Retailers, significantly post-COVID, are working in a world the place the traces between bodily and digital commerce have completely blurred. Shoppers now not see channels; they see comfort.
This evolution of the retail buyer expertise was the dominant theme at NRF 2025, the place Salesforce unveiled a point-of-sale (POS) working system constructed on generative synthetic intelligence (GenAI).
“We’re not right here to enhance the established order — we’re right here to exchange it,” Nitin Mangtani, SVP and GM, retail, Salesforce, advised PYMNTS Karen Webster. “Retailers want know-how that doesn’t simply energy transactions however transforms the whole procuring expertise from discovery to checkout. That’s what this GenAI-powered POS is constructed to do.”
Companies, Mangtani defined, should respect at this time’s fluid shopper journeys, which intertwine bodily and digital touchpoints. As an example, a shopper may uncover a product by way of a TikTok video, buy it on-line, and change it in-store.
“Unified commerce is not only a buzzword. It’s desk stakes. The patron journey at this time is so intertwined that attributing success to 1 channel is almost unimaginable,” he added, stressing the significance of GenAI powered and cloud-based POS techniques to assist with on-line and offline procuring.
Nonetheless, for retailers, the problem lies not solely in adopting at this time’s cutting-edge applied sciences, like GenAI, but additionally in integrating them in ways in which respect and improve the shopper journey.
Unified Commerce Backed by GenAI
If unified commerce is the spine of contemporary retail, GenAI is its future. Salesforce’s personal current bulletins at NRF — together with Agent Drive for Retail and Retail Cloud with Trendy POS — underscore the corporate’s dedication to leveraging AI to reimagine the procuring expertise.
GenAI presents a singular benefit on this unified commerce narrative. Salesforce’s new POS system doesn’t simply deal with transactions — it acts as a completely built-in, clever agent able to personalizing each touchpoint. Whether or not it’s recommending merchandise, processing returns, or adjusting orders in actual time, this method is designed to take away friction at each stage of the shopper journey.
“Think about asking your agent for a jacket, and it offers six choices that match your tastes. You may refine your request additional, like specifying leather-based jackets, and it’ll alter immediately,” defined Mangtani of the Agent Drive resolution.
The second space of focus for Agent Drive is post-purchase interactions, resembling monitoring orders, correcting delivery particulars, or switching supply strategies. These interactions are powered by strong knowledge techniques, guaranteeing accuracy.
“In enterprise, a ‘perhaps’ reply doesn’t work,” Mangtani emphasised.
Past these capabilities, Salesforce’s imaginative and prescient consists of enabling companies to construct AI brokers with minimal technical overhead. “You don’t want to put in writing a whole bunch of hundreds of traces of code to deploy these brokers,” Mangtani defined. This low barrier to entry is crucial, particularly when time-to-market is a decisive issue.
In response to Mangtani, “Shoppers have shifted dramatically to agent-driven interactions. For a lot of, together with myself, the first interface is now not search; it’s an agent. GenAI represents a superset of all earlier applied sciences — it’s the long run, and we’ve constructed a platform that aligns with that imaginative and prescient.”
Rethinking Retailer Expertise
For many years, the bodily retailer expertise has remained largely static, with checkout being the ultimate, typically cumbersome step. Mangtani sees this as a possibility for disruption. “Why ought to checkout be a 20-minute ordeal?” he requested, highlighting the frustration customers really feel after deciding to make a purchase order.
Drawing inspiration from Apple, the place associates can full transactions anyplace within the retailer, Mangtani emphasised the significance of mobility in POS options.
“POS is now not a cash-and-carry gadget,” he confused.
As a substitute, it has advanced right into a software for delivering a unified buyer expertise, bridging on-line and in-store interactions. The shift towards smaller, brand-owned shops additional amplifies the necessity for versatile POS techniques that combine digital catalogs.
“Even for those who don’t have the product in inventory, exhibiting it on an iPad and finishing the transaction ensures you don’t lose the sale,” he added.
Regardless of the attract of cutting-edge applied sciences, retailers stay targeted on ROI. Mangtani noticed that trendy CIOs are savvy, fiscally disciplined, and ROI-driven. This mindset has fostered a more healthy ecosystem, the place investments in know-how are made strategically.
Learn extra: Salesforce to Launch AI Brokers and Cloud-Based mostly POS for Retailers
“Whether or not it’s Saks Fifth Avenue or different clients, we’re seeing actual ROI by way of diminished wait occasions, higher customer support, and better gross sales conversion charges,” Mangtani mentioned of shops which have embraced AI-powered unified commerce options.
“Throughout peak procuring seasons, service typically deteriorates attributable to inadequate staffing,” he added. “With AI, you’ll be able to triage service calls, scale back wait occasions, and enhance the general buyer expertise.”
Regardless of the crowded nature of the POS market, Salesforce’s strategy feels much less like a aggressive entry and extra like the introduction of a completely new class. With a broad definition of retail that features every thing from luxurious trend to residence furnishings, the corporate is betting large on a market that’s seen little innovation in many years.
“Take into consideration funds 12 years in the past,” Mangtani mentioned. “No person thought there was room for brand new gamers, however Stripe and Adyen proved in any other case. The POS market is similar — it’s ripe for disruption.”
