Salesforce Unveils Agentforce for Retail to Boost Productivity with Digital Labor and Retail Cloud to Unite In-Store and Digital Shopping
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has announced two major AI-powered retail innovations: Agentforce for Retail and Retail Cloud with Modern POS. Agentforce for Retail features pre-built agent skills for automating tasks like order management and appointment scheduling, while Retail Cloud introduces a cloud-based point-of-sale system that unifies online and offline shopping data.
The new platform includes Commerce Skills for order management and guided shopping, Field Service Skills for appointment scheduling, and Marketing Skills for loyalty promotion creation. The Modern POS system offers features like clienteling, inventory management, endless aisle, and mixed cart fulfillment options.
According to Salesforce research, 81% of retail executives report inefficient processes affecting productivity, with associates using over 16 different applications daily. The new solutions will be generally available between February and April 2025, with SharkNinja and Saks already implementing these technologies to enhance their retail operations.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) ha annunciato due importanti innovazioni nel settore retail alimentate dall'IA: Agentforce for Retail e Retail Cloud con Modern POS. Agentforce for Retail offre competenze prestabilite per automatizzare compiti come la gestione degli ordini e la programmazione degli appuntamenti, mentre Retail Cloud introduce un sistema di punto vendita basato su cloud che unifica i dati degli acquisti online e offline.
La nuova piattaforma include Commerce Skills per la gestione degli ordini e lo shopping assistito, Field Service Skills per la programmazione degli appuntamenti, e Marketing Skills per la creazione di promozioni per la fedeltà. Il sistema Modern POS offre funzionalità come clienteling, gestione dell'inventario, corsia infinita e opzioni di evasione degli ordini misti.
Secondo una ricerca di Salesforce, l'81% dei dirigenti retail riporta processi inefficienti che influenzano la produttività, con gli addetti che utilizzano oltre 16 applicazioni diverse ogni giorno. Le nuove soluzioni saranno disponibili in generale tra febbraio e aprile 2025, con SharkNinja e Saks già impegnate a implementare queste tecnologie per migliorare le loro operazioni retail.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) ha anunciado dos importantes innovaciones en el retail impulsadas por IA: Agentforce for Retail y Retail Cloud con Modern POS. Agentforce for Retail presenta habilidades preconstruidas para automatizar tareas como la gestión de pedidos y la programación de citas, mientras que Retail Cloud introduce un sistema de punto de venta basado en la nube que unifica los datos de compras en línea y fuera de línea.
La nueva plataforma incluye Commerce Skills para la gestión de pedidos y compras guiadas, Field Service Skills para la programación de citas, y Marketing Skills para la creación de promociones de fidelización. El sistema Modern POS ofrece características como clienteling, gestión de inventario, pasillo infinito y opciones de cumplimiento de carrito mixto.
Según una investigación de Salesforce, el 81% de los ejecutivos del retail informa sobre procesos ineficientes que afectan la productividad, con asociados que utilizan más de 16 aplicaciones diferentes a diario. Las nuevas soluciones estarán disponibles en general entre febrero y abril de 2025, con SharkNinja y Saks ya implementando estas tecnologías para mejorar sus operaciones en el retail.
세일즈포스 (NYSE: CRM)는 AI 기반의 두 가지 중요한 소매 혁신을 발표했습니다: 소매를 위한 에이전트포스와 현대 POS를 갖춘 소매 클라우드. 에이전트포스 for Retail는 주문 관리 및 약속 예약과 같은 작업을 자동화하기 위한 사전 구축된 상담원 기술을 특징으로 하며, Retail Cloud는 온라인 및 오프라인 쇼핑 데이터를 통합하는 클라우드 기반의 판매 시점 시스템을 소개합니다.
이 새로운 플랫폼은 주문 관리 및 안내 쇼핑을 위한 상거래 기술, 약속 예약을 위한 현장 서비스 기술, 그리고 충성도 프로모션 생성에 대한 마케팅 기술을 포함합니다. 현대 POS 시스템은 고객 관리, 재고 관리, 끝없는 통로 및 혼합 장바구니 이행 옵션과 같은 기능을 제공합니다.
세일즈포스 연구에 따르면, 81%의 소매 경영진이 비효율적인 프로세스가 생산성에 영향을 미친다고 보고하며, 직원들은 매일 16개 이상의 다른 응용 프로그램을 사용하고 있습니다. 새로운 솔루션은 2025년 2월과 4월 사이에 일반적으로 제공될 예정이며, SharkNinja와 Saks는 이미 이러한 기술을 구현하여 소매 운영을 개선하고 있습니다.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) a annoncé deux grandes innovations dans le secteur du retail alimentées par l'IA : Agentforce for Retail et Retail Cloud avec Modern POS. Agentforce for Retail propose des compétences d'agent préétablies pour automatiser des tâches comme la gestion des commandes et la planification des rendez-vous, tandis que Retail Cloud introduit un système de point de vente basé sur le cloud qui unifie les données d'achats en ligne et hors ligne.
La nouvelle plateforme comprend des Compétences Commerciales pour la gestion des commandes et l'achat guidé, des Compétences de Service sur le Terrain pour la planification des rendez-vous, et des Compétences Marketing pour la création de promotions de fidélité. Le système Modern POS offre des fonctionnalités telles que le clienteling, la gestion des stocks, le couloir infini et des options de traitement de panier mixte.
Selon une recherche de Salesforce, 81 % des dirigeants du retail signalent des processus inefficaces affectant la productivité, les employés utilisant plus de 16 applications différentes par jour. Les nouvelles solutions seront généralement disponibles entre février et avril 2025, avec SharkNinja et Saks ayant déjà mis en œuvre ces technologies pour améliorer leurs opérations de retail.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) hat zwei bedeutende von KI gesteuerte Innovationen im Einzelhandel angekündigt: Agentforce for Retail und Retail Cloud mit Modern POS. Agentforce for Retail bietet vorgefertigte Agentenfähigkeiten zur Automatisierung von Aufgaben wie Auftragsmanagement und Terminplanung, während die Retail Cloud ein cloudbasiertes Point-of-Sale-System einführt, das Online- und Offline-Einkaufsdaten vereint.
Die neue Plattform umfasst Commerce Skills für das Auftragsmanagement und geführtes Einkaufen, Field Service Skills für die Terminplanung und Marketing Skills zur Erstellung von Treueaktionen. Das Modern POS-System bietet Funktionen wie Clienteling, Bestandsmanagement, endlose Gänge und Optionen zur Erfüllung gemischter Warenkörbe.
Laut einer Salesforce-Studie berichten 81 % der Führungskräfte im Einzelhandel von ineffizienten Prozessen, die die Produktivität beeinträchtigen, wobei Mitarbeiter täglich über 16 verschiedene Anwendungen nutzen. Die neuen Lösungen werden voraussichtlich zwischen Februar und April 2025 allgemein verfügbar sein, wobei SharkNinja und Saks diese Technologien bereits implementieren, um ihre Einzelhandelsoperationen zu verbessern.
- Introduction of AI-powered automation platform to increase operational efficiency
- Integration of online and offline shopping data into a single platform
- Mobile-first design with secure offline mode enabling sales continuity
- Partnership with major retailers SharkNinja and Saks demonstrates market validation
- Extended timeline for general availability (2025) may delay competitive advantages
- Requirement for multiple system integrations could increase implementation complexity
Insights
This product launch represents a strategic pivot towards AI-powered retail operations automation. The integration of Agentforce for Retail with Retail Cloud creates a comprehensive ecosystem that addresses critical pain points in the retail sector. The platform's ability to handle complex tasks autonomously while maintaining personalization could significantly reduce operational costs and improve efficiency.
The RAG-enhanced AI system combined with unified data architecture enables real-time decision making and personalization at scale - a important differentiator in modern retail. The
The April 2025 release timeline for Retail Cloud with Modern POS aligns with typical retail technology adoption cycles, giving retailers time to plan implementation before the holiday season. The pre-built skills approach significantly lowers the barrier to entry for AI adoption in retail operations.
The integration of offline and online retail operations through a unified cloud platform addresses a critical industry challenge. Store associates currently juggling 16 different applications daily represents significant operational inefficiency - this solution could dramatically streamline workflows and reduce training requirements.
The mixed cart architecture with flexible fulfillment options is particularly valuable as it aligns with evolving consumer expectations for omnichannel shopping. The offline capability ensures business continuity during connectivity issues - a important feature often overlooked in cloud-based POS systems.
SharkNinja's adoption as an early customer validates the platform's potential impact on large-scale retail operations. The ability to automate routine customer inquiries while maintaining personalization could significantly improve both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction metrics.
Agentforce digital labor platform includes new pre-built Agentforce skills for retailers that assist with tasks across order management, guided shopping, appointment scheduling, and loyalty programs
Retail Cloud includes a cloud-based POS, clienteling, endless aisle, omnichannel fulfillment, and more to deliver personalized shopping experiences across physical and digital touchpoints
SharkNinja and Saks are using Salesforce to help boost employee and associate productivity and deliver more impactful shopper interactions
Agentforce for Retail includes a new library of pre-built agent skills, making it easier for retailers to build AI agents that automate time-consuming tasks, such as order management and appointment scheduling, and deploy rapid shopper personalization at scale.
Salesforce’s new Retail Cloud with Modern POS is a cloud-based system bringing online and offline shopping data together on a single platform, giving associates a single entry point to serve shoppers better and faster with mobile POS, clienteling, endless aisle, mixed cart and omnichannel fulfillment, inventory management, and more.
What’s New:
Agentforce for Retail includes new pre-built skills for order management, guided shopping, appointment scheduling, and loyalty promotion creation. Agentforce makes trusted, autonomous AI agents part of every team, increasing employee capacity across marketing, commerce, merchandising, and store operations with digital teammates that handle complex tasks with precision, accuracy, and personalization. Scalable digital labor will help retailers reach new levels of productivity — responding to customer questions in real time, modifying orders, issuing returns, managing inventory, scheduling consultations, and even coordinating with shipping providers — all without the need for human intervention.
These new Agentforce skills are designed to unlock more capacity to serve shoppers, drive costs down, and increase shopper conversion. They complement existing skills already available for merchandisers, marketers, and customer service reps. New skills include:
- Commerce Skills for Order Management bring order servicing to Agentforce, allowing retailers to offer self-service order servicing options that reduce costs and boost customer loyalty. With these new skills, customers can conversationally update order information like payment or shipping details, handle uneven exchanges, or quickly inquire about order status on the channel they prefer.
- Commerce Skills for Guided Shopping help retailers scale personalized one-to-one concierge services to digital proportions, with new skills for guided shopping. Shoppers can use natural language to get product recommendations from an agent calculated by Agentforce and grounded in shopper, inventory, and operational data. New actions allow customers to search for products, add items to their cart, and checkout conversationally.
- Field Service Skills for Appointment Scheduling assist service representatives in facilitating appointment bookings for deliveries, installations, or consultations, powered by AI-driven scheduling and real-time availability updates.
- Marketing Skills for Loyalty Promotion Creation assist marketers in creating and revising loyalty promotions with conversational prompts grounded in shopper, POS, and segmentation data resulting in more personalized email content and subject lines that increase customer engagement.
Salesforce is also introducing Retail Cloud with Modern POS, which arms retailers with a user-friendly, cloud-based POS. This system brings online and offline shopping and inventory data together on a single platform, giving associates a single tool to serve their shoppers better and faster. Features include:
- Clienteling, Inventory Management, Endless Aisle, and built-in AI powered by real-time shopper and inventory data: Associates can create and modify shopper profiles that capture shopping history, preferences, and loyalty status; view and update inventory across warehouses, commerce channels, and supply chain; action on analytics from omni-channel customer, order, inventory, and sales performance data; and activate AI for voice assistance, return fraud analysis, and personalized product recommendations.
- Mixed Cart and Omni-channel Fulfillment give shoppers more delivery and exchange options while reducing supply chain costs: An omni-cart architecture allows each line item to have its own fulfillment method, offering a single “mixed cart” with shopper fulfillment preferences including buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), buy-online-return-in-store, and omni exchange.
- Mobile-first design and secure offline mode release associates from the checkout counter: Offline-capable software enables checkouts anywhere shoppers are ready. Payment transactions are encrypted and stored, ready to be processed when an associate reconnects, allowing sales to occur during a loss of internet, remote and outdoor activity, or peak shopping activity.
- Built-in Salesforce integrations and no-code CMS get retailers up and running quickly: Integrations with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Order Management, and Service Cloud let retailers quickly access customer data insights, order management, cart synchronization, product information management, and more. The cloud-based CMS uses intuitive drag-and-drop features to tailor the interface to each store’s unique brand.
Retail Cloud and Agentforce increase workforce productivity across front- and back-office teams:
AI agents perform best when grounded in accurate, up-to-date customer and operational data. To unlock this value, retailers require solutions that can unify, action, and scale data from both online and offline shopping activity.
With Salesforce’s Modern POS and Data Cloud, retailers can harmonize data and metadata from in-store, commerce, marketing, service, and loyalty systems to give employees and associates a unified, near real-time view of activity across the entire shopper journey. Retailers can now use Agentforce, with enhanced Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), to retrieve and take action on this data and deliver precise answers, tailored engagements, and upsell opportunities with every shopper interaction.
Why it matters: In a Salesforce study,
The Salesforce perspective: “Together, AI-fueled digital labor and a modern POS can unlock a new scale of operational capacity for retailers. With these latest Agentforce skills for retail and a cloud-based, intuitive POS system, Salesforce is helping retailers deliver seamless, unified shopping experiences across both the physical and digital realms of retail that drive productivity advancements and business growth across their entire enterprise.” – Nitin Mangtani, SVP & GM, Retail, Salesforce
Customer perspective: "At SharkNinja, our team is driven by a passion for delivering high-performing technology to every consumer. Agentforce will help us scale this mission by handling routine shopper inquiries — like 'Where is my order?' — and enabling seamless self-service. This will allow our team members to focus on innovation and creating meaningful, high-impact interactions." – Velia Carboni, CIO, SharkNinja
Availability:
- Commerce Skills for Guided Shopping (Product Search, Product Recommendations, Add to Cart, Re-Order, and WISMO) will be generally available in March 2025.
- Commerce Skills for Order Management will be generally available in March 2025.
- Field Service Skills for Appointment Scheduling will be generally available in February 2025.
- Marketing Skills for Loyalty Promotion Creation will be generally available in February 2025.
- Retail Cloud with Modern POS will be generally available in April 2025.
- Enhanced reasoning and RAG will be generally available in February 2025.
Learn more:
- Learn more about Retail Cloud with Modern POS
- Learn more about Agentforce 2.0
- Check out how Saks elevates luxury shopping with unified data and agents
- Check out Salesforce at NRF’s “The Big Show” January 12 – 14, 2025
Any unreleased services or features referenced here are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available.
About Salesforce
Salesforce helps organizations of any size reimagine their business for the world of AI. With Agentforce, Salesforce's trusted platform, organizations can bring humans together with agents to drive customer success — powered by AI, data, and action. Visit www.salesforce.com for more information.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250110389338/en/
Source: Salesforce
FAQ
When will Salesforce (CRM) launch its new Retail Cloud with Modern POS?
What key features does Salesforce's (CRM) Agentforce for Retail include?
How does Salesforce's (CRM) new Modern POS system handle offline transactions?
What problem is Salesforce (CRM) addressing with its new retail solutions?
Which major retailers are already using Salesforce's (CRM) new retail solutions?
