Retailers are investing growing amounts of time and money into artificial intelligence, but early insights suggest they could be getting stuck in a risky middle ground between experimentation and scale. Rather than being early adopters or fully scaled users, many retailers fall into what is known as the Integrator stage of AI adoption, where progress often stalls because the right data, internal skills, and governance foundations have not been assessed early on.
The initial findings from an AI readiness assessment developed by digital consultancy Sherwen Studios suggest that, at this stage, retailers typically have AI tools in use and pilot projects underway.
However, they are struggling with the longer-term strategy, data foundations, skills, or governance needed to scale consistently. Because of this, the number of AI pilots is multiplying even as progress stalls, leaving organisations struggling to translate early success indicators into repeatable commercial impact.
Matt Sherwen, Managing Director of Sherwen Studios, says, “We see organisations investing significant time and money into AI pilots, only to struggle when it comes to scaling across the wider business. This isn’t just a retail problem; it’s something businesses across the UK are actively trying to get right as they invest in AI. The key is looking beyond your technology to see if you have any gaps or weaknesses elsewhere that could become barriers to your projects.”
To help retailers overcome these issues, the team at Sherwen Studios developed its AI readiness assessment tool to take a holistic view of the business, not just its technical capabilities.
The tool gives leadership teams a clear picture of where they stand by examining six key areas: leadership and strategy, data readiness, technology and tools, skills and talent, culture and experimentation, and governance and ethics. Through a cohesive scoring system, it groups retailers into distinct profiles that indicate whether they are ready to move away from AI experimentation to sustained value.
The five readiness profiles identified by the AI readiness tool are broken down into:
- Explorer organisations are retail brands that are beginning to explore where AI could add value to their business.
- Tinkerers are those who are actively experimenting with AI, but they don’t have any clear strategy or measurement plans in place.
- Integrators are those brands that have the momentum and desire to innovate with AI, but they are lacking the foundations they need to push forward further, such as governance guardrails and performance metrics.
- Scalers are already embedding AI into their core operations, with governance and measurement in place, but want to make the most of custom models and predictive systems.
- Transformers are widely seen as market leaders because they are successfully using AI as a central part of their operating model and competitive strategy.
Sherwen believe that the Integrator stage marks the point at which AI ambition begins to outpace their organisational readiness. If businesses remain in this stage for too long, it can slow their progress and weaken any return on their investment.
Matt Sherwen says retailers often underestimate the gap between early success and scale. “Retailers at this stage of the AI readiness assessment typically have AI tools in use, pilots underway, and they are keen to get going and see the benefits of AI, but something is holding them back. The purpose of the tool is to help them see where those issues are arising, so they can put the right steps in place to overcome them.”
“AI projects are often seen as a technical exercise, but we believe that there’s far more to think about, from internal digital skills gaps to governance frameworks and senior leadership expectations. If even one of the six key areas that we examine within the AI readiness tool is significantly weaker than the others, then any project will almost certainly suffer from problems later down the line.”
As a diagnostic tool, Sherwen’s AI readiness indicator highlights where retailers face growing risks. As Matt points out, “Every business, not just in the retail sector, is under considerable pressure to demonstrate returns from AI investment. When organisational readiness is misjudged, initiatives can undermine commercial outcomes. The AI readiness tool aims to help leadership teams understand whether their ambition, capability and governance are aligned before they continue their investment.
Ask the Professor!
Elsewhere in the tech sphere, independent developer, Denre Bruins, helped create a ground-breaking project for leading self-watering planter manufacturer, Lechuza, which has a very active ecommerce site and is an early adopter of AI technology via the Lechuza Academy. The project was carried out in partnership with PR agency and consultancy, Hornby George PR, which runs the Lechuza UK account.
Lechuza’s UK consumer sales manager, Artur Ilev, said: “In today’s rapidly evolving technological age, businesses cannot afford to ignore the challenges and opportunities posed by AI. Search engines are already favouring content-rich, educational and value-added websites over pure ecommerce sites, and to stay on top of search engine algorithms, a creative approach is needed.
“Lechuza already has an enviable reputation amongst the specialist houseplant community for its best-in-class self-watering planters and professional quality growing substrates. Our aim with the academy is not only to cultivate our existing community of committed houseplant enthusiasts, but to show the wider world what great results can be achieved with our products”.
Web developer Denre, Bruins, says: “Through the Lechuza Academy we’re not only providing how-to guides, tips, hints and inspiration, but are also able to recommend the best Lechuza products for every relevant query. For me it’s about centralising information and answering user queries as efficiently as possible, whilst also creating quality sales opportunities for our client.”
In the build up to the launch of its Academy, Lechuza has already enlisted a growing community of influencers to help generate content and extend its reach into new consumer demographics. Journalists, influencers and other gardening experts are invited to get in touch to see how they can work with Lechuza on this exciting new concept: denre@halcyonpr.com
