Home improvement retailer Lowe’s is in the mindset of how to grow as a business, and that’s where AI’s presumed superpowers that dominated CES can help, at least according to Chandu Nair, SVP for stores, data, artificial intelligence, and innovation at Lowe’s.

Nair, who joined Lowe’s in 2020, runs AI strategy for the company, including overseeing the Lowe’s Innovation Labs introduced in 2014. He, like many CES attendees, was hoping to track emerging technologies the retailer can use in-store or behind the scenes in its supply chain.

“When we look at technologies, we look to see what is the broader problem or the opportunity it is trying to solve,” Nair told Retail Brew at CES. “And then we try to say, ‘Is there a real, relevant retail problem that the technology can apply?’”

Last year, Lowe’s started testing an AI-enabled voice agent—an intelligent virtual agent (IVA)—in all its stores that Nair said has helped free up staff for more face-to-face interaction. Nair spoke to Retail Brew on the sidelines of CES about how the company is thinking about AI and its use cases.

Keep reading here.—VC

The mood among consumers is bleak, but that’s not stopping many Americans from spending money. While the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for January dropped to its lowest level since 2014—respondents cited everything from inflation and oil prices to trade politics and health insurance—a slew of indicators from credit card data to iPhone sales show resilience among shoppers.

Mastercard and American Express both had positive things to say about US consumers.

“We remain positive about the growth outlook and our base case for 2026 continues to reflect healthy consumer spending,” CFO Sachin Mehra told shareholders.

CEO Michael Miebach added that in 2025 the company saw a “truly savvy and intentional consumer” taking advantage of the digital economy to find the best deals and using loyalty programs to determine their spending decisions.

As for the much-feared tariff impact, it’s just showing up in the numbers.

Keep reading here.—AV

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Cristy Aranguiz is co-founder and CEO of a multi-state cannabis enterprise, leading Cannabis & Glass, Iowa Cannabis Company, and Minnesota Cannabis Services.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I run companies that have to operate flawlessly every single day. Retail looks simple from the outside, but behind the scenes, its logistics, compliance, customer experience, pricing strategy, supply chain, hiring, and marketing all happening at once. My job is to make something incredibly complex feel seamless to the customer.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I read every customer review: the good ones and the tough ones. People don’t realize how seriously I take customer feedback. It’s one of the best ways to stay grounded and understand exactly where we’re winning and where we need to improve.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Scaling our Washington retail operations will always be my favorite. It’s where I learned how to run a real business, like how to increase volume, sharpen pricing, improve processes, and build a team that can execute at a high level.

Keep reading here.—EC

As shoppers increasingly turn to AI tools for product recommendations, traditional search is facing new competition. Dive into how generative engine optimization is reshaping discovery, why traffic from AI is surging, and what brands need to do to stay visible as shopping conversations move from search bars to chatbots.