: “You’re not going to boil the ocean in a day, but you can now say, I think last year, if you knew you’d reached this point in your journey, you would have been quite happy to look for it.”
Final Thought: The Risk of Waiting
AI is no longer optional. The question is no longer if your business should use it — it’s how soon you can begin. Because if you’re not using AI, your competitors almost certainly are. As Google’s Eduardo Lopez said at the recent REI Retail Retreat, “Your options are: be a business that’s using AI or be competing with one that is.”
Don’t let inertia cost your business. Start small, stay curious, and embrace AI as the new partner in your decision-making process.
Click here to watch the full conversation
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