The Retail Reboot: Gaining the Executive Edge in Physical Retail
How Smart Carts Are Changing the Way Retail Leaders Think
While the digital world has evolved at breakneck speed, the physical grocery store has remained largely static for generations. In a recent deep dive on the Reboot Chronicles with Dean DeBiase, Cust2Mate CEO Gadi Graus discussed why bringing the supermarket into the 21st century requires more than just new hardware. It requires a fundamental reboot of retail leadership to manage the shift from unmeasured retail to a data-driven “smart” ecosystem.
Moving from Risk-Aversion to Opportunity
Gadi Graus’s perspective is forged in the world of corporate law, where professionals are traditionally trained to minimize uncertainty. However, as he discussed with DeBiase, leading a tech-driven transformation in retail requires a striking reversal of that mindset:
- Risk as a Catalyst: Progress in a stagnant industry requires embracing uncertainty rather than shielding against it.
- The Agility Mindset: Successful reboots happen when leaders treat volatility as a refreshing opportunity to innovate.
- Encouraging the Chaos: Modern retail leaders must encourage their teams to lean into the inherent chaos that comes with genuine innovation.
“It’s a matter of interpreting the information in ways that you couldn’t have done yourself and that AI can’t do alone. It allows you to dive straight in and get to the second hour of the conversation in the first minute.”
Gadi Graus, CEO of A2Z Cust2Mate.
The Smart Cart as an Executive Lens
The true value of a smart cart platform lies in its ability to act as an interpretive layer for both the shopper and the executive. A common mistake in retail tech is adding screens for the sake of screens. Instead, the platform creates a bidirectional data loop where shopper convenience feeds executive intelligence.
The Shopper’s Guided Journey
For the shopper, the cart is about removing friction and adding discovery. By integrating with loyalty plans, the AI panel performs several key functions:
- Personalized Navigation: Navigates shoppers to their favorite aisles and most-purchased items.
- Contextual Offers: Surfaces personalized, budget-conscious promotions for some and premium offers for others in real-time.
- Live Visibility: Provides immediate data on sales and replacements as items are scanned.
The Executive’s Strategic Action
For leadership, the shift is even more profound. Gadi highlights that AI has replaced the need to focus solely on gathering and organizing data. Instead, it acts as an interpretive partner.
- Bypassing the “Data Mine”: The platform allows management to skip the mining phase and move straight to strategic action.
- Accelerated Decision Making: It essentially allows you to get to the second hour of the conversation in the first minute by providing interpreted insights rather than raw reports.
Beyond the Hardware: The Platform Reality
The reboot Dean DeBiase and Gadi Graus discussed is not just about a cart. It is about a reverse-merger of digital intelligence and physical reality. Cust2Mate’s mission is centered on being the only dedicated, publicly traded smart cart platform on the NASDAQ (AZ).
This distinction provides the corporate stability and scale required for a true retail reboot. It moves the industry away from experimental pilots toward permanent infrastructure that finally anticipates the needs of the consumer. This makes the shopping experience feel as though the store was designed specifically for them.
Listen to the full episode
The grocery industry is at a crossroads. The familiarity of the old, unmeasured model is a liability in an age of personalized, data-driven commerce. To stay relevant, retailers must align their KPIs across operations, IT, and retail media. This supports an environment where every trip is measurable and every outcome is attributed.
