From Store Floor Expertise to Always-On Retail AI Coach
DICK’S Sporting Goods is translating its in-store expertise into a digital retail AI coach, signaling a broader shift in how retailers think about shopping assistance. Coach by DICK’S, an agentic AI-powered conversational experience inside the company’s mobile app, is designed to support athletes throughout their sports journeys rather than just during checkout. Built using Adobe’s Brand Concierge technology and DICK’S proprietary sport knowledge, the system combines product education, training guidance, and tailored recommendations into one conversational retail assistant. Instead of static filters or basic search, athletes can describe their sport, goals, and preferences in natural language and receive real-time, context-aware guidance. DICK’S positions this as an extension of its associates’ expertise, delivered on demand in a digital environment. The result is a more immersive, advisory experience that mirrors a knowledgeable store associate, but lives directly in the app athletes already use.
Agentic AI Shopping: Beyond One-Off Recommendations
Coach by DICK’S illustrates how agentic AI shopping is evolving from answering simple queries to orchestrating ongoing guidance across a customer’s journey. The system adapts to each athlete’s behavior, goals, and shared input in real time, offering support that can span product discovery, fit decisions, and training needs. Rather than merely pointing to a pair of shoes or a bat, the AI coach can surface Pro Tips, explain equipment trade-offs, and connect recommendations to an athlete’s skill level. This agentic model treats the assistant as a digital coach that continuously refines its advice as it learns from each interaction. For retailers, that shift opens the door to richer, higher-value engagement: the AI becomes a trusted advisor, not a sales bot, increasing the likelihood that shoppers rely on the app for preparation, progress tracking, and future purchases.
AI Athlete Guidance as a New Retail Engagement Strategy
DICK’S launch comes amid a wider move toward AI athlete guidance and advisory retail experiences across the sector. Retailers are increasingly combining first-party customer data, product catalogs, and behavioral signals to personalize how they guide shoppers through complex decisions. In sports, that means aligning recommendations with training plans, league requirements, and evolving skill levels. But similar logic is emerging in grocery, apparel, and general merchandise, where conversational AI assistants help customers evaluate options rather than just scroll lists. These systems function as digital shopping companions that know a shopper’s history and preferences, and can proactively suggest products or content in context. For DICK’S, this strategy builds on its broader investments in digital engagement and operational AI, positioning the coach as a front-end interface to deeper inventory, merchandising, and personalization infrastructure that can support longer-term athlete relationships.
Embedding Conversational Retail Assistants Directly Into Mobile Apps
A key design choice behind Coach by DICK’S is its integration into the existing DICK’S mobile app, avoiding the friction of a separate download. This reflects a growing pattern in retail: embedding conversational retail assistants within established digital properties where customers already shop and manage their profiles. Adobe’s Brand Concierge platform underpins this approach by being trained on approved brand content and customer data instead of the open web, helping retailers maintain control over tone, accuracy, and product positioning. For shoppers, it means they can move seamlessly between browsing, chatting with the AI coach, and completing purchases in a single environment. For retailers, this tight integration allows AI agents to tap into real-time inventory, promotions, and account information, turning each interaction into an opportunity to increase engagement, strengthen loyalty, and gather insights for future agentic AI shopping experiences.