Retailers increasingly see value in AI.
A new survey reveals that artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming integrated into mainstream retail enterprise operations.
Results from a survey of retail IT decision-makers exclusively released to Chain Store Age by Rackspace Technology indicate three-in-four (74%) respondents no longer view AI as just a tool for internal automation, but a driver of competitive advantage and a strategic asset for business transformation.
Top reasons respondents are currently using AI include customer service (42%), productivity/knowledge (44%) and the development of products and apps (39%). More than one-third (36%) of respondents expect to realize full ROI from AI in a year or two.
During 2025, 30% of retailers plan to invest $1 million to $5 million with 31% planning to invest over $5 million on AI initiatives. More than eight-in-10 (83%) say they will have increased their AI spend by 2030.
[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: The biggest AI benefits for retailers are…]
Top KPIs of AI
Respondents cited the following key performance indicators (KPIs) as most important for their AI investments:
- Customer service (56%).
- Revenue and profitability (45%).
- Operational cost reduction (42%).
- Process efficiency and automation (41%).
- ROI (41%).
Barriers/blockers to AI deployment
The biggest pitfalls for respondents in fully realizing AI deployment are:
- Quality of data (65%).
- Security and privacy concerns (59%).
- Resistance to change within their organization (49%).
- Security risk/vulnerabilities (46%).
- Limited expertise/talent gaps (43%).
- Poor data quality issues (41%).
- Accuracy/reliability (37%).
https://chainstoreage.com/exclusive-retailers-look-ai-competitive-advantage