#Japan #Tokyo #AI Coaching #Retune Lab #Inter-Bell

Introduction to Retune Lab

On May 1, 2026, Inter-Bell Co., Ltd. will officially launch the AI coaching platform, Retune Lab. Based in Minato, Tokyo, this initiative is set to revolutionize customer service in the retail sector by making poor sales performance visible and providing tailored coaching through artificial intelligence. Leveraging years of insights from their proprietary customer service visualization tool, JAN8 CS, Retune Lab aims to elevate the sales capabilities of individual staff members scientifically.

The Vision Behind Retune Lab

The core belief underpinning Retune Lab is that sales representatives should be able to provide service that reflects their unique personalities. The platform combines proprietary service data with generative AI to implement a system that promotes ongoing growth among sales personnel. Retune Lab is designed to be a comprehensive solution, encompassing three essential steps: recording, analyzing, and coaching.

Key Features of Retune Lab

1. Retune Coach

The AI coaching feature allows sales staff to interact with their coach, facilitating real-time adjustments aimed at enhancing their sales abilities. By engaging in dialogues with their AI coach, users can focus on their personal development tailored to their individual progress.

2. Data Input

Retail staff can log customer engagement details through a quick 60-second multiple-choice form during their breaks. This feature emphasizes the importance of recording not just successful sales but also instances when a customer did not make a purchase. This data collection is pivotal for growth and improvement.

3. Share Lab

This chatroom feature provides a platform for sellers facing similar circumstances or challenges to converse freely about their sales experiences, thus fostering a community of shared learning and support.

Why Focusing on Missed Sales Matters

In traditional education, progress often comes from identifying and correcting mistakes. Retail and customer service roles, however, often lack clear numerical feedback, allowing the need for reflection to go unmet. By documenting and analyzing instances of unsuccessful customer interactions, Retune Lab transforms these experiences into learning opportunities, reinforcing staff development.

Growth for Individuals and Teams

Retune Lab not only learns from individual user data but also accumulates input from all users into a central database, enhancing the collective expertise in customer service and sales over time. Unlike generic large language models (LLMs), Retune Lab incorporates specific insights from nearly three years’ worth of unique service data and expert analysis, resulting in a highly specialized coaching AI.

Personalized Coaching System

Users can select from various types of coaching personalities—strict, lenient, logical, energetic, or humorous—combined with options for gender and communication style. This allows staff to interact with coaches who they feel comfortable with, promoting deeper dialogues that lead to significant growth.

Background of the Development

In retail, especially in the apparel and sports sectors, the skills of sales representatives directly affect revenue, making it a critical managerial concern. Historically, training often relied on the intuition and experience of seasoned staff, leading to inconsistencies in quality of instruction and insufficient training resources. Inter-Bell recognized these challenges and developed JAN8 CS, a tool for visualizing poor customer engagement that has successfully identified sales challenges through data analysis.

Post-implementation data show that certain sports brand staff achieved a performance improvement from 62% to 94%, while a fashion brand saw its monthly revenue increase from 1.9 million yen to 3.7 million yen. However, solely relying on JAN8 CS revealed a new challenge of increased workload and costs associated with personalized coaching. Hence, the conception of Retune Lab was born—blending generative AI with customer service data to form a more efficient and scalable solution.

Future Developments

Inter-Bell plans to introduce Retune Lab to existing JAN8 CS clients in the fall of 2026, with plans for broader dissemination across the retail sector and formal app store launch anticipated soon thereafter. The ambitious goal of securing over 1,000 contracts by 2028 is indicative of a commitment to creating a nurturing environment where sales professionals feel empowered to explore and grow.

Phased Development Timeline

• - Phase 1 (Spring 2026): Internal proof of concept and official release
• - Phase 2 (Fall 2026): External sales commence to business partners
• - Phase 3 (2027): Cross-sector expansion (cosmetics, dining, real estate, inbound sectors, etc.)
• - Phase 4 (2028): Aim for over 1,000 contracts

Target Market

Retune Lab primarily focuses on the fashion industry, including mass retailers, department stores, and select shops, as well as sports industry sectors like golf, fitness, and outdoor shops. Future ambitions consider including all sectors involving face-to-face customer interaction, such as cosmetics and food service.

Conclusion

Inter-Bell aims to make shopping experiences more personal through Retune Lab. By merging AI technology with individualization, the platform seeks to ensure that retail staff can engage customers authentically while continuously improving their performance. According to the development team, the ultimate goal is to create a system where the potential of sales staff expands in tandem with their unique selling capabilities.