To succeed in retail today, organizations must be able to quickly process the massive amounts of data coming into their business and use it with the latest technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time analytics—to continuously improve:
-
-
- Customer experiences
- Operations and supply chain management
- Competitor analysis and market trends forecasting
-
Staying competitive means driving massive data—the lifeblood of any organization—with the high-performance computing and low latency that solid state drives (SSDs) deliver and extracting insights with AI tools, such as large language models (LLMs). According to Gartner, 91% of retail IT leaders surveyed are prioritizing AI as the top technology to implement by 2026.
How SSDs and AI can help retailers thrive
The more challenging your retail operations become—the more advanced and scalable your IT solutions need to be. From small businesses to large enterprises, modernizing your IT is essential for ensuring efficiency, agility, and competitiveness. SSDs offer faster data access and improved reliability, significantly reducing downtime and accelerating transactions. Combined with AI and real-time analytics, retailers can streamline inventory management, predict market trends, and enhance customer experiences.
SSD storage is an essential piece of your IT strategy
Data is only going to get bigger, and the hard disk drives (HDDs) of the past cannot lower latency, speed access, and tier data coming in from all points of your business—much less help you increase profits with valuable insights. SSDs give you the robust capabilities you need to significantly optimize retail operations with:
-
-
- Faster access to inventory databases, point-of-sale (POS) system and customer data.
- Reduced downtime and loading times for applications, websites and in-store systems.
- Consistent operations, especially during peak times; SSDs are less prone to mechanical failure than traditional HDDs.
- Energy efficiency as SSDs consume less power than HDDs, which can lower operational costs and align with sustainability goals.
- Real-time inventory tracking and management.
- Advanced encryption to protect sensitive customer and business data, crucial for maintaining trust and compliance with data protection regulations.
- Big data analytics that drive decision-making; SSDs provide the performance needed to process large datasets quickly.
-
LLMs are the transformative tools you need to stay competitive
LLMs, which are foundational in the development of AI-driven applications such as chatbots and virtual assistants, also generate the actionable insights that help you improve operations and increase profitability with:
-
-
- Demand forecasting — Optimize inventory levels using historical sales data, market trend analytics and data from external factors like weather or economic conditions.
- Price optimization — Analyze competitor pricing, customer demand and inventory to set dynamic strategies.
- Personalized marketing — Create personalized marketing campaigns that target individual preferences and behaviors.
- Supply chain efficiency — Predict potential disruptions, identify inefficiencies and recommend improvements that reduce costs and lead to faster delivery times.
- Fraud detection and prevention — Identify unusual patterns in transaction data to detect and prevent fraudulent activities.
- Operational efficiency — Optimize workforce management; predict peak times and ensure adequate staffing levels; streamline logistics and warehouse operations and reduce waste.
-
Phison offers innovative SSDs and AI solutions ideally suited for retail operations
For over two decades, Phison has been at the forefront of storage innovation, developing unrivalled controller expertise and crafting NAND flash storage solutions that power enterprise applications globally with customized design solutions and turnkey SSDs. Phison engineering continues to take SSD technology to the next level with solutions such as:
-
-
- aiDAPTIV+ — Turnkey hybrid hardware/software that uses cost-effective NAND flash to increase access to LLM training, allowing control of data on-premises. Organizations can train large data models without adding staff and infrastructure, and scale linearly with its data training and time requirements.
- Pascari — Enterprise-focused SSD series suited for high-performance computing (HPC), AI, hyperscale and data center applications that demand the highest data throughput.
- IMAGIN+ — Collaboration platform and design services that let you partner with Phison to customize storage solutions to your specific requirements.
-
Boost data processing, improve scalability, and enhance your decision-making capabilities with the latest technologies from Phison. Learn more >
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) :
How do SSDs improve retail POS speed and uptime?
SSDs reduce read and write latency compared to HDDs, allowing POS systems and inventory databases to respond faster and remain stable during peak shopping hours. They also have no moving parts, which lowers failure rates and minimizes downtime across both in-store and online operations.
Why replace HDDs if they still work?
While HDDs can store large amounts of data, they struggle with the speed and latency demands of modern retail systems. SSDs handle high input/output workloads and support rapid data tiering, making them ideal for real-time analytics and AI-driven decision-making.
What are the top business outcomes from adopting SSDs in retail?
Retailers see faster transactions, reduced loading times, better consistency during high traffic periods, lower energy use, real-time inventory visibility, stronger encryption, and quicker data analytics that support better strategic decisions.
How does AI (especially LLMs) apply to day-to-day retail?
AI and large language models enhance demand forecasting, dynamic pricing, customer personalization, supply chain management, fraud detection, and workforce optimization. They turn vast datasets into actionable insights that improve both profitability and customer experience.
Is AI really a priority for retail IT through 2026?
Yes, AI is becoming essential for competitiveness in retail. Most IT leaders are prioritizing AI adoption to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance the customer journey through smarter data use.
How does Phison’s aiDAPTIV+ help retailers adopt LLMs without high costs?
aiDAPTIV+ combines hardware and software in a turnkey solution built on efficient NAND technology. It enables on-premises LLM training that scales linearly, reducing the need for extensive cloud infrastructure while keeping sensitive retail data in-house.
Which Phison SSD line supports high-throughput retail analytics and AI workloads?
The Pascari enterprise SSD family is designed for HPC, AI, hyperscale, and data center applications. It delivers sustained throughput and low latency, ideal for real-time analytics and AI inference in large retail environments.
Can Phison customize SSD solutions for specific retail or edge requirements?
Yes. Through the IMAGIN+ co-design program, Phison collaborates directly with retailers to develop tailored SSD solutions that meet specific workloads, performance goals, and compliance requirements.
Beyond speed, what other operational benefits do SSDs bring?
SSDs improve energy efficiency, support real-time data synchronization, and enhance data security with advanced encryption. These advantages lower operating costs and support sustainability goals while maintaining consistent system performance.
What’s the first step to modernize retail IT for AI readiness?
Start by upgrading to SSD-based infrastructure to ensure the speed and reliability required for AI and analytics. Once the storage foundation is in place, layer on AI-driven tools for forecasting, dynamic pricing, and fraud prevention to maximize ROI.
English 
繁體中文 
简体中文 
日本語 
Deutsch 
한국어