S2E9 Greg Buzek of IHL Group on RFID, Computer Vision, Edge Computing, and the Returns Opportunity with AI Buy online pickup in store sounds like a solved problem. It’s not. In IHL Group’s 2026 Retail Transformation Study, only 18.2% of retailers have optimized BOPIS, and the most profitable retailers are a staggering 555% more likely to have it dialed in than the laggards. In the finale of our 3-part AI in Retail miniseries, Greg Buzek, President and Chief AI Orchestrator at IHL Group, joins Ricardo and Casey to unpack the connected supply chain, the unglamorous infrastructure quietly separating retail’s winners from everyone else. This is the conclusion of our three-part run with Greg. We started with shelf intelligence, moved to the augmented associate, and now we land on the part of retail that keeps executives up at night: supply chain and returns. If you want to understand why the connected supply chain decides who wins on margin in 2026, start here. In This Episode, You’ll Learn:●      Why the most profitable retailers are 555% more likely to have buy online pickup in store fully optimized, and why only about 18% of the industry has solved BOPIS●      How RFID and computer vision became the two technologies separating winners from laggards on inventory accuracy in the connected supply chain●      Why computer vision now runs on the edge for under $500, on hardware as simple as a Raspberry Pi tapping into cameras you already own●      How edge computing ties RFID and computer vision together so you only process what moved●      Reverse logistics and retail returns: why a $25 item is often cheaper to give away than to take back●      Aspirational sizing and the 90%-plus return rate on women’s dresses bought online, and how true fit technology with AI changes the math●      Return fraud, knockoffs, and how RFID plus computer vision verify whether an item was ever in your connected supply chain●      The one 2026 priority Greg would give every supply chain leader: clean data and a single version of the truth The Numbers That Matter●      555% more likely: profit winners vs. laggards with BOPIS fully optimized●      18.2% of retailers have optimized buy online pickup in store●      1,600% more likely: leaders using RFID vs. laggards●      160x more likely: sales winners (10%+ growth) are using RFID●      90%+ return rate on women’s dresses bought online●      48% of retail sales are now walk-in, walk-out; the other 52% runs through fulfillment models most retailers haven’t optimizedResource LinksHow Retail Leaders Outperform - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/how-retail-leaders-outperform/Shelf Intelligence Report - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/shelf-intelligence-report-rebuilding-retail-relationships-through-automation/Adapt or Be Outpaced - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/adapt-or-be-outpaced-tech-imperative-for-retails-midmarket/Fixing Inventory Distortion - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/fixing-inventory-distortion-whos-winning-whos-failing-whats-working/Closing the Execution Gap - https://www.ihlservices.com/product/closing-the-execution-gap/Support Our SponsorsThis Episode is Brought to You By RetailClub.Retail Club AI Festival, September 22–24 in Huntington Beach. Join 2,000 retail leaders for a fully outdoor, beachside deep dive into how AI is reshaping retail. Qualified retailers and brands can attend with free tickets and up to $1,250 in travel reimbursement. Head to retailclub.com to learn more. https://retailclub.com/retail-razor-podcastSubscribe & FollowLove this episode? Drop us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Don't forget to like and subscribe to The Retail Razor: Data Blades for more episodes on customer experience, retail marketing, AI in retail, and data‑driven transformation!Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeAbout Our GuestGreg Buzek. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbuzek/IHL Group. https://www.ihlservices.com/ RetailROI. https://www.retailroi.orgGreg Buzek is the Founder, President and Principal Analyst of IHL Group, one of the most respected retail technology research firms in the world. IHL's annual Retail Transformation Study is the largest survey of retail technology leaders in the industry, covering more than 400 brands across every retail segment. Greg is also the founder of Retail Orphan Initiative (Retail ROI), which this week surpassed $6 million in total grants to help children around the world through the industry's Super Saturday campaign.Noted by RIS News as one of the Top 10 Influentials in Retail and the National Retail Federation as one of “The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future“, he has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from The Ohio State University, and 30 years of experience in retail market analysis, business planning, product development, and consulting with Fortune 500 companies. He is also a member of the Top 100 Retail Influencers from RETHINK Retail.Chapters(00:00) Teaser(00:46) Show Intro(04:05) Welcome Back, Greg Buzek!(07:09) Inventory Accuracy Tech Stack(10:01) Computer Vision Goes Edge(15:18) Returns and Reverse Logistics(20:50) Return Fraud and Smart Mirrors(26:04) 2026 Priorities Clean Data(29:35) Show CloseAbout your HostsHelping you cut through the clutter in retail data insights:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and eCommerce, a Top 25 Thought Leader in Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AI, AGI and Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in AI Ethics, Marketing, Digital Transformation andTransformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft.Casey Golden, is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! MusicIncludes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Tech Lore from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.