Where once DIYers could only get personalised advice and recommendations on the projects and problems that they are tackling in-store, now they can ask their questions across digital touchpoints at Kingfisher-owned Castorama. Its AI agent, Hello Casto, offers customers advice, video instructions and product recommendations for their DIY projects.
This, says Mohsen Ghasempour, group AI director at Kingfisher – the retail group behind B&Q, Screwfix and Castorama – is particularly useful for younger shoppers who are perhaps less likely to know what tools they need to complete a task and often shop very differently from older people. While Gen Z may not know the ins and outs of DIY, its members do have a good ability to use technology to find answers.
“I think every organisation needs to think about a new way of connecting to the new generation of customer,” said Ghasempour, speaking on the latest edition of the SubscriptionX podcast. He was in conversation with podcast hosts Katie Searles and Rabie Laib, senior solutions expert (EMEA) at Chargebee.
Their discussion went on to cover the value of the “data gold” that AI offers to retailers – and how subscriptions businesses and retailers can deploy AI in their own operations without reinventing the wheel. Speakers considered how AI could be used to automate and personalise subscriptions, especially in areas such as customer service and subscriber retention. They also considered Kingfisher’s test and learn approach to using AI across the group – and what other retailers can learn from its example.
The episode, Kingfisher: why retailers don’t need to reinvent the wheel with AI, was recorded at The RetailX Spring Festival 2025. Listen to it here.
SubscriptionX podcast series
Produced in association with Chargebee, the SubscriptionX podcast series – now in its second year – discusses how retailers are adopting and transforming the subscription business model, from the technology they use to the collaborative approaches that they adopt.
Previous episodes are available to listen to here.
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