Anticipating the Future: Dave Ritter on AI, Analytics, and Retail Insights at Walmart
July 8, 2025
AI is reshaping how businesses gather, analyze, and democratize consumer insights, while maintaining the critical role of human expertise and intervention.
In this episode of The Curiosity Current, hosts Stephanie and Matt speak with Dave Ritter, Director of Insights and Consulting at Walmart, exploring how AI is transforming market research, consumer segmentation, and customer insights while discussing the balance between technological advancement and human intuition.
In this episode of The Curiosity Current, hosts Stephanie and Matt explore the evolving landscape of consumer insights with Dave Ritter, Director of Insights and Consulting at Walmart. From revolutionizing primary research with AI to democratizing customer insights across organizations, Dave shares practical perspectives on balancing traditional methods with emerging technologies. Whether you're navigating the qual-quant divide, exploring AI's role in segmentation, or seeking to optimize customer experience, this conversation offers fresh frameworks for leveraging AI while maintaining human expertise. Tune in to discover why AI might be "the new calculator" and how researchers can embrace its potential while knowing when human intervention matters most.
- Deep dive into AI's impact on market research and consumer insights
- Framework for balancing AI automation with human expertise
- Fresh perspectives on democratizing insights across organizations
- Practical approaches to qual/quant integration using AI
- Strategic view on the future of consumer behavior prediction
What You’ll Learn:
- How to effectively integrate AI into market research through a test-and-learn approach, from survey writing to automated reporting
- The "No/Moderate/Full Intervention Framework" for determining when and how to deploy AI in research
- Why qualitative research at scale is becoming more powerful through AI-enabled video and audio analysis
- How AI is evolving consumer segmentation from broad clusters to hyper-personalization
- The critical role of human expertise in validating AI insights and navigating disruptive market changes
- Why researchers should embrace AI as a "calculator for insights" while maintaining fundamental research principles
- How to leverage AI for faster threat and opportunity detection in brand management and crisis response
- The importance of validating AI findings against traditional research methods before implementation
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Episode Resources:
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