The Future is Here: Are You Ready?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming retail, promising personalized experiences and smarter shopping journeys. As highlighted in AI Is the New Personal Shopper This Holiday Season, AI-driven personalization is becoming a key differentiator for retailers during peak seasons. But before retailers can fully embrace agentic commerce—where AI agents autonomously make decisions to optimize customer experiences—they need to address a critical foundational gap: standardized attributes.

The Hidden Barrier: Lack of Attribute Master

Most retailers still rely on disjointed Excel spreadsheets with no standardization when it comes to attribute planning. Today, many do not have an attribute master—a centralized system that ensures product, customer, and location attributes are consistent and standardized across classifications. Without this, AI cannot function effectively. Why? Because AI relies on clean, structured data to make accurate predictions and recommendations. Inconsistent or incomplete attributes lead to poor personalization, missed opportunities, and even cannibalization within assortments.

As explained in Attribute Goal Setting in Assortment Planning: Prevent Cannibalization, attributes drive assortment decisions. When they are fragmented, retailers risk overlapping products and confusing customers. An attribute master solves this by harmonizing data across the organization, creating a single source of truth for AI to leverage.

Why Agentic Commerce Needs Standardization

Agentic commerce is more than personalization—it’s about autonomous decision-making by AI agents. These agents can:

• Recommend products based on customer preferences.

But this does not work without standardized attributes. Imagine an AI agent trying to recommend a product when “style” is labeled as “capri” in one spreadsheet, “capries” in another, and “capris” in a third. The result? Inaccurate recommendations and frustrated customers.

Types of Attributes That Matter

To unlock the full potential of agentic commerce, retailers must standardize three critical attribute categories:

1. Product Attributes
   These include style, color, size, material, fit, and seasonality. Today, many retailers have these attributes, but they are often inconsistent or non-standardized across systems. Standardization ensures AI can accurately compare and recommend products.
2. Customer Attributes
   Demographics, purchase history, preferences, and behavioral data. When standardized, these attributes enable true customer-centricity, allowing AI agents to personalize experiences at scale.
3. Location Attributes
   Store size, climate, regional trends, and local demand patterns. These attributes help AI optimize assortments and inventory by geography, ensuring relevance and reducing markdowns.

Expanded Benefits of an Attribute Master

Retailers who invest in an attribute master gain far more than clean data—they unlock strategic advantages:

• Consistency Across Channels: Unified product, customer, and location data for seamless omnichannel experiences.
• Improved AI Accuracy: Clean, structured data enables better predictions and personalization.
• Faster Decision-Making: AI agents can act confidently with reliable data.
• Reduced Cannibalization: Clear attribute goals prevent overlapping assortments.
• Enhanced Customer Loyalty: Personalized experiences driven by accurate customer attributes.
• Localized Strategies: Location-based attributes allow hyper-local assortments and pricing strategies.
• Operational Efficiency: Less manual data cleanup, fewer errors, and faster go-to-market cycles.

Your Path to Agentic Commerce Starts Here

The race toward AI-driven retail is accelerating—and the winners will be those who act now. Standardizing attributes isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a strategic imperative for survival in the age of agentic commerce.

At daVinci Retail, we specialize in helping retailers standardize attributes and optimize assortment planning. Our solutions ensure your data is ready for the next wave of AI innovation.

Don’t wait —start today.

👉 Contact us now to build your foundation for AI success and lead the future of retail.