Within the next two years, 71% of retailers anticipate that AI will be meaningfully deployed across marketing. This reflects growing confidence that it will soon become embedded in everyday workflows rather than remain confined to isolated use cases.
Retailers expect measurable impact to follow close behind meaningful deployment, with 45% believing that AI will start generating measurable returns within two years. This signals that the next phase of AI adoption is about commercial impact, not the experimentation we’ve seen to date.
Most retailers also recognize the cost of delay. As AI deployment accelerates, the question is no longer whether AI will deliver value, but who reaches that inflection point first.
And who arrives too late to catch up.
The first phase of AI in retail was defined by experimentation. The next phase will be defined by integration. And as AI becomes embedded across marketing and e-commerce, the distinction between those who deploy and those who integrate will determine long-term performance.
Our research shows that three structural factors determine whether AI delivers scalable value: integration depth, where AI is embedded in planning and decision-making; connected data, bringing together customer, product, and performance data; and organizational capability, with clear ownership and internal expertise.
Where these elements are in place, performance compounds. Where one is missing, gains remain incremental.
The next phase of AI in retail will not be defined by new features or faster tools. It will be defined by structural readiness.
And the maturity gap we see today will narrow over time, with the advantage going to those who integrate early and deeply.
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