[E-Daily Reporter Kim Ji-woo ] Convenience store chain CU is using virtual consumers powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the pricing, product mix, and consumer response to new products prior to their launch. The company also plans to recreate actual stores in a virtual space to pre-evaluate product displays and customer flow patterns.

BGF Retail(282330), which operates CU, announced on the 15th that it has signed a “Strategic Business Agreement for AI Data-Driven Retail Innovation” with Intellisia, a startup specializing in AI synthetic consumer technology.

The two companies agreed to apply AI synthetic consumer technology and the AI store digital twin solution “ParaStore” across all aspects of product planning and store operations. Key areas of cooperation include product planning and consumer response prediction using AI synthetic consumers, digital twin-based simulations for product display and merchandising (MD), and the establishment of an AI-based data decision-making system.

AI synthetic consumers is a technology in which AI generates virtual consumer models—numbering in the millions—with varying ages, genders, and consumption tendencies to predict reactions to new products, prices, and promotions.

This approach involves analyzing the purchase intentions and preferences of these virtual consumers before launching new lunch boxes or desserts to determine in advance which prices and product combinations yield the highest satisfaction levels. It also allows for the quantification of complex consumer needs—which consumers often find difficult to articulate directly—into detailed data.

Traditional consumer research took several months to recruit survey and interview participants and analyze the results, and it was also costly. Furthermore, it often amounted to little more than post-hoc analysis of products already on the market or marketing campaigns that had ended, making it difficult to respond in a timely manner to rapidly changing retail trends.

The company explains that using AI-generated consumers can reduce the research period to about 3–5 days and allow for repeated validation of products and marketing strategies as needed.

BGF Retail and Intellisia have been conducting a proof of concept since last May focused on convenience store boxed lunches to verify the feasibility of practical application.

While previous surveys showed that customers preferred “healthy boxed lunches,” there were limitations in translating the complex demands of consumers—who want both health and taste—into actual product formulations.

The AI synthetic consumer analyzed the criteria consumers use to judge the balance between taste and health, providing specific guidance that can be applied to bento box product composition and menu development.

The two companies are also applying AI to store operations. Using Intellisia’s digital twin solution, ParaStore, they plan to recreate actual CU stores in a virtual space to simulate product displays, customer flow, and merchandising layouts in advance. The goal is to compare various operational approaches before implementing them in physical stores, thereby reducing trial and error and costs.

Lee Eun-gwan, Head of the CX Division at BGF Retail, stated, “We aim to achieve digital innovation by going beyond simply analyzing customers’ past consumption patterns through AI to proactively predicting the experiences future customers will desire.” He added, “We will create a new retail experience that provides personalized products and services by more precisely reflecting changing customer needs.”