You might have seen the news this past week that Coles is rolling out an enterprise-wide partnership with OpenAI. When we saw that story at Tower Systems, our first thought wasn’t about the competition. It was: “This is fantastic news.”
This move by a retail giant validates what Tower Systems has been focused on for some time: AI isn’t just a gimmick for the big end of town; it’s a genuine “competitive game-changer” for independent, local retailers, including jewellers, bike shops, gift shops, produce businesses, newsagents and other small businesses we serve. It’s leveling the playing field. And the best part? You don’t have to wait. While Coles is just announcing their plans, local, independent retailers are already using powerful AI tools every single day.
We recently made a video discussing this, where we highlighted how Tower Systems has been embedding AI tools from OpenAI, Google Gemini, and others directly into our point-of-sale software for a long time now. It’s not about “future tech”; it’s about practical tools that solve real problems for small business owners.
In the video, we discuss how our customers are already using AI to:
- Save hours of admin by automatically analyzing and importing virtually any supplier invoice, with no special setup required.
- Market smarter by generating unique product descriptions and blog posts that speak in their business’s authentic voice.
- Boost profitability with plain-English reports that identify what’s not selling, what’s overstocked, and even potential theft, long before it becomes a major issue.
- Prevent lost sales by getting alerts on popular items you’re about to run out of.
As mentioned in the video, we rely on these and more AI tools in our own retail shop – to save time, make better-informed decisions, and run a smarter, more efficient shop.
This technology is here, it’s accessible, and it’s already making a fundamental difference for local businesses. The Coles announcement is a great signal for the entire retail sector and all who serve it that AI is no longer an option; AI is an essential part of modern retail.
We encourage you to watch the video to see a full breakdown of what this means for local small business retail and how you can leverage this power in your own independent business today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwRHiHlWcVg
As you can probably tell, we’re excited about AI. It makes accessible to small business retailers opportunities for more effectively competing – as plenty are already finding. It’s a terrific opportunity for efficiency and growth.
And, when you’re researching AI, get to the facts. Some software companies say they have AI tools, when they don’t. It’s important you see for yourself what’s available today as this matters
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