BGF Retail, operator of the convenience store chain CU, said Wednesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with AI startup Intellicia to accelerate AI-driven innovation across its retail operations.
The agreement will combine Intellicia's AI synthetic consumer technology and AI-powered store digital twin platform, ParaStore, to generate deeper consumer insights and improve product planning, merchandising and store operations.
The signing ceremony took place Tuesday at BGF Retail's headquarters in Seoul, attended by Lee Eun-kwan, head of the company's customer experience division, and Intellicia CEO Baek Seung-kook.
Intellicia's AI synthetic consumer technology creates millions of virtual consumers to analyze preferences, purchasing behavior and price sensitivity, helping companies identify optimal pricing and product strategies. Unlike conventional consumer surveys, which can take months to complete, the technology delivers faster insights while reducing research costs.
The companies will also use ParaStore to create virtual CU stores, allowing them to simulate product placement, customer movement and merchandising before implementing changes in physical locations.
The partners have already tested the technology. In a proof-of-concept project conducted in May, the AI synthetic consumer analyzed how shoppers balanced taste and health when choosing convenience-store lunchboxes, generating insights that were used in product planning and menu development.
"We plan to use AI not only to analyze current purchasing patterns, but also to predict what future customers will value," Lee said. "CU will continue to develop products and services that reflect evolving consumer needs and deliver a new retail experience."
stlee0329@heraldcorp.com