Adapt or die was the sentiment shared by John Weller, chief innovation officer of technology platform Broadlume, a Cyncly company, concerning the adoption of artificial intelligence [AI] by retail flooring businesses during the Mohawk Edge Summit 2025.

The digital transformation that took retail flooring businesses two decades to navigate will now unfold in mere months, driven by rapid advances in AI. “[AI] is going to let you do things that you never thought were possible; those things are going to come in the next few months,” Weller said.  

Broadlume’s job is to monitor and track these changes and provide solutions for flooring retailers in the future, but Weller says retailers have their work cut out for them with the quickening pace and the ever-changing functionality of search and social. So, how does this affect a flooring retailer's business, and what actions should they take? The company's analysis of 4,000 websites revealed several concerning trends:

• Website traffic has declined significantly
• Lead generation has decreased
• Visitor engagement (time on website) has dropped
• Overall screen time has increased
• Search-driven traffic is projected to fall 25% over the next two years

Why is this happening? According to Weller, search and social have completely changed. 

Google recently launched Gemini 2.0, a powerful AI tool that is designed to learn how consumers search. In the past, Google’s goal was to connect users with information by offering up a list of links. For example, if you searched for flooring, you’d get a list of products or a carousel of images for products, along with a few ads. Now, with the implementation of Gemini 2.0, an AI bot answers your questions without sending you to a specific site or list of sites.  

“Google’s intent now is to answer the question, not to send you anywhere,” he said. “The same thing is happening with social.”  

Previously, content creators could post a video to YouTube and Facebook and experience significant engagement. That changed a few months ago, according to Weller.  

“You get almost no reach; they do not want you leaving the platform,” he said. “So, we’re a little bit in competition with search and with social. That’s not for you to figure out. That’s for us to figure out, but it’s challenging.”   

The shift presents a unique advantage for local flooring retailers, who are perceived as individual voices rather than corporate entities. "Your brand is considered an individual," Weller noted. "You're not a big brand, so [consumers] will listen to you; you have the ability to break through what's going on."

The traditional retail experience is evolving rapidly. Today's consumers spend an average of 12 hours researching flooring products online before making contact with a dealer. Successful retailers are adapting by:

• Meeting customers where they are in their research journey
• Leveraging community platforms like Reddit and YouTube
• Creating authentic, personality-driven content
• Using AI tools to enhance customer experiences

This new approach can dramatically improve efficiency—Weller suggests it could reduce the time to close a sale by up to 80%.

The message is clear: partnering with forward-thinking companies and embracing AI tools is no longer optional.

"Think about who you partner with; it's really going to be important going forward," Weller said. "Mohawk and other companies, like Cyncly, are investing in this. If you're not leveraging these tools with AI, it's over because the difference in experiences between the person not doing it and the person doing it is going to be vastly different."