BOOT's Omnichannel Strength: Is AI the New Profit Driver?

In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. BOOT demonstrated strength across its omnichannel platform, highlighted by a 14.4% increase in e-commerce same-store sales and high-teens growth on bootbarn.com. 
This growth was attributed to several initiatives, including early-stage integration of artificial intelligence. The company's omnichannel team enhanced the website search functionality, enabling the sites to provide a broader range of search results and more product recommendations to customers.

Besides improving the search experience, Boot Barn is also leveraging AI to enhance product copy, support store associates through its AI assistant Cassidy, and develop multimedia training modules. Although this strategy is still in its early stages, the company continues to explore AI opportunities that can improve customer experience and drive efficiency. 

The company launched new exclusive brand websites for brands like Hawx and Cody James, which successfully increased website traffic and attracted many new customers. Plans are underway to launch a website for the Cheyenne brand after the holidays.

The company’s physical footprint continues to complement its digital capabilities, while omnichannel offerings provide a seamless shopping experience, allowing online customers to locate store locations easily. During the second quarter, merchandise margin increased by 80 basis points compared to the prior-year period, supported by growth in exclusive brands, which rose 290 basis points to represent 41% of sales.

Looking ahead, management expects the digital channel to remain a key growth contributor. As investments in digital infrastructure grow, AI is expected to become central to enhancing efficiency and sustaining profitability.

How Walmart and Amazon Are Redefining Retail Through AI

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported revenues of $180.2 billion, up 13% year over year, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Amazon is also innovating rapidly with Rufus, an AI-powered shopping assistant that reached 250 million active monthly users as of the last reported quarter. AMZN also has other AI-powered products, such as Amazon Lens, an AI-powered search tool, and an AI-powered audio feature to make shopping easier.

Walmart Inc. WMT witnessed revenue growth of 4.8% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, reaching $177.4 billion. Walmart’s AI strategy centers on building a suite of interconnected AI agents. The company has an AI assistant, Sparky, which is a customer-facing assistant. WMT plans to scale Sparky, making it a smarter and personalized digital discovery vehicle. The other agents it is building include one for associates, which will bring data in one place and a developer agent built to scale innovation.

The Zacks Rundown for BOOT

BOOT’s shares have gained 12.7% year to date against the industry’s decline of 16.3%. BOOT carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

From a valuation standpoint, BOOT trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.4, higher than the industry’s average of 16.5.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BOOT’s fiscal 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 20.5% and 13.8%, respectively. BOOT delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.4%, on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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