Norman Mafuratidze, Isolde Lubbe (Ward)
Abstract
The rapid advance of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming the retail sector. AI is revolutionising retail by enabling personalised shopping experiences, enhancing customer service through chatbots and virtual assistants, optimising inventory management, enabling dynamic pricing, improving visual search, detecting and preventing fraud, and enriching in-store experiences with smart mirrors and AI-powered robots. This technological shift, however, has created a significant skills gap in South Africa’s retail workforce. This study explores strategies to bridge this gap and to ensure workforce adaptability in the 4IR era. Using a qualitative approach rooted in interpretivism, insights were drawn from interviews with retail experts and higher education stakeholders. The research focused on two areas: examining key digital trends in South Africa’s retail sector, and assessing the role of work-integrated learning (WIL) in fostering collaboration between academia and industry. The findings highlight noteworthy 4IR trends, such as the rise of online retail and AI innovations, and underline WIL as crucial to equipping graduates with industry-relevant skills. Challenges such as securing WIL placements and post-WIL employment are identified, and strategies are proposed to standardise WIL programmes and foster academia–industry partnerships to ensure the resilience of South Africa’s retail workforce.