As featured in Retail Destination magazine, Gareth Jordan, director for Retail Advantage from ART Software group, shares tips for adopting AI insights and future-proofing retail.

Retail destination management is entering a pivotal era shaped by tighter budgets, growing complexity, and heightened expectations from customers, tenants, investors, and staff. The pressure and challenges are evident: deliver more with less. In this environment, artificial intelligence (AI) and Digital Platforms are emerging as essential tools, not only for boosting efficiency but for uncovering hidden opportunities, improving experiences, and future-proofing operations.

Real transformation requires more than adding a few arbitrary AI tools to the tech stack. To unlock the full potential of AI, adoption must be both strategic and structural, built on solid foundations of data quality, cross-functional collaboration, and a people-first mindset. 

Turning Complexity into Opportunity

Retail real estate is often data-rich, but it can be insight-poor. From footfall tracking and leasing metrics to customer sentiment and marketing engagement, vast amounts of data is there to be  collected and collated. However, it can remain underutilised if locked in siloed systems, Excel files, scattered PDFs or even on a USB stick somewhere. Imagine being able to instantly see how weekend events will impact brand and category sales from local customers or how window displays influence foot traffic across zones in a mixed-use scheme. These kinds of insights are no longer aspirational; they are achievable with AI-enhanced Data Platforms that offer predictive analytics, real-time dashboards, and reporting.

AI has already become a powerful solution, but unifying these fragmented sources and turning them into actionable insights is not just about tools but also new structures. Digital platforms that utilise AI to provide powerful, secure intelligence, such as ART’s Retail Advantage Insights (an enterprise-level version of the Retail Advantage software), are built on a strong core data structure. Only then can AI not only accelerate decision-making but also elevate it, helping managers spot growth opportunities, optimise operations, and make the best use of every square metre of space.

The New Imperatives: Speed, Simplicity, Strategic Value

A convergence of pressures is driving the urgency to embrace AI. Stakeholders at every level—asset owners, tenants, destination teams, and visitors—expect frictionless service, immediate insight, and smarter management. At the same time, tools like ChatGPT have changed the narrative. AI is no longer viewed as niche or experimental; it’s accessible and powerful. Yet tools like ChatGPT have also made adopting AI appear too simple. The gap between promise and delivery for business remains a key challenge. Flashy demos and chatbots are not substitutes for structural transformation. True value emerges when AI is integrated into workflows, supported by a robust data architecture and cultural buy-in. This means:

• Replacing disconnected reports with real-time, shareable dashboards.
• Shifting from segregated IT/operational ownership to cross-functional alignment.
• Piloting, measuring, then scaling – Start with small AI initiatives in specific zones or with select applied use cases. Too big, too soon increases the likelihood of failure.

Recalibrating Budgets and Expectations

Retail and commercial property are document-heavy industries. AI can streamline this process, automatically extracting and analysing data from leases, planning documents, and more, thereby freeing up teams to focus on higher-value work. 

AI also forces retail destinations to rethink how they invest. Tech budgets are under scrutiny like never before. The solution isn’t simply to spend less but instead to work smarter. AI and Digital Platforms help pinpoint inefficiencies and redirect resources to where they have the most significant impact. For example, AI can identify patterns that reveal where decisions are slow or based on incomplete data, highlighting the need for automation or improved process design. It can guide staffing schedules and even marketing spend based on actual asset team and behaviour-led performance. This shift also enables property managers to directly tie technology investment to asset value and operational margin, which is essential in a sector where every efficiency counts.

Putting People First

It is easy to get swept up in the promise of AI, but in retail and leisure, people still define the experience. As this year’s Retail Destination Live conference highlighted, vibrant retail destinations are made not just on data but on connection—welcoming spaces, memorable moments, and trusted relationships. AI should support this, not replace it.

In our experience, success depends on people making good use of the technology. For that to happen, tools must be intuitive, not intimidating. Teams need to be trained, engaged and consulted. Destination managers should communicate wins clearly and celebrate progress to reinforce a culture of innovation and learning.

The most sophisticated AI will not succeed if staff are not clear on its purpose or do not trust its outputs. That is why a human-in-the-loop approach is critical. AI should be seen as a co-pilot, not an autopilot, helping teams make faster, smarter decisions while keeping judgment and empathy where they belong: with real people.

Personal Steps to Drive AI Adoption at your Retail Destination

Organisational strategies matter, but transformation begins at the individual level. For professionals in retail destination management, here are some practical steps to take:

• Stay curious. Explore tools, predictive analytics, and data visualisation platforms. You don’t need to be technical; just open to learning and exploring.
• Spot inefficiencies. Look at your workflow and identify repetitive, manual, or slow tasks. Could AI summarise reports, generate tenant insights, or help you plan staffing better?
• Boost data literacy. Clean, reliable data is the fuel for any AI system. Understand your data; where it comes from and what value it is providing 
• Share your wins. When AI helps save time or improves accuracy, talk about it. Build momentum by sharing real-world success stories that inspire your peers.
• Keep the human touch. Use AI to inform decisions, not just make them in isolation. Real estate is ultimately about places and people. We should be seeking to enhance that rather than remove it.

Whether you want to understand how to get more from the data you collect or learn more about how the industry is moving towards AI-enabled tools to simply and quickly achieve insights and collaboration, let’s discuss.