AI Hits the High Street: Can Data Finally Save Brick-and-Mortar Retail?

BOSTON, MA – July 07, 2026 – For years, the narrative surrounding physical retail has been one of slow decline in the face of e-commerce's relentless efficiency. Brick-and-mortar stores, long the heart of commerce, have struggled to compete with the data-rich, hyper-personalized world of online shopping. Today, Boston-based ExperienceMINT™ launched ELEVATE™, a new platform that aims to arm physical retailers with the same digital intelligence that has powered their online rivals, effectively turning store locations into measurable, high-performance revenue engines.

The platform's ambitious claims—a 25-50% increase in sales conversion and a reduction in product returns by up to 50%—represent a direct challenge to the status quo. By integrating AI-powered tools directly onto the sales floor, the company is betting that the future of physical retail lies not in competing with the internet, but in emulating its data-driven advantages.

Bringing E-Commerce Intelligence In-Store

At the core of ExperienceMINT's strategy is the diagnosis of a fundamental problem in traditional retail. “Most retail environments still rely on static displays, product packaging and limited associate availability, leading to lost sales, lower engagement and higher return rates,” said Andrew Pierce, CEO of ExperienceMINT, in the company's launch announcement. ELEVATE is designed as the antidote, a comprehensive system that brings digital performance metrics to the physical world.

The platform is built on three key components designed to work in concert:

• Product Wizard: An interactive touchscreen that acts as a digital catalog and sales assistant. It allows shoppers to explore entire product lines, compare specifications, and receive guided recommendations, far beyond what can be stocked on a single shelf. For store associates, it becomes an enablement tool, providing instant access to information to better serve customers.
• Glas: An AI-powered visualization tool that helps bridge the imagination gap. For categories like fashion, beauty, or outdoor gear, it can show a customer how a product might look on them or fit into a specific lifestyle setting. This immersive experience aims to reduce purchase uncertainty, a key driver of abandoned sales and costly returns.
• AI Agent: A conversational AI for both customers and staff. The system can engage customers with human-like conversation, answer queries, and surface insights from those interactions for management. This creates a feedback loop, turning every conversation into a data point that can inform strategy.

Early feedback from adopters like NECOA suggests the approach is resonating. Co-CEO Kevin Shim praised the system, noting, “The customers love the experience and ability to see all the products we offer, and the sales associates use it to deliver the best presentation with each customer.” He also found the AI Agent “quite impressive and natural for customers to use,” indicating a successful fusion of high-tech capability and user-friendly design.

The Billion-Dollar Bet on Performance

The financial promises made by ExperienceMINT are not just marketing fluff; they target two of the most critical pain points in modern retail. A 25-50% lift in conversion rates is a game-changer in a low-margin industry. But it is the claim of reducing returns by up to 50% that may be the most financially significant.

Product returns represent a massive drain on profitability, estimated to be a $744 billion problem for U.S. retailers in recent years. By allowing customers to visualize products more effectively with Glas and get detailed information via the Product Wizard, ELEVATE aims to ensure the initial purchase is the right one. This pre-emptive approach to customer satisfaction is where AI can deliver substantial return on investment.

The industry context supports the potential for such gains. Analysts have found that digital fitting technologies can cut fit-related return costs by up to 80%, and AI-driven predictive analytics have been shown to lift sales conversion rates. ExperienceMINT’s claims, while at the high end, are grounded in established technological trends.

An Integrated Approach in a Crowded Field

ExperienceMINT is not the first company to bring AI to retail. The market is awash with specialized solutions for supply chain optimization, foot traffic analysis, and e-commerce personalization from giants like AWS and Oracle to a host of specialized startups. However, the company's key differentiator appears to be its holistic, turnkey model.

Instead of offering a single piece of software or a standalone smart mirror, ELEVATE is a fully integrated package. ExperienceMINT leverages its background in retail design and manufacturing to combine the physical fixtures, interactive hardware, and AI software into a single, cohesive installation. The company handles deployment, hosting, and support, removing the significant integration burden that often prevents retailers from adopting new technologies.

This strategy directly addresses a major industry shift. According to Gartner, 91% of retail IT leaders are prioritizing AI, viewing it as foundational to transformation. Forrester predicts U.S. retailers will boost tech budgets to $113 billion by 2026 to modernize and adopt AI at scale. By offering a comprehensive solution, ExperienceMINT is positioning itself not as a vendor, but as a strategic partner in that transformation.

Redefining the Retail Footprint

Ultimately, platforms like ELEVATE are part of a broader re-imagining of the physical store's purpose. As transactional commerce continues its migration online, the role of brick-and-mortar is shifting from a simple point of distribution to a center for brand experience, discovery, and customer engagement.

By embedding intelligence into the environment, retailers can capture the kind of rich behavioral data—what products are being compared, what questions are being asked, where are bottlenecks in the purchase journey—that has been the exclusive domain of e-commerce. This transforms the store from a cost center into a vital source of business intelligence.

The success of ELEVATE and similar platforms will depend on their ability to prove tangible ROI and seamlessly enhance, rather than complicate, the shopping experience. But their arrival signals a critical turning point where physical retail is no longer just fighting for survival, but is actively being redesigned for a new, data-driven era.