Retail’s AI hopes 🤖

Welcome to this week’s MarketMaze. Retail’s obsession with artificial intelligence is now a global sport—everyone’s playing, but few have mastered the game. Between Big Retail’s AI bravado and shoppers still trying to figure out if they’re talking to a robot or just a bored cashier, the disconnect has never been more entertaining.

Main Story

🌀 Retail’s AI hopes
💎 How shoppers feel about AI in retail

Insights🧠

📈 CPG Value Growth Beats Volume in 2025
👑 Google, Meta, Amazon: The Ad Kings Aren’t Invincible
🤑 The 2025 eCommerce Deal Sheet: Discipline Rules
🏠 Amazon Groceries: Ship-to-Home Still Dominates
🛍️ Walmart QR Codes Make Stores Infinite

LET’S ENTER THE MAZE!
- Artur Stańczuk, MarketMaze Founder

AI has gone mainstream in retail, but not everyone is betting the house on bots. Monday.com’s latest global survey of 1,800 retail leaders reveals near-total AI adoption, but progress is patchy and trust issues run deep. The data spotlights a gap between headline optimism and the gritty reality on shop floors.

Retailers aren’t just talking about AI—they’re all in. 96% say they use or are exploring AI, but the focus is clear: most deployments center on customer service (55%) and marketing (49%), not on full-blown automation. Sales assistance, operational efficiency, and inventory management see less traction, proving that even as AI fever spreads, retailers are sticking to the basics that move the revenue needle today.

The hype hides some gnarly obstacles. Retailers point to privacy concerns (47%) and integration headaches (45%) as top blockers. Worries about alienating customers, high costs, and staff pushback round out the list, showing why “move fast and break things” just doesn’t fly in this sector. Until AI earns retailers’ trust on security and reliability, mass transformation will stay theory—not practice.

AI divides the market. While 98% of large retailers in Australia & NZ believe in AI’s power, only 62% of small shops agree. The US, UK, and Singapore show similar splits: optimism soars among giants but sags for smaller players, who see complexity, cost, and skill gaps as real threats. The global average is a robust 90%, but the story underneath is one of two very different retail worlds.

The promise of AI is real, but expectations are grounded. Retailers hope for tangible improvements in service quality and sustainability (71% each), as well as pricing agility and less waste (70%). Yet only 12% believe AI can manage the entire customer journey alone anytime soon. The smart money is on targeted use cases, not handing over the keys just yet.

Sources: 🔒 Available for MarketMaze+ subscribers

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AI may be hyped, but most shoppers are still on the sidelines. According to SAP Emarsys’ 2025 global survey of 10,000 consumers, AI-driven retail is patchy, with plenty of promise and plenty of skepticism. The data spans five regions and four generations, laying bare who’s in, who’s out, and who’s just not sure.

Despite all the buzz, most consumers haven’t encountered AI in retail outside of self-checkouts or basic chatbot support. Just 43% have used self-checkouts and only 25% have chatted with a bot, but among those who try, approval rates soar—76% like self-checkouts, and even rarer experiences like robot delivery get 70% positive reviews. The lesson: AI works for those who try it, but reach is the real bottleneck.

When shoppers do engage with AI, it's for speed, clarity, and convenience—not for novelty. Top uses include searching products (34%), comparing options (33%), and getting gift ideas (33%). Even niche use cases like budgeting help (23%) and personalized card messages (28%) are gaining traction, proving that AI’s value lies in simplifying decisions at every step.

The world isn’t on the same page about AI in retail. In the UAE, 68% see a positive impact on retail experiences, and 61% say it helps with buying decisions, compared to just 23% and 16% in the UK. Taiwan and Germany fall in between, highlighting just how much culture and context drive adoption—and why global brands can’t assume one-size-fits-all with AI.

Generational and geographic divides are stark: Millennials and Gen Z are the most enthusiastic, with 48% and 47% seeing AI as a retail plus, compared to only 26% of Boomers. Globally, 39% are convinced of AI’s retail benefits, but that number rockets to 68% in the UAE and 60% in Taiwan. Winning with AI means playing where the energy is—youth and East.

Despite all the hype, most buyers haven’t noticed much change: 43% say AI makes no difference to their buying decisions, and just 17% see any negative impact at all in their retail experiences. The rest are either neutral or quietly positive, which suggests AI’s impact is still flying under the radar—and brands have room to experiment, iterate, and build real value before pushback arrives.

Sources: 🔒 Available for MarketMaze+ subscribers

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Sevendots digs into Q2 2025, showing most top consumer packaged goods giants are driving value, not volume. Average organic growth for 23 majors hit +2.6%, with nearly half from price hikes, not more units sold. Big scale is no longer a guarantee for more volume—success is coming from smart portfolios and geographic focus. In a world where pricing power is fading, real winners will grow by gaining more customers, not just charging them more. 👉 Sevendots on LinkedIn

US ad spend keeps climbing for the big three—now 59% of all ad dollars in 2025—but their grip on digital ad share slipped to 72%. Competition from TikTok, Amazon’s rise, and AI-driven search are rewriting the playbook. The pie is bigger, but so is the fight for attention. This is the first real challenge to big tech’s ad dominance in a decade. 👉 eMarketer analysis on LinkedIn

Forget the “DTC is dead” narrative. The 2025 deal board is stacked: Quince raised $4.5B, Dr. Squatch got snapped up by Unilever for $1.5B, and Medik8 pulled $1.1B from L'Oréal. Beauty, lifestyle, and apparel lead the way—but only the profitable, community-driven brands are cashing out at unicorn levels. Cheap money is gone. Survival now means loyal customers and cultural heat. 👉 Full breakdown on LinkedIn

Brick Meets Click shows that less than 10% of Amazon grocery buyers use both Ship-to-Home and Delivery/Pickup. Most pick one and stick with it—Ship-to-Home is the main play. Amazon’s same-day fresh offer looks like delivery, but is all about leveraging their fulfillment muscle. Expect Amazon to push more perks to convert Delivery-only fans and drive repeat grocery buys without the high cost of true delivery. 👉 Brick Meets Click on LinkedIn

Walmart is testing QR codes next to products in stores—scan, and you can order online for new flavors, colors, or even installation services. The app is now the shopper’s secret weapon, used by 45.8% in 2024, up sharply from last year. This digital push puts third-party sellers and Walmart Connect’s ad business directly in the aisle, bridging eCommerce with the physical shelf. Endless aisle just became a reality, not a buzzword. 👉 See the move on LinkedIn

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