The Home Depot has bagged the Holy Grail of omnichannel retail with its latest AI shopping assistant move
The Home Depot has announced the US wide roll-out of new in-store capabilities for Magic Apron, its Al powered shopping assistant. Customers can open it in the retailer’smobile app or scan a QR code on in-store signage.
"Customers come to The Home Depot for expert guidance, and we know they want their shopping experience to be easy and efficient," says Jordan Broggi, EVP of Interconnected Retail. "Magic Apron takes the best of our digital expertise and brings it into the physical store, creating a more connected shopping experience that helps customers find products, get project guidance and make decisions faster. Our associates remain at the centre of the shopping experience, and Magic Apron gives customers another way to access guidance and support while they're in our stores."
This is the Holy Grail of omnichannel retail, according to Michael Guzzetta, Retail Innovation & Strategy Leader at Cookie Plug San Antonio, and a former H-E-B executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “It's moments like these when an AI assistant stops being just another digital feature and starts making physical promises a reality. Customers can ask questions by text, voice, or image. Then, Magic Apron can provide project guidance, check local availability, and even point someone to a specific aisle and bay. The model is the visible part for the customer, but the harder job will be for the back end teams to keep several operating systems honest at the same time: Local inventory; Aisle and bay mapping; Product compatibility; Store specific knowledge; The handoff to an associate when the answer is incomplete or wrong.”
He added: “Anyone who has worked around store systems knows that “aisle 14, bay 6” isn’t just a helpful customer answer... It’s a promise built on receiving, stocking, planogram changes, shrink, inventory accuracy, and whatever happened on the floor ten minutes ago. Now zoom out to a nationwide scale and the important questions change. How quickly does local reality reach the assistant? How does an associate correct a bad answer? Who owns the recovery when the guidance is technically sound but the product isn’t actually there?”
Magic Apron is compelling because it connects advice to the physical store, Guzzetta argues. Its biggest test will be how often the store can keep the promise its digital friend just made.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Omnichannel retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
