Navigating Retail's AI Shift

Retailers are grappling with a challenging environment. Consumer spending growth is decelerating. Inflation is continuing to put cost pressures on the business. And there’s ongoing disruption in supply chains.  But what’s new is that every retailer we work with is trying to figure out how to capitalize on the opportunities enabled by GenAI and more broadly AI and automation at scale.  This is a once-in-a- generation challenge.  AI will disrupt business at a level not seen since the internet gained scale 25 years ago.  Every function and process will be impacted:  product design through last mile fulfilment; marketing, sales, and service; and HR and IT operations.  Every retailer must embrace the bottoms-up experimentation that’s happening in pockets throughout their organization, and work to rapidly develop an approach to build these capabilities enterprise-wide.  

Luq Niazi

Global Managing Partner, Industries & Global Consumer Industry Leader, IBM

Trends, Themes & Insights