Lee Jeong-pyo, head of marketing at GS Retail and a managing director, said, "Artificial intelligence (AI) improves the efficiency of choice and serves as a reliable source of information, but in the end, the most important trigger that makes customers choose is the brand and the experience."
Lee stated accordingly in a lecture on the theme "In the AI era, what makes a meal chosen: experience consumption created by GS25 chef IP collaboration marketing" at the 14th Consumer and Retail Forum hosted by ChosunBiz at the Westin Josun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 16th. This forum was held under the theme "In the AI era, how are choices made?"
Lee assessed that in the AI era, context, story, and fandom, rather than the product itself, determine consumers' choices. Lee said, "There are various products searchable by AI, and it will be the era when you need to appear as a brand nominated by AI to be most easily connected to experience," adding, "It is very important whether the products or services we roll out and the distribution channels can be nominated by AI."
However, Lee emphasized that AI cannot replace every choice. Lee explained, "The most important thing AI cannot replace is the desire a person has," adding, "What AI can do is help with search, comparison, and purchase, but it cannot replace the desires, beliefs, and trust that people hold."
To respond to this shift, GS Retail introduced ready-to-eat products in collaboration with chefs appearing on the Netflix variety show "Culinary Class Wars," pursuing a strategy that combines content and distribution. Lee said, "Convenience stores are no longer just simple distribution channels; they are lifestyle culture platforms that exist closest to daily life," adding, "We created a process in which the products made on Culinary Class Wars became items easily available at the convenience store around the corner."
Lee added, "As the chefs' unique recipes and philosophies and the narratives embedded in the menus are captured, the product evolves into an item with context rather than just food," and "In the end, customers' criteria for choice are experience and narrative."
Lee also disclosed actual results. Lee said GS25 launched 19 products through its season 1 collaboration with Culinary Class Wars, sold more than 2.5 million units over four months, and recorded more than 10 billion won in sales. Lee added that in season 2, after building a strategic IP portfolio, cumulative sales volume surpassed 6 million units over the same period, with revenue more than doubling.
Lee also pointed to taste-based curation as a core competitive edge for retail in the AI era. Lee said, "AI recommends the average, but GS Retail is striving to respect, curate, and recommend each customer's individual tastes," adding, "The true competitiveness in the AI era is how many different tastes you can cover."
Lee continued, "To have AI choose you, your product must be searchable, but ultimately human choice favors nominated products—those nominated to match my tastes," adding, "Going forward, retail's core will be not only selling products but also popularizing precious everyday experiences that customers can enjoy according to their tastes."
Lee added, "So much development and evolution is taking place that the retail industry can be described as a customer experience industry," and "The battle to design experiences that customers choose themselves and can keep as memorable will determine the competitiveness of retail channels in the future."