When Tomáš Čupr told me that retailers don’t need perfect data to start unlocking value from AI, my first reaction was simple:
Thank goodness.
Because if there’s one thing retail has never had, it’s perfect data.
For years, the industry has treated data cleanliness like some mythical destination. Just one more data cleanup initiative. One more systems integration. One more transformation project. Then we’ll finally be ready.
The problem?
Retail doesn’t stand still long enough for “ready.”
And neither does technology.
I recently caught up with Tomáš Čupr, Co-Founder and CEO of duvo.ai and CEO of the Rohlik Group, at Shoptalk Europe, and what struck me most wasn’t the technology itself.
It was how refreshingly practical his perspective was.
This Wasn’t Another “AI Will Change Everything” Conversation
We’ve all heard those presentations. The ones promising that AI agents will revolutionize entire organizations overnight. The ones that imply humans are optional. The ones that somehow assume retailers can simply rip out decades of existing infrastructure and start over.
Tomáš has lived the reality of operating retail businesses, and that reality looks very different.
As he put it, retailers are often asking incredibly talented people to spend their days acting as “human APIs” between systems that don’t talk to each other. Think about how much of the average workday is spent moving information from one place to another:
- Emails
- Excel spreadsheets
- Dashboards
- Chrome tabs
- Manual follow-ups
- Status checks
The work gets done, but not because the systems work together. People bridge the gaps. And that’s exactly where AI can make an immediate difference.
The Value Isn’t In Replacement
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding AI is that its primary purpose is workforce reduction.
Tomáš doesn’t see it that way.
Neither do I.
Retail has spent decades optimizing labor because it has had to. Margins are thin. There isn’t a lot of excess capacity sitting around waiting to be cut.
Instead, the opportunity is helping people spend less time on the work that doesn’t create value.
That means:
- Less copying and pasting
- Less chasing information
- Less moving data from one system to another
And more of the work humans are uniquely positioned to do:
- Making decisions
- Solving problems
- Serving customers
In other words, helping employees become operators of intelligent systems instead of intermediaries between disconnected ones.
That’s a much more compelling vision of AI than simply replacing headcount.
Perfect Data Is The Wrong Goal
Perhaps the most refreshing part of our conversation was Tomáš’s challenge to one of retail’s longest-held assumptions: the idea that organizations need perfectly clean data before they can begin.
His argument was simple. The world is moving too quickly to spend years preparing for a future that will look different by the time you finally arrive. AI technologies continue evolving. Customer expectations continue changing. Operational challenges continue piling up.
Meanwhile, retailers remain stuck in endless planning cycles: ten-year strategies, two-year cleanup initiatives, and transformation roadmaps that never quite reach the finish line.
Tomáš believes retailers should absolutely have a strategy. But it should be measured in months, not decades. Solve problems that exist today. Deploy tools that create value now. Adjust as technology evolves.
That mindset shift may end up being one of the biggest competitive advantages retailers can develop.
Seeing Is Believing
Another point Tomáš made stuck with me.
Talking about AI doesn’t change anyone’s mind.
Demonstrating it does.
At duvo.ai, the conversation often starts with a deceptively simple question:
What’s the messiest process your team absolutely hates?
Then they show retailers how to automate it.
Not in years.
Not after a complete systems overhaul.
In a matter of weeks.
Because when people see repetitive work disappear and capacity suddenly reappear, abstract conversations about AI become tangible.
The technology stops feeling theoretical.
It becomes useful.
The Monday Morning Move
If I were a retail executive listening to this conversation, my Monday morning question would be simple: What are the tasks inside our organization that our smartest people wish they never had to do again? Not five years from now. Not after perfect data. Today.
Because the real value of AI may not come from moonshot ambitions or sweeping transformation initiatives. It may come from eliminating the small frustrations that quietly drain time, energy, and value from organizations every single day. Perfect data can wait. Progress doesn’t have to.
You can listen to or watch my full conversation with Tomáš Čupr of duvo.ai wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Soundcloud | Amazon Music | YouTube
Be careful out there,
Chris 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.