At this year’s Retail Retreat, hosted by Retail Excellence Ireland at the beautiful Lyrath Estate in May this year, attendees gathered to hear a candid conversation between two leaders: Anthony Gallagher, founder of Petstop, and John Clancy, CEO of Galvia. Their discussion offered a clear-eyed look at the real-world impact of AI in retail — not as hype, but as a practical, revenue-driving tool.
From Gut Feel to Data-Driven Retail
Petstop’s origin story is rooted in passion — founded on a love for animals, the business has grown over 30 years to 14 stores and an online presence. But as Anthony shared, while they were rich in customer data, they were poor in access and insight. “Trying to make sense of it was impossible,” he said. Petstop’s systems held thousands of customer data points — but they were disconnected and hard to use.
With Galvia’s support, Petstop began turning their disconnected data into transformative insights. They gained clearer segmentation, a genuine 360° view of their customers, and the ability to re-engage lapsed shoppers — all of which helped increase loyalty and spend. As Anthony explained, this shift wasn’t about adding more dashboards; it was about surfacing the right prompts and predictions to support bold, confident decisions.
And let’s not forget – Petstop truly love pets. They pride themselves on delivering a standout in-store experience. They know their customers (and their dogs!) and go the extra mile with touches like puppuccinos and slush puppies. Our platform helps build on that foundation, ensuring that every decision they make is backed by insight, so they can keep delighting customers, two- and four-legged alike!
Making the Complex Simple with AI
Galvia Retail is an AI-powered decision intelligence platform that brings your data together, turning it into forecasts, insights, and real-time prompts for action. It helps your teams — from head office to store level — focus on the decisions that drive margin, revenue, and growth. You gain one clear view of the business. You gain the confidence to act fast, backed by intelligence.
John Clancy described the power of machine learning models that draw on a company’s unique data landscape: “We take all your data — across 10, 20, even 100 systems — and give you a one-view intelligence dashboard.”
For Petstop, this meant transforming scattered data into actionable insights. One of the most striking outcomes? A reactivation campaign that sparked the best week of online sales since Black Friday — driven purely by data segmentation and targeted outreach, with zero paid ads.
Real Results: Petstop’s AI Transformation
At the start of the year, Petstop made a bold decision — they paused all Google Ad spend, which had been costing €7,000 per week and bringing in roughly 550 new customers. As expected, the number of new weekly customers dropped to 300, and revenue dipped by 2.5%.
But instead of reverting to paid ads, Anthony and the team took a different path. With support from Galvia, they tapped into a long-overlooked asset: 140,000 customer emails collected over 30 years. Using Galvia’s segmentation tools, they split the list into key cohorts and launched a reactivation campaign to lapsed customers.
The campaign was refreshingly simple — a no-frills 30-year anniversary email. No discounts, no urgency, just a well-told story. And it worked. Engagement from that single cohort alone recovered the entire 2.5% revenue loss.
When asked why he leaned into machine learning, Anthony said it wasn’t about chasing short-term gains. It was a strategic long-term move to unlock the value of their data — and he’s already seeing the payoff. That single email campaign has covered the cost of Galvia’s work, and he expects a tenfold return on investment over time:
Anthony’s Highlight Results of Petstop’s AI Implementation
- Email reactivation campaign: 80,000+ lapsed customers re-engaged
- Sales uplift: Recovered 2.5% revenue dip with zero paid ads
- Reduced marketing spend: €7,000/week in ads paused, with minimal impact
- Customer segmentation: RFM analysis enabled high-impact, low-cost engagement
Empowering Teams, Not Replacing Them
For Anthony, AI is not about replacing human intuition — it’s about enabling people to make smarter decisions. “We’re freeing up our team from spreadsheets so they can think strategically,” he explained. Whether it’s store managers tracking performance or online teams planning offers, AI is giving them the time and information to act.
Advice for Retailers Starting With AI
Anthony’s message was simple: “Don’t wait. Just do it.” His advice to other retailers navigating flatlining sales and rising costs? Lean into your data now — the earlier you start, the greater your long-term advantage.
Looking Ahead
This is just the beginning. With predictive sales and inventory forecasting, deeper customer analytics, and store-level intelligence in the pipeline, Petstop’s AI journey with Galvia is set to drive even more growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Want to see what AI can do for your retail business?
Contact us to learn more about Galvia AI Retail Solutions
