DFI Retail Group urges focused AI spending with measurable returns

Stijn Casneuf, data and AI automation director at DFI Retail Group, told the Retail Asia Summit 2026 in Hong Kong that retailers need to concentrate on initiatives that deliver tangible value rather than adopt AI simply because it is gaining traction.

The group has organised its AI work around three main areas: AI for merchandising, AI for customers and AI for its store team members. Casneuf said the strategy covers four areas in total, spanning merchandising, customers and storefront store support centres.

DFI aims to direct more than half of its efforts towards business transformation, reinvention and innovation, with the remainder allocated to productivity improvement for internal functions. The bulk of its AI push is therefore aimed at changing how the business operates rather than at incremental internal gains.

The operator runs more than 7,600 stores across 12 markets in Asia, giving it a broad base over which to apply merchandising and customer-facing tools.

Casneuf's warning was aimed at retailers that scatter their AI investments across too many use cases at once, which he said risks leaving them without measurable returns in a competitive landscape that rewards a focused strategy.