Case Study
How Integrated IT and AI Help Growing Retailers
Learn how small and midsize retail organizations can modernize store operations, protect margins, and adopt AI safely with integrated Dell Technologies, Intel®, and Windows 11 solutions. Accelerate daily workflows, minimize cyber risk, and boost associate productivity without overloading lean IT teams. Read about improving speed, consistency, and security across store operations without increasing IT burden.
- Topic
- Business Solutions
- Published
- 6 Aug 2026
Growing retailers face rising customer expectations, tighter margins, and increasing operational complexity across store locations, sales channels, and endpoint devices. Modernizing store technology is essential, but solutions must deliver measurable returns while remaining budget-conscious and practical for lean teams. By deploying integrated hardware and software platforms; including Dell AI-ready PCs powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra processors and Windows 11, retailers can enhance floor productivity, speed up daily decisions, and strengthen security against rising cyber threats. Modernizing endpoints and adopting edge-ready architectures yields faster store setups, fewer helpdesk calls, and higher overall operational resilience.
Key Highlights:
Up to 46% Improvement in Employee Productivity: Upgrading to modern Dell devices boosts associate efficiency on the store floor.
Up to 42% Faster Workload Processing: Accelerates everyday retail tasks and reduces multi-step operational delays.
Up to 50% Faster Workflows: Streamlines complex, multi-step store processes across departments.
Up to 58% Fewer Security Incidents: Windows 11 Pro environments significantly reduce cybersecurity exposure compared to legacy systems.
Up to 71% 3-Year ROI: Modeled retail environments demonstrate strong financial returns from technology modernization.
Active AI Adoption: 57% of retail SMBs are already investing in AI software and SaaS solutions.
Performance Impact: High-performing retail organizations are 2-4× more likely to apply AI to core operational decisions.
Efficiency Focus: 55% of retail SMBs cite operational efficiency as the top AI benefit they seek.
On-Premises Infrastructure Demand: 68% agree maturing AI initiatives will require private, edge, or on-premises infrastructure for compliance and cost predictability.
Rising Cyber Threats: 83% of retail organizations experienced a cyberattack last year, making built-in hardware and OS security vital.
Pragmatic Budgeting: 75% of SMB retailers state they must remain budget-conscious when pursuing AI use cases.
Rapid Device Provisioning: Provision devices and applications in under 1 minute using cloud-based Windows deployment.
Reduced Helpdesk Burden: Up to 80% fewer helpdesk calls achieved through centralized endpoint management.