06 November 2024

AI is reshaping the retail industry, yet few companies know how to fully leverage this technology. A new research project aims to help businesses understand and harness AI’s full potential to create long-term business value.

A man wearing a virtual reality headset stands on a stairwell, immersed in a digital experience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming retail and driving significant changes. In an era of rapid technological advancements, AI has become a key factor for fostering innovation and efficiency—something retailers are now investing in to stay competitive.

Many retailers want to use AI to boost sales, improve their online revenue, and make deliveries more efficient. However, despite the interest, few are actually using AI, and even fewer have a clear plan for how to implement it.

Alexander Flaig.
Alexander Flaig.

"Many companies are riding the AI wave and investing heavily in AI solutions based on promises of business value. But the benefits are few and often only anecdotal," says project leader and researcher Alexander Flaig.

Investing in AI technology and digital infrastructure, however, is not enough. Companies struggle to leverage AI because they don’t know how to integrate it into their strategies and business models effectively.

"The problem is that no one really knows what value AI, especially generative AI, actually creates. What lies beyond efficiency gains, and what is the actual value AI generates?" says Alexander Flaig, lecturer in Business Administration at LInköping University in Sweden.

To address this issue, a new project is being launched to help companies better understand how AI can create value. The project runs from 1 September, 2024, to 31 August, 2025, and is funded by the Hakon Swenson Foundation.

The goal is to provide retailers with the knowledge they need to fully harness AI's potential, thereby creating long-term business value.

Contact

Read more about the project

Learn more about AI at LiU

AI generated image of a robot

Artificial intelligence (AI) at Linköping University

LiU has over 100 university courses related to AI and AI competence at every department. AI at LiU is about AI techniques as well as applications of these techniques, about views on AI, how it benefits society, ethical guidelines etc.

The text

Research just around the corner

Democracy and academic freedom is the theme for the lecture series Research just around the corner in 2026.

Porträtt av Fredrik Heintz som sitter i en trappa

National initiative to protect AI systems from cyberattacks

LiU will host a new national centre aimed at developing resilient AI systems. The funding of SEK 60 million comes from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and its director will be LiU Professor Fredrik Heintz.

Latest news from LiU

A couple of people that are standing in the grass.

The war in Ukraine has serious effects on children’s health

Children’s access to healthcare in Ukraine has seen a sharp decline since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. A Swedish study shows how children’s physical, mental and social health is being seriously affected by the war.

Toomas Timpka.

No association between COVID-vaccine and decrease in childbirth

COVID-19 vaccination is not the cause behind a decrease in childbirth, according to a study from Linköping University. The results speak against rumours about vaccination and reduced fertility.

A group of people sitting around a wooden table.

Ukrainian researchers and students visited LiU

Ukrainian society must continue to function during the war. Other European countries can contribute. LiU is part in the Swedish-Ukrainian project STREAM-U and recently welcomed a group of researchers, public officials and students.