What does this research mean for the field?

Artificial intelligence in physical retail enhances customer engagement and optimizes backend operations, but its widespread adoption is constrained by limited emotional intelligence, ethical concerns regarding data privacy, and integration challenges. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To systematically synthesize prior research on artificial intelligence applications in physical retail and establish a unified conceptual framework across the customer journey and operational workflows.

September 5, 2026The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research

AI applications in physical retail: technologies, consumer interaction, and operational impact

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To systematically synthesize prior research on artificial intelligence applications in physical retail and establish a unified conceptual framework across the customer journey and operational workflows.
Conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) synthesizing 50 peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical studies on physical retail environments.
Classified AI applications across three dimensions: core technologies, retail application areas, and resulting impacts spanning pre-engagement, in-store experience, and post-purchase stages.
AI adoption significantly improved front-end customer engagement through personalized recommendations and interactive service assistants, alongside backend efficiency gains in dynamic pricing, inventory management, and automated checkout.
Three critical operational barriers were identified across the literature: insufficient emotional intelligence during customer service interactions, ethical risks regarding data privacy and algorithmic transparency, and technical scalability bottlenecks in physical store footprints.

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Implication

Systematic review reveals that artificial intelligence improves customer engagement and backend operations in physical retail, highlighting persistent ethical, emotional, and scalability challenges.

Cite This Study

Christoph Schierbaum (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4126b95aff0620eb77f https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2026.2726782

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Implication

Systematic review reveals that artificial intelligence improves customer engagement and backend operations in physical retail, highlighting persistent ethical, emotional, and scalability challenges.

AI applications in physical retail: technologies, consumer interaction, and operational impact

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

AI applications in physical retail: technologies, consumer interaction, and operational impact

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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