AI Dominates National Retail Federation Trade Show as Future of Shopping

Several people are gathered around a bleach blond man in a bright pink suit suspended in a clear plastic tube. With a microphone in front of him and a giant sign reading TALK TO ME placed above, 'Mike' waits, hands clasped patiently in front of his body, to take questions from his public.

The responses 'Mike' gives to audience comments and questions are on a three-ish second delay, but the stunted flow of conversation might not matter much — an attendant at the Hypervsn booth tells me that when 'Mike' and his ilk are deployed in retail settings, they're meant to be more of a spectacle than a serious customer service tool.

At the National Retail Federation's annual trade show, AI was promised at every turn of the shopping experience.

The article explores both the potential benefits of AI in retail (personalization, efficiency) and the concerns about job displacement, privacy, and the authenticity of AI-generated interactions.