What AI skills do employees in small and medium-sized retail businesses need?

While technical skills are essential, the most crucial requirement is having an open-minded approach to embracing new technologies, also known as a digital mindset.

This is one of the key insights highlighted in INAIR's research report "AI Skills Needs and Gaps in Retail", the result of many months of dedicated work by the team at the Digital Economy Lab of the University of Warsaw.

The report was prepared under the leadership of Prof. Renata Włoch, who was responsible for the design of the study, the structure of the report, the integration of the text and - together with Prof. Katarzyna Śledziewska - the development of recommendations for the preparation of our Core Curriculum on AI for retailers.

The research activities consisted of:

• Co-creation workshops with retail and AI experts, managers, and staff from retail SMEs in the INAIR consortium's countries, led by Dr. Agata Komendant-Brodowska and analysed by Dr. Bartosz Ślosarski;
• A comprehensive literature review and analysis of nearly 45,000 relevant job advertisements conducted by Michal Paliński;
• An examination of AI applications in small and medium-sized retail businesses by Karol Teodorowicz;
• An analysis of statistical data on AI implementation in SMEs in the countries studied by Veronika Lebkowska.

It has been an amazing journey, and we want to express our warm gratitude to all those who contributed valuable insights into the challenges faced by SMEs in the AI revolution.

Read the report now at https://zenodo.org/records/12793437!