GS Shop product search exposure up to 3.9 times higher

'Field-driven AX outcomes to become competitive edge'

GS Retail CEO Heo Seo-hong (fourth from left) and Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center CEO Lee Young-geun (fifth from left) pose with startup representatives at the fourth Future Retail open innovation program showcase held at GS Tower in Seoul. [GS Retail]
GS Retail CEO Heo Seo-hong (fourth from left) and Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center CEO Lee Young-geun (fifth from left) pose with startup representatives at the fourth Future Retail open innovation program showcase held at GS Tower in Seoul. [GS Retail]

GS Retail on Tuesday unveiled the results of roughly four months of proof-of-concept projects conducted with five AI startups.

The company held the fourth showcase of its open innovation program, The GS Challenge. Future Retail — known as Future Retail — at GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. GS Retail CEO Heo Seo-hong, senior executives from key business units, operational staff and startup representatives attended.

The fourth cohort began by surveying demand from 17 business divisions to define problem areas, then selected startups best suited to address them. The program tested the business applicability of AI technology across three domains: data and AI intelligence, autonomous operations optimization, and digital engagement innovation.

GS Shop partnered with startup SearchOSAI to apply Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) technology aimed at boosting product visibility in generative AI search environments. The team optimized information for about 100,000 products to suit generative AI search and produced roughly 2,000 pieces of content capturing product features and details. Product search exposure rose 3.8 times in the first round of testing and 3.9 times in the second.

Working with startup MayI, GS Retail deployed a Vision AI-based customer behavior analysis solution and dashboard across four fresh-food-focused stores. The technology analyzes customer behavior data — including visitor counts and time spent at display shelves — and links it with point-of-sale data to identify purchasing patterns. Key evaluation metrics achieved accuracy rates above 90 percent. GS25 plans to use the findings to improve product assortment and store operations.

With startup Buildup Labs, GS Retail developed a dashboard that tracks popular food and dessert trends on social media, monitoring mention volumes, the spread of trends and their staying power. The tool is designed to help merchandise planners identify promising products early and prioritize new product development based on data. Additional features — including channel-by-channel analysis, keyword comparisons, popular intellectual property discovery and competitor product response tracking — are under development.

"The fourth Future Retail cohort was a process of collaborating with startups around real operational challenges and verifying the applicability of AI technology in the field," said Lee Seong-hwa, GS Retail's head of new growth. "Going forward, we will continue to actively leverage the best startup technologies to improve the customer experience and strengthen field-driven AI transformation that translates into tangible business results."


andy@heraldcorp.com