NORA Retail and Consumer Goods Gen AI Summit

This week I immersed myself in all things Generative AI at the NORA ~ National Online Retailers Association at the Retail and Consumer Goods Gen AI Summit. The content was a bit nerdy yet relatable, and at times exciting, but also little frightening knowing what the technology is capable off.

I met some inspiring business owners pushing the boundaries with AI and really enjoyed the chats on the future with Rosanna Iacono, ethics, sustainability, operational efficiencies, and Behavioural Science with Brooke Eichhorn and Sonia Friedrich at Behamics

According to Behamics it takes on average 32 minutes for someone to process a return vs 3minutes to review a size chart. By displaying this notice on product pages brands have seen a significant increase in conversions and reduction on returns across stores, not to mention a reduction on waste (landfill and carbon).

Christelle Young, Managing Director, T2 Tea has me thinking about pros and cons of AI including:

  • Pro: Demonstrated how her management team uses Agents to auto-report inventory (low or overflow stock) and manage stock without daily manual work.
  • Con: As a BCorp, AI brings sustainability challenges. Data centres are resource-heavy (power, water, etc.), so tracking usage and optimising efficiency is crucial to stay accountable and reduce environmental impact.

Shaeden Watson from The Connection Shift's presentation was the perfect close, highlighting how emotion, empathy, and human connection matter and that we (humans) should change the way we think about AI and partner with it rather than presume (and be scared) that we are going to replace everyone with the technology.

Here are three key takeaways from Shaeden’s talk:

  • Empathy - Feel before you fix. Trust starts here.
  • Emotion - People buy what they feel, not just what they know
  • Experience - Every moment shapes the story of your brand.

When technology supports human connection instead of replacing it, loyalty follows.

Read more from Shaeden here. 


A well-rounded agenda, a beautiful venue, and delicious food… although I may have overindulged on the cakes ( 🫠 that’s what happens at The Grounds of Alexandria). Looking forward to the next one!

What will I do with these learnings ?
 
1. Set up my own AI policy and an AI Agent as a single “brain” 🧠, remotely and privately, to help me use tools more effectively across different parts of my business and life. (Thanks Nicola Clement, for the reminder that humans and animals – only have one brain, so our AI should too.)
2. Challenge AI and ask why I should use it!
3. Remind myself of "why my clients choose to work with me and not AI?" ..... they value how I think: empathically, deeply, critically, creatively and with care.

Huge thanks to the team at NORA for hosting another fantastic event and inviting me to their leaders’ lunch partnered with Klaviyo and hosted by my friend and clothing designer/ retailer Liliana Rubiano at Tolu Australia.

How are you feeling about AI?

 Angelique Schierz-Crusius, Ampletides and Chana Imsirovic

Brooke Eichhorn and Sonia Friedrich at Behamics

Liliana Rubiano at Tolu Australia  and Chana Imsirovic