LAS VEGAS — While agentic commerce gains traction, Tecovas remains bullish on its physical stores. But that doesn’t mean it’s shying away from artificial intelligence.
The 10-year-old brand, which specializes in western boots, has leveraged AI to support its store operations, particularly around inventory replenishment and allocation.
“We need to have the right inventory … for when that customer walks in,” Tecovas Chief Technology Officer Kevin Harwood said at Shoptalk Spring on Wednesday. “The worst experience is coming in and not having what they're looking for.”
The brand partnered with Invent.AI to help it calculate the highest likelihood of selling a specific product at the highest profit. For example, if a store has one inventory slot left, it can help the company determine which product and size to send to that location, according to Harwood.
“We're allocating smarter. We're replenishing faster. We've got better product launches as a result,” he said.
Tecovas saw a 9.6% revenue lift from its categories managed by AI versus those managed by humans, as well as a 2% in-stock improvement, according to Harwood.
“It's completely changed the way we manage our most important asset in retail, which is our inventory,” he said.
Tecovas has also leveraged AI to speed up the development of new tools. The company was able to develop a platform, dubbed Boot Runner, in just 36 hours using AI. The platform allows Tecovas’ store associates to request size inventory from the stockroom, significantly cutting down the time it takes to connect a customer with the right size and product from several minutes to just seconds.
“We put our entire inventory position into our associates’ hands, where they can make recommendations to the customer in the moment. They can stay present in that conversation with the customer,” Harwood said.
It all comes back to the company’s mantra of providing “radical hospitality” in its retail locations, which takes the form of open bars in store, free boot shining, hat customization and live music. But it’s also in forging meaningful connections with customers, especially with those who may have never purchased a pair of cowboy boots before.
“We want to do everything in our power to make sure we are empowering our associates to be able to support that customer through every step of that process,” Harwood said. “The worst thing that happens is that associate leaves — that person walks away for five or 10 minutes to handle something — and then comes back, and the customer feels really lonely in that process.”
