Sonia Pypaert on the opportunities for retailers

How can AI enhance personal advice in specialist baby retail? The baby’s corner in Nazareth-De Pinte, Belgium, is exploring this question together with PXL University of Applied Sciences as part of a VLAIO TETRA project, using pushchairs and buggies as the first test category. ‘For us, AI is not the end point, but the starting point for a better conversation,’ says Sonia Pypaert, founder and director of the specialist baby store.

Who is Sonia Pypaert?

Sonia Pypaert is the founder and director of the baby’s corner and has 30 years of experience in the baby and children’s industry. She is closely involved in the development of the store and its customer experience. As part of the AI project, she is exploring how technology can enhance personal advice and support retail staff.

Why did you decide to develop an AI tool?

Sonia: ‘Anyone choosing a pushchair today is faced with an enormous number of options. Models, features, wheels, folding systems and configurations – parents sometimes simply don’t know where to begin. At the same time, choosing the right product is about much more than specifications. Every family has a different lifestyle. Do you live in the city or the countryside? Will the pushchair regularly need to go in the car? Do you have stairs? Do you walk a lot? Are you looking for something compact, or is comfort your priority? That is why we wanted to develop a tool that helps parents understand their own needs before they even enter the store. Not to replace personal advice, but to make the conversation more focused from the outset.’

What problem in the store are you hoping to solve?

‘Providing good advice takes time and attention. We also want every parent to receive the same strong foundation, regardless of which member of staff assists them. By encouraging parents to think about their situation beforehand, they arrive at the store better prepared. They know what matters to them and where they still have questions or doubts. This allows our staff to get to the heart of their needs more quickly. The tool takes care of part of the preparation, leaving more time for listening and providing expert advice. For us, AI is not the end point, but the starting point for a better conversation.’

How does the tool work in practice?

‘Parents complete a short series of questions on our website about how they expect to use their pushchair: from what age, in what type of environment, how often it will need to be folded or lifted, whether it will frequently travel in the car and which aspects of comfort are important to them. We deliberately avoid technical questions. Parents do not need to know what type of wheels or suspension they require. They can simply tell us: “We often walk on cobbled streets”, “we have a small hallway” or “I often need to lift the pushchair into the car by myself.” There is also room to provide additional information. The recommendations are linked to our Odoo system, ensuring that the advice reflects the products we actually have in our range.’

Why did you start with pushchairs and buggies?

‘Pushchairs and buggies – which we group under our “On the Go” category – are among the first major purchases many parents make. It is both an emotional and a practical decision. There is a huge choice, and the differences between products are not always immediately obvious. That makes this an ideal category for thoroughly testing the application. If the approach works well, we can look at expanding it to other categories later.’

Do you think AI could ever replace advice from a member of staff?

‘No. The tool maps out parents’ circumstances and preferences, but the actual advice remains in the hands of our people. A member of staff picks up on nuances, notices when someone is uncertain and may discover that parents actually need something different from what they initially thought. AI cannot replace that human element. For us, AI is the starting point for a better conversation.’

How are parents responding to the test?

‘Parents appreciate that the questions relate to their everyday lives. Rather than asking, “Which technical specifications do you want?”, we ask, “How are you going to use the pushchair?” They can tell us that they live in a small home, use the car frequently, walk a lot or are looking for something lightweight. As a result, parents feel understood more quickly. The advice does not start with the product; it starts with their lives. And that is exactly what we aim to do in our stores as well.’

What role does PXL University of Applied Sciences play?

‘PXL University of Applied Sciences is our research partner within the VLAIO TETRA project. They contribute methodology, research expertise and a critical perspective. Through our day-to-day retail experience, we know a great deal about what parents need. But we also want to establish whether the tool genuinely works, who benefits from it and where adjustments may be needed. This creates a living lab in which we can explore how technology can make the physical retail experience more personal.’

Could this approach also be relevant to other specialist baby retailers?

‘The tool has been developed specifically for the baby’s corner and is linked to our product range, our approach to customer advice and our Odoo environment. However, the underlying questions are relevant to the entire retail sector. How do you ask the right questions? How do you use AI without losing the human connection? And how can technology strengthen the physical store?

Through the TETRA project, we are exploring which insights could have wider applications.’

How do you expect AI to change baby retail over the next five years?

‘I expect AI to primarily help make advice more personalised. Every family has a different situation, and AI can help identify those differences more quickly. The challenge is trust. Parents need to feel that technology is supporting them, rather than simply processing them through a system. That is particularly important in baby retail. You are not simply selling a product; you are supporting people through a very special stage of their lives. Technology therefore remains a means to an end. The goal is to get closer to parents.’

What will be the next step if this test proves successful?

‘Car seats would be a logical next step. Expert advice is essential in that category too, particularly when it comes to safety, age, weight, the family’s car and ease of use. Baby carriers and other product categories could follow later. But first, we want to establish where the tool genuinely adds value. We don’t want to introduce AI simply because we can. It has to help both parents and our staff.’

What would you say to retailers who see AI as a threat?

‘I understand their concerns. AI can quickly sound technical or even threatening. But if technology can take care of part of the preparatory work, it actually gives staff more time for the conversations that really matter: listening, asking the right follow-up questions, advising and reassuring customers. So the most important question is not: “Will AI replace our people?” It is: “How can AI help our people become even better at what they already do well?”’

Perhaps that is where the greatest opportunity for AI in specialist baby retail lies: not in reducing human interaction, but in creating more room for exactly what sets a great store apart – personal advice and trust.