Hope it's not too late for the reply but just saw this question & couldn't see any answers so hope the below answer would help.

Being in retail for more than 13 years , i m sure AI& Facial recognition is going to play a huge role in retail operations & Customer Loyalty programs. Below would be some of the pain areas.

1. Current loyalty programs are not able to cater to self actualisation needs of customers visiting online or Offline stores since in Offline stores due to frequent change in staff very few are able to recognise the loyal customers & Online space is struggling for such a technology at the first go.

2. With all the hue & cry around Data Privacy , Collection of personal info like Biometrics specifically in Offline space would be a challenge.

3.Currently in the Offline space Identification of a Loyal customer happens majorly around the finalisation of the sale/closing of sale, that's when customers share their card no's / Mobile no's etc.

4. Assortment offering/planning specifically in Fashion retail can improve since customised assortments according to the purchase history & demographics of customers.

5. In skin care space it's very tough to show the difference because of treatments over a period of time, this tech can come in handy there.

There are multiple more pain areas like that & opportunities wherein Facial Recognition can come in very handy , to discuss & understand further you can give me a call.