At a time when retailers everywhere are trying to figure out what AI actually means for their business, DFI Retail Group is focused on something more practical: execution.
Live from World Retail Congress 2026 in Berlin, Chris Walton sat down with Scott Price, Group Chief Executive of DFI Retail Group, to talk about what it really takes to scale omnichannel retail, build loyalty at scale, and apply AI in ways that genuinely improve the customer experience.
And throughout the conversation, one theme kept surfacing: retail fundamentals still matter more than ever.
Why Omnichannel Success Still Comes Down to Execution
DFI has seen major momentum across its omnichannel business, including a 140-basis-point increase in online sales penetration and order volumes that have doubled.
But according to Price, flashy digital tools mean nothing if the operational basics fail.
“The biggest risk to any retailer is by not executing well.”
For DFI, that means perfecting fulfillment, delivery timing, and convenience across hundreds of thousands of daily orders.
Price pointed to examples like commuters ordering breakfast from a 7-Eleven while on the train and picking it up on the way to work. The experience only works if it’s fast, reliable, and consistent every single time.
And in today’s environment, customers are far less forgiving when retailers miss the mark.
“Social media will kill you when you disappoint a customer.”
How DFI Is Winning Across Different Asian Markets
One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was Price’s emphasis on localization.
DFI operates across 12 countries throughout Asia, and he stressed that customer behavior varies dramatically from market to market.
“There is no single Asia.”
Instead of forcing a centralized operating model, DFI has pushed decision-making closer to local markets and customer teams.
That shift, according to Price, has been one of the company’s biggest turnaround drivers.
Rather than dictating everything from the top, DFI now empowers country-level teams to make decisions based on local customer needs while still holding them accountable for results.
Why DFI Divested Businesses to Refocus Its Strategy
Price also explained why DFI recently divested several businesses as part of a broader portfolio review.
The key realization? Minority ownership stakes in large retailers limited DFI’s ability to meaningfully influence operations.
“You have no ability to make that a good retailer through a board seat.”
Instead, DFI chose to reinvest heavily into the core parts of the business where it believes it has the strongest “right to win,” particularly in daily essentials, food, health, and convenience retail.
That sharper focus has already produced results, including significant stock price growth and a stronger return on capital strategy.
The Real Power of Loyalty Data
DFI now has more than 33 million loyalty members across its ecosystem, and Price made it clear that loyalty is about far more than points and promotions.
For him, loyalty programs are ultimately about data ownership and personalization.
“Control of the data.”
That data enables DFI to understand shopping behavior deeply enough to create targeted offers, identify gaps in customer spending habits, and eventually automate larger parts of the shopping journey.
Price shared a simple example: if a customer regularly shops at DFI but never buys shampoo there, the retailer can infer they’re purchasing it elsewhere and send a personalized offer to win that business back.
But the longer-term vision goes even further.
How DFI Thinks About AI and the Future of Retail
Price broke AI applications into three major buckets:
1. Customer Personalization
This is the most visible area today.
DFI is already using AI and loyalty data to create smarter shopping recommendations and help customers build complete meal solutions or shopping baskets automatically.
2. Team Productivity
DFI has also rolled out enterprise AI tools internally to improve employee efficiency and decision-making using company-specific data.
3. Running a Better Retail Business
This, according to Price, is the area that still requires the most human expertise.
He described the complexity of a merchant’s role — balancing sales performance, assortment strategy, merchandising decisions, innovation, vendor negotiations, and customer trends all at once.
While AI can support parts of that process, Price doesn’t believe retailers are anywhere close to replacing experienced merchants entirely.
“I’m not ready to say that a merchant’s job could yet be done by Gen AI.”
Why DFI Avoids the Term “Dynamic Pricing”
Another standout moment came when Chris Walton asked about dynamic pricing — one of retail’s most controversial AI-related topics.
Price’s response was immediate:
“I’ve banned the words dynamic pricing.”
Instead, DFI focuses on personalized offers tied to loyalty and shopping behavior, not charging different customers different base prices.
That distinction matters.
For Price, the goal is to reward loyalty and relevance, not create perceptions of unfairness or price gouging.
The Bigger Takeaway
What made this conversation especially compelling was how grounded Scott Price’s perspective felt compared to much of the AI hype dominating retail conversations right now.
Rather than framing AI as a replacement for retail fundamentals, he framed it as an enhancement layer on top of operational excellence, customer understanding, and merchant expertise.
And in a retail environment increasingly obsessed with automation, that balance may ultimately become the biggest competitive advantage of all.
To catch more conversations from World Retail Congress 2026 in Berlin, follow Omni Talk Retail on LinkedIn or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you to Vusion for supporting Omni Talk Retail’s live coverage, and thank you to our listeners for joining us during the event.
Be careful out there,
Chris Walton and the Omni Talk team
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Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.