Asda chief claims new GenAI tool is 'the future of data'

Asda has bigged up the implementation of a real-time generative AI platform for data driven decision-making, with the supermarket’s analytics chief claiming “it’s the future of how people are going to interact with data”.

Developed by London-based AI specialist Harley, the platform provides Asda’s leadership with live, actionable insights, enabling executives to make quicker and more informed decisions.

Asda’s vice-president of data and analytics Simon Jury said: “By integrating into Asda’s data ecosystem, the collaboration unlocks new levels of operational agility through rapid data driven decision-making, setting a new standard within the retail industry.”

Harley co-founder and CEO Alex Bankd added: “Harley’s engine offers rapid insights into your data, helping influence the highest-level decisions within an organisation.

“This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to redefining retail excellence, proving that the right data at the right time can be a game-changer in how businesses respond to market dynamics.

“We look forward to working alongside Asda, where I’m confident data driven insights become the cornerstone of competitive advantage in this fast changing sector.”

Meanwhile, Asda has also extended its technology partnership with Retail Insight, a provider of store operations software, with a view to improving on-shelf availability and the in-store experience.

The tie up involves a full store roll-out of Retail Insight’s Inventory Insight solution into Asda’s operates 800 outlets – from supercentres, superstores and supermarkets to Asda Living stores, petrol stations and depots. The supermarket serves 18 million customers every week.

Using a blend of AI and ML algorithms, and human subject matter expertise, Inventory Insight trained a data model for each of Asda’s stores, leveraging sales and inventory data to detect instances of phantom inventory.

It then alerts store colleagues to manually validate the stock at the shelf-edge and update the inventory file to help drive total store performance, correcting inventory accuracy, and improving product availability and sales.

In the nine months since first deploying Inventory Insight, Retail Insight claims it has removed over 1.6 million units of phantom inventory from Asda’s store estate, delivering a 63:1 return on investment to the retailer.

Last month, Asda revealed its new brand identity, launched by the brand’s summer campaign, Serious About Summer (pictured). Informed by extensive customer research and understanding of how customers see Asda, what they love, and how the supermarket articulates its relevancy and individuality in the market, the identity is designed to set the retailer apart from its competitors, while staying distinctly and clearly Asda – appealing to both loyal and new customers.

Designed and executed by Havas London, the new campaign is running across TV, social media, press executions, CRM and asda.com.