Customer Service

Solving retail store associate challenges by eliminating the information gap, cognitive overwhelm, annoying AI

A Jumpmind AX Insight study reveals retail store associates are battling more than a few challenges and while technology promises big rewards it isn’t always solving the problems associates deal with day to day.

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July 8, 2026 by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

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A Jumpmind AX Insight study reveals retail store associates are battling more than a few challenges and while technology promises big rewards it isn't always solving the problems associates deal with day to day.

The job of the retail store associate has changed tremendously over the last two decades. It's not just straightening shelves, working the register at the front of the store, answering a customer query here and there and running inventory reports.

Today's store associate is a brand ambassador with technology at their fingertips that should allow them to do everything from locating inventory in and out of the store to checking out customers in any aisle and even researching product details not available on the shelf label. Associates are constantly engaging with customers from the minute shoppers step into a store and even after — such as providing delivery information.

In the midst of all that the store associate is facing daily challenges — from information gaps, to cognitive overwhelm and even ancillary AI annoyance. The information gap is critical given associates are expected to provider expert, personalized service.

Why solving challenges is critical

The Jumpmind study is based on insights from a focus group conducted to understand the voice of the store associate, supervisor and manager, to uncover the challenges faced when interacting with shoppers in the store, and how new tools and technologies such as AI are reshaping their respective roles.

Understanding store associates challenges is vital for brand and retailers striving to deliver the most rewarding customer experience as well as stemming associate burnout to reduce employee turnover. An industry study revealed over half of retail works are dealing with burnout due to understaffing, increasing customer demands and repetitive tasks.

At the same time, research by Retail Systems Research, sponsored by Jumpmind, shows 85% of retailers view physical stores as their primary target for growth.

The Jumpmind AX Insight also revealed associate cognitive overwhelm fast becomes a customer experience problem — when technology adds complexity instead of reducing it, it becomes a distraction that pulls the associate focus away from the shopper.

When it comes to deploying AI tools those tools need to work for associates, not the other way around, according to the study. AI is being put to work in the store, but AI that requires an associate to stop and interact with it during a live customer conversation isn't helpful.

Retail Customer Experience reached out via an email interview to Lauren Cevallos, director of strategy and customer success at Jumpmind, to delve deeper into the study's findings as the study delved into the 'day in the life' of a store associate.

Jumpmind is a provider of retail technology solutions, including a cloud-native, mobile POS platform that aims to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences and achieve sustainable growth.

What drove the research effort

Q. Is this the first AX insight study Jumpmind has done and what prompted the move to do a study ?

Cevallos: The associate experience has always been critical to product development at Jumpmind because associates are the frontline brand ambassadors who shape the customer experience. Last year, we surveyed retail leaders and found that many acknowledged a knowledge gap between shoppers and store associates. Today's hyper-informed shoppers want associates to go beyond answering basic questions–they expect trusted advisors with deep understanding of merchandise. Yet more than a third of retailers said meeting those service expectations was a top operational challenge. What we often find is that this isn't a people or training problem, but a technology problem.

For some retailers, the tools and information architecture in stores has changed little since the early 2000s.

This is our first official AX Insight Study that we have conducted. C-suite leaders and management are often consulted by retail technology vendors to understand the technology capabilities needed in the stores, but store associates are rarely consulted, even though it's associates who are the power users of the technology day-in and day-out.

Q. Why is understanding the store associate experience crucial when it comes to POS capabilities and all the different checkout options retailers are putting in place?

Cevallos: Point of Service platforms have evolved from a checkout tool to a full-store service hub and critical information resource for associates. Often, the people buying new technologies are in the C-suite or IT department. But at the end of the day, if associates on the floor aren't using it, or aren't using it correctly, the technology implementation will fail. Our research found that too often, in-store technologies add unnecessary complexity, interrupt human interactions, or fail to provide data that helps associates deliver personalized, consultative service.

Understanding the information gap

Q: What is the 'information gap' the study notes is up and running on the sales floor and how is that impacting the customer experience?

Cevallos: Stores expect associates to know their customers, make personalized recommendations and guide them on product decisions. But associates often don't have access to the shopper's purchase history and preferences, or even the product details they need. Shoppers, meanwhile, come to the store armed with online reviews, price comparisons and preconceived notions. Without access to contextual information, associates are already at a disadvantage. This is one of the most urgent operational challenges facing retailers today.

Q: Can you define 'associate cognitive overwhelm' and why it's a customer experience issue and what can retailers do to avoid it or eliminate it?

Cevallos: Cognitive overwhelm happens when technology makes an associate's job more complex instead of easier. Associates want to feel confident, competent and credible when they talk to customers. But if a customer asks a question and an associate has to boot up a slow app, toggle multiple screens and perform a complex workflow across siloed systems to get an answer, that's cognitive overload. The tech isn't helping them, it's making the interaction more stressful.

Putting strong AI capability to work

Q: Are retailers building the right AI tools and how do you define a good AI tool for store associates?

Cevallos: A good AI tool in the store should close the information gap without requiring an associate to stop talking to a customer to use it. For example, we've built pre-generated contextual insights into Jumpmind that help associates understand a customer in the moment. Additionally, AI should assist associates and leave room for human judgement, rather than provide them with scripts or prescribed recommendations.

Q: If store associates are now tapping devices for AI information is that causing a break/friction in the one to one customer interaction?

Cevallos: Yes, associates using devices can absolutely cause friction if designed poorly, and it's exactly what retailers should want to avoid. Customers want to engage with an associate who can offer them real-time expert guidance, not someone who needs to get behind a desk and start searching for answers. If a shopper can answer their own question on their phone faster than the associate can, it's a problem.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for retailers looking to use AI tools to improve the store associate experience as well as the customer experience?

Cevallos: Consider whether adding more tools is the right move, or if you need to rethink the presentation layer entirely. The most practical use case for AI in retail today is to empower the associate. The vast majority of retailers say stores are their primary growth channel, and the store's greatest competitive advantage is a well-informed, helpful associate.

AI adoption in the store shouldn't be yet another thing associates have to comply with, but something that makes their lives easier and helps them serve customers faster and with better, more personalized experiences. For example, for years, associates have had to manually enter data about customers into systems, a time-consuming, tedious process with low compliance. That's a burden AI could remove by instantly surfacing customer insights in the moment. E-commerce sites are already doing this with personalized digital experiences, after all.

About Judy Mottl

Judy Mottl is the editor of RetailCustomerExperience.com and DigitalSignageToday.com at Connect Media. She is an award-winning editor, reporter and blogger who has worked for top media for nearly four decades, including AOL, InformationWeek and Internet News, as well as for leading technology providers including HP. She’s written everything from breaking news to in-depth industry trends and reported on technology long before the internet arrived, including the debut of the first smartphone. When she's not sharing insights on digital signage deployments and trends in retail customer experience she's on the beach or watching the latest live murder trial.

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