Industry Brief
Accelerating Retail AI from Pilots to Scale
Q1, 2025
The retail industry stands at a critical inflection point in AI adoption, where what was once considered future technology has become essential for survival and growth. A widening performance gap is emerging between AI leaders and laggards, with early adopters building powerful feedback loops that make their systems increasingly intelligent and operations more efficient. Modern retail operations have reached a complexity level that exceeds human capacity to optimize, particularly in managing millions of SKUs, thousands of suppliers, and countless customer interactions across channels.
This industry brief explores the journey from AI experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation in retail, examining the critical elements needed to scale AI capabilities beyond isolated pilots. It investigates three foundational pillars essential for successful AI deployment: accelerated compute infrastructure, trust-based implementation, and IP ownership. The report outlines a framework for action that combines these elements into a cohesive strategy, providing retailers with a roadmap to harness AI's full potential while maintaining competitive advantage in an increasingly AI-driven retail landscape.
FOUR KEY B2C COMMERCE IMPERATIVES
Incisiv
Here’s a preview of the report. The full report is available for free download via the form below.
As consumers continue to reshape their expectations,
enterprises must contend with a uniquely challenging landscape.
The consumer technology landscape is forever changing.
From Pinterest to TikTok, WeChat to Instagram, new experiences can rapidly gain consumer adoption and relevance.
From augmented reality to voice, smartwatches to chatbots, consumers are constantly embracing new interaction paradigms.
Commoditized convenience is eroding loyalty and margin.
Consumers expect convenience. If you can't deliver it, they'll go elsewhere - e.g. next day shipping becoming the new standard.
Walmart will reportedly lose USD 1 billion on eCommerce revenue of USD 21 billion this year as it faces challenges in its bid to complete against Amazon – from trouble integrating its DNVB acquisitions to impact on margin from its next-day delivery operations.
Consumers value experiences that are curated to fit their lives better.
They want to engage, be served, and transact at their time, their pace, their place. They have little patience, infinite choice and the freedom to swipe left at the slightest hint of friction.
