How AI can deliver better value in North American retail
Ryan Berrecloth, Partner at Kestria Canada & USA, highlights that household budgets across Canada and the United States remain under pressure, while retailers must deliver affordability and convenience amid trade uncertainty and changing costs. U.S. consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to August 2026, while the Bank of Canada’s second-quarter consumer survey reported weaker spending intentions. Trade measures and supply-chain uncertainty further complicate sourcing and pricing. AI can help reduce avoidable costs, but customer benefits depend on how leaders use those savings.
Better forecasting, inventory placement and replenishment can reduce waste, excess stock and markdowns while improving availability. Amazon reports a 20% improvement in regional forecasts for millions of popular items through its AI model, used in U.S. and Canadian operations. Canadian Tire’s MOSaiC platform combines sales and loyalty data with weather, seasonality and local events to coordinate inventory, assortments, promotions and services.
These efficiencies do not automatically translate into lower prices. Leaders must validate gains against implementation costs and decide how to balance affordability, service and reinvestment.
AI is also changing product discovery. Amazon’s U.S. assistant, Alexa for Shopping, formerly Rufus, supports product comparisons, price-history checks and price alerts. In Canada, Loblaw’s PC Express app in ChatGPT connects meal planning and product discovery with local grocery stores. Both depend on reliable information and fulfilment to deliver customer value.
Retail leaders need commercial judgement, operational depth and data literacy to challenge AI recommendations and support adoption. Success should be measured through availability, waste, cost per fulfilled order and customer retention. Trust matters equally: Walmart has committed not to use customers’ income, shopping history or urgency to set personalised prices. The leadership challenge is to turn AI investment into dependable service and recognisable value.
Value-conscious consumers are reshaping retail strategy in Romania
Sustained cost-of-living pressure is reshaping Romanian retail. Razvan Eliad, Managing Partner at Kestria Romania, explains how consumers are becoming more deliberate about where they shop, which brands they choose and what merits a premium. This shift is making value a strategic priority beyond pricing.
PwC’s Voice of the Consumer survey found that 62.6% of Romanian respondents can cover monthly bills but have little or nothing left for savings or leisure. Only 28.7% feel financially secure, compared with 46% globally and 27% across Central and Eastern Europe. Price is the leading purchasing consideration for 59%, followed by taste and promotions.
Yet consumers are selective rather than simply seeking the lowest prices. More than half would pay more for locally produced food, and over a third expect to spend more on fresh categories. Loyalty programmes influence the choice of grocery retailer for 88% of respondents, particularly through cashback and future discounts. Meanwhile, YouGov reports that discounters accounted for 28.8% of Romanian at-home FMCG sales in 2025.
Retailers are responding with visible affordability measures. In 2026, Kaufland Romania launched and extended its “Tăiem inflația” (“Cutting Inflation”) campaign, cutting prices on more than 500 everyday products by 15–40%.
Private label is also expanding beyond entry-price alternatives, although its 20% market penetration remains below the European average of around 37%. However, heavy promotion by national brands means private labels cannot rely on price alone.
For retail leaders, competing effectively requires stronger price and promotion analytics, differentiated private-label portfolios, personalised loyalty offers and efficient sourcing and supply chains. Understanding where customers will pay for quality, freshness or local provenance is equally important. In Romania and other markets with constrained purchasing power, success depends on delivering—and credibly communicating—value for money, rather than simply offering the lowest prices.
Omnichannel retail and the one-customer reality in Switzerland
As Thomas Muhmenthaler, Managing Partner at Kestria Switzerland, explains, omnichannel expectations in Switzerland are evolving. Customers expect both a physical and a digital presence; the challenge is delivering one consistent brand experience with minimal friction across every touchpoint.
Swiss consumers purchased CHF 15.8 billion worth of goods online in 2025, an increase of 6% compared with the previous year. E-commerce accounted for 12.5% of total Swiss retail sales and 19.7% of non-food sales. While the overall retail market grew by around 1%, online sales expanded significantly faster and continued to gain share.
Physical stores remain important, but channel boundaries are becoming less relevant. Carpathia’s analysis of leading Swiss online retailers shows how Click & Collect and in-store payment options connect online shopping with physical locations.
This is the ‘one customer reality’: someone browsing on a smartphone, visiting a store and later purchasing online experiences one relationship with one company. Migros Zurich, one of Switzerland’s largest regional retail cooperatives, reflected this approach when it created a new ‘Customer Division’ in June 2026. By bringing customer-facing functions together under executive management, it made customer-centricity a shared management responsibility beyond individual channels.
Many retailers still organise stores, e-commerce, marketing, CRM, supply chain and IT around separate priorities, systems and KPIs. Leaders must bridge these divisions, take commercial ownership across channels and connect data and technology with customer understanding through shared objectives.
Omnichannel is therefore increasingly a question of organisation, leadership and decision-making. The key question moves from 'How well do our online shop and stores perform individually?' to 'How well does the customer experience us as one company?'
What changing retail trends mean for leadership in Italy
Giorgio Veronelli, Managing Partner at Kestria Italy, describes a retail sector being transformed by changing consumer behaviour, technological advances and increasingly hybrid commercial models. Leaders must adapt to maintain competitiveness, resilience and innovation.
Across grocery, gaming, fashion and convenience, leaders face three shared challenges: managing omnichannel complexity, addressing skills gaps as traditional roles become more digital, and navigating inflation, regulatory changes and new competitors. These pressures require faster decisions, integrated data and continuous upskilling.
Many Italian companies still struggle to align technology with commercial strategy and customer experience. Leaders must connect applications such as generative AI for merchandising and loyalty systems informed by customer behaviour with pricing, assortment, private labels and retail media. Integrating these elements with seamless, personalised customer journeys can strengthen margins, loyalty and differentiation.
Future retail leaders will need data fluency to turn insights into operational decisions, an understanding of AI and automation, and the ability to lead change. Collaboration across store operations, digital, marketing and supply chain must be supported by a clear focus on customer needs.
Italian retail is expected to become more digital, integrated and polarised. Convenience formats will benefit from proximity and micro-fulfilment, while grocery moves towards data-driven models and premium private labels. Gaming and payment services will require leaders who combine technology, security, customer operations and product innovation.
The ability to bring technology, people and strategy together will determine which leaders can turn these changes into lasting business value.