Go faster with AI or go home is the reality for retailers operating in a world where the pace of innovation is set by Amazon and Walmart
The world’s two largest retailers are accelerating AI innovation, increasing efficiency and finding new ways to serve and satisfy shoppers. They are also defying the law of large numbers by growing sales at a rate that exceeds that of many smaller rivals.
AI is making powerful contributions in ways both companies touch on in their communications with shareholders. These details are worth paying attention to since Amazon and Walmart are at the forefront of setting shopper expectations and new standards of operational efficiency.
Consider Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s AI views which were a major focus of his lengthy annual shareholders’ letter. One passage in particular stood out.
“Generative AI is going to reinvent virtually every customer experience we know and enable altogether new ones about which we’ve only fantasized,” Jassy noted. “It’s (AI) moving faster than almost anything technology has ever seen.”
Amazon is doing its part to accelerate change with more than 1,000 GenAI applications being built across the company, Jassy disclosed.
How many GenAI applications is your company building or using?
At Walmart, CEO Doug McMillon noted at an April investor conference that the company has been using machine learning and AI for many years for use cases such as customer personalization and to improve inventory flow. While much of that work was done by traditional, predictive AI, more recently he said generative AI has played a bigger role and now Walmart is in the early stages of putting agentic AI to work. He shared two examples including Sparky, an AI assistant that helps shoppers, and Trend-to-Product, a tool merchants use to bring products to market faster.
“Using tech to get faster at our scale, without compromising on quality, value and our supply chain standards is really exciting,” McMillon told investors.
For retailers and CPGs interested in the future of retail and the role of AI, Jassy’s letter to Amazon shareholders and the remarks of McMillon and his leadership team to investors are required reading. The message in both documents is clear:
- AI is fueling a great retail transformation.
- Speed, personalization, and customer obsession are the defining traits of winners.
- Every aspect of retail — from supply chain to the shelf — is up for reinvention.
- The time for aggressive action with AI is now.
At SymphonyAI, we couldn’t agree more. But we also know that most retailers and CPGs don’t have the AI budgets and technology resources of Amazon or Walmart. That’s why the way forward for most other companies looks very different and involves a connected retail approach.
The future of retail AI is clear; the path to get there isn’t
The playbook for Amazon works because it has a unique flywheel and controls the customer experience end-to-end. Most retailers and CPGs don’t have that luxury. Walmart’s playbook works because it has a unique productivity loop, vast supply chain infrastructure and large stores that serve as mini-fulfillment centers, in close proximity to hundreds of millions of customers.
Most other retailers operate in an alternate universe. They rely on complex, multi-party ecosystems where success depends on collaboration, data unification, shared insights, and fast, profitable shopper-centric decisions. What SymphonyAI brings to this future is a connected retail vision where AI analyzes data and activates it.
Let’s look at the recent comments from Amazon and Walmart and explore a few examples of how SymphonyAI positions companies for success:
- Speed wins — but it’s not just about rapid delivery. For Amazon, faster fulfillment equals higher conversion. For SymphonyAI, faster insight-to-action equals higher margin. AI isn’t just about real-time inventory or same-day shipping. It’s about giving merchandising, planning, and marketing teams the ability to simulate, predict, and respond faster than ever before.
- Personalization will define loyalty. Amazon and Walmart use AI to drive one-to-one recommendations. SymphonyAI drives retailer-CPG collaboration for better shopper outcomes. Retailers and brands both want to know their customers better. The magic happens when they share insights and coordinate action — from personalized offers to optimized assortments.
- AI infrastructure will get cheaper, but outcomes still matter. Amazon has its Trainium2 chips and AWS AI stack while SymphonyAI offers retail-specific, modular AI that delivers measurable ROI. The bottom line is you don’t need to be a technology infrastructure company like Amazon, or to a lesser extent, Walmart, to win with AI. You need solutions that plug into your existing systems, work with your data, and drive revenue and cost savings immediately.
- Customer obsession still wins. Amazon and Walmart ask “why?” relentlessly. SymphonyAI asks, “what now?” even faster. Our view is the best AI doesn’t just surface insights — it guides action and solves real world business challenges that are common among all types of retailers. What product should be promoted next week? Where should inventory shift today? Are my planograms compliant? Are in-stock levels acceptable? How can marketing and pricing align in real time? These core operational functions, when executed at a high level, are where shopper satisfaction is earned, and the retail game is won.
Competing in an Amazon and Walmart world
Whether you operate one store or 5,000, or maybe more, competition with Amazon and Walmart is a challenging reality. These companies set the pace for what’s possible and have clearly embraced a future where they see AI transforming their businesses.
That means AI will transform your business. Our job is to help retailers and CPGs run their own race — faster, smarter, and with AI designed for the real-world complexity of retail.
This next era of retail AI isn’t just for tech giants. It’s for every brand and retailer ready to turn insight into action, collaboration into growth, and complexity into competitive advantage.
