AI influence on holiday retail

ASU economist shares how retailers are using artificial intelligence to forecast inventory needs ahead of the holiday season.

In this article aired July 23, 2026, on Arizona Horizon:

AI this year, interestingly, is not only advising on demand forecast, but also becoming a risk mitigator for the retailers. What it's saying is, 'What if something happened in the Strait of Hormuz?' 'What if something happened with tariffs? Let's buy it early.' These retailers' use of AI is mainly to forecast how much inventory they need to purchase earlier in the year. Seeing how much retailers import in the months leading up to the holiday season could indicate how it will go.

— Hitendra Chaturvedi, supply chain mangement professor of practice