The future of retail: Why the best store support is behind the scenes

This article is a collaboration with Sandra Schwinn, a client director at ServiceNow.

Store employees are the first point of engagement for customers. Yet they still spend too much of their time on operational tasks instead of focusing on customers. Whether they’re fixing device issues, managing access rights, or tracking support requests, valuable time is lost to processes that should be running quietly in the background.

Modern store operations can’t afford these frictional holdups, because they directly affect customer experience. What’s needed is an approach that’s smooth from the ground up, one where store teams are supported seamlessly and can concentrate on what truly matters: the customer.

With mounting pressure on retailers—from elevated customer expectations to ever-tighter margins—there’s an increasingly visible gap between ambition and what happens on the shop floor. At the heart of this gap lies a mix of operational challenges that require a fundamentally new approach to store support.

Retailers are feeling the real need to reduce this operational friction without adding more complexity. The ServiceNow AI Platform helps drive this shift by building automation directly into store operations. Rossmann demonstrates what this looks like in practice, moving from isolated AI use cases to a scalable, operational model that works across store boundaries.

When support slows down, service suffers

Many of retail’s operational challenges stem from support processes that are slow, manual, and not designed for the realities of a store.

At Rossmann, store requests were previously handled through phone‑based processes that required manual triage and routing. For store teams, that meant delays, interruptions, and extra effort to chase support tickets instead of focusing on customers.

With the ServiceNow AI Platform, Rossmann replaced these processes with AI agents that handle requests automatically—from classification, including image and barcode analysis, to seamless, fully documented routing.

Selected store requests for certain services are now processed in under five seconds, and ticket‑routing accuracy has risen from 56% to 94%. By automating processes that used to be manual, Rossmann reduced its operational workload and achieved speed and consistency.

The leap from AI pilot to retail infrastructure

Speed alone isn’t enough, however. Many retailers use AI in isolated use cases but struggle to integrate it into their core operations. As a result, AI remains fragmented and fails to deliver lasting impact in stores.

Rossmann has taken a different path by building agent‑based AI into its service model. Instead of simply layering AI on top of existing processes, the retailer has made it a core part of how store support works.

By deploying six AI agents across its store network, Rossmann is moving from isolated automation towards a connected system used in more than 1,100 stores. That’s the difference between AI as a project and AI as infrastructure.

From scaled AI to a new operating model

At Rossmann, large-scale AI deployment means more than faster processing times and higher forwarding accuracy. By embedding AI into its service processes, the company is shifting from a model that relies heavily on manual intervention to workflows that operate largely autonomously.

This shift is already delivering measurable results, with 1,500 working hours saved for its line of service. Rossmann also has a clear path to further efficiency gains as automation expands. Store support is evolving into a zero‑touch model, where requests are handled from start to finish without any hands-on involvement.

This marks a fundamental change in retail—moving from reactive support roles to a proactive, system‑driven model that scales without commensurate effort.

The future is autonomous—and human

Retail has always been about people. Brands are built when store employees are fully present and focused on customers.

Rossmann shows that technology—used well—makes that possible. The faster, more connected, and more autonomous in‑store support becomes, the more technology takes on operational complexity, giving employees the freedom to create a shopping experience that builds true brand loyalty.

Find out how ServiceNow can help you put AI to work for retail.