Struggling with adopting AI into your retail business? You’re not alone. On this episode of Beyond the Register, we sat down with Sabrina Valdez, a retail and AI expert who has spent 20 years in the retail space. From buying at Walmart and PetSmart to running replenishment for Sprouts, she knows what it’s like to stare down walls of SKU data and make decisions that hit the P&L by Friday. Now, as founder of The Next Move Consulting, she’s telling retail and CPG leaders that AI isn’t just another tool on the shelf. It’s about to fundamentally change how we think about our workforce.
But here’s the twist: The people best positioned to lead this change aren’t always your most tech-savvy employees. They’re the experienced workers who’ve been in the trenches for decades. If you’re a small or mid-sized retailer wondering how to compete in an AI-driven world, this conversation will change how you think about AI adoption.
What makes someone “good” at AI? (Hint: It’s not what you think.)
Most people assume AI is a young person’s game. After all, isn’t technology always about the newest thing? Sabrina completely flips this assumption on its head.
“The oldest person in the organization has the power to be the best at AI, even though they might not think so.”
Her reasoning is simple but profound: Curiosity matters, but context matters more. And the people with the greatest context are often the ones with the most experience.
“The curious folks are tinkering on the weekends,” Sabrina explained. “But the people who have the greatest context are the people who are the oldest. They have more life experiences, more work experiences, more relational experiences.”
Think about it. If you’ve navigated 30 years of vendor negotiations, category management challenges and strategic initiatives, you have a depth of knowledge that a recent college grad simply can’t match. When you feed that context into an AI tool, you can iterate on problems in ways that someone without your background never could.
The older professionals who worry they’re “not tech-savvy enough”? They’re actually sitting on the most valuable asset for AI adoption: decades of hard-won expertise.
Why retail is falling behind (and how small businesses can leapfrog)
During our conversation, Sabrina didn’t sugarcoat retail’s AI problem.
“Retail has been a lagging industry,” she said, pointing to historical patterns of slow technology adoption.
But she sees this moment differently. For smaller retailers and CPG companies, they have the advantage of being nimble.
“They can implement tools very easily into their organization where they can reap the benefits quite quickly.”
The barrier isn’t capability — it’s mindset. Sabrina shared a story about visiting her dermatologist, a practice large enough to have an entire research arm. Yet they were still using paper forms that got scanned into charts.
“Imagine a world where that data could be queried when they want to do research,” she said. “They could get it out with gen AI in seconds.”
The same principle applies to retail. Whether you’re running a local shop or managing a regional chain, there are manual processes that could be transformed overnight if you’re willing to take that first step.
How do you actually get started using AI for your retail business and employees?
One of the most practical parts of our conversation was when Sabrina walked us through how she helps companies move from experimentation to actual implementation.
Her approach is methodical: discovery sessions with leadership, formal surveys of team members, functional team conversations and then a three-to-six-month roadmap paired with a tech-stack recommendation.
She emphasized the importance of change management. “You have to ensure that your team members are empowered,” she said. Her goal is to help people understand how AI can work for them personally.
The key insight? Start small and personal. For business owners wondering where to begin, she recommends starting with something low-stakes in your personal life, like planning a vacation or working through a problem, just to get comfortable with the tool. Then bring that comfort into your business decisions.
Three takeaways for your retail business right now
Here’s what we took away from our conversation with Sabrina:
- AI adoption isn’t about having the biggest tech budget or the youngest team. It’s about having the wisdom to recognize that your experience is an asset, not a liability.
- The retailers who will win aren’t necessarily the ones who move first — they move thoughtfully, with a clear understanding of their goals and a willingness to empower their teams.
- If you’re a business owner who’s been putting off the AI conversation because you feel “too old” or “not tech-savvy enough,” Sabrina’s message is that you’re exactly the person who should be leading this charge.
Want to hear more about how experienced operators can leverage AI, what mistakes to avoid and what the future workforce will look like? Listen to the full conversation with Sabrina Valdez on Beyond the Register.