Retailers turn to AI to cut costs and streamline operations

Gemma Carver, Head of Consumer Industries at Adobe, noted that AI has reduced content generation costs by 20–40%. For retailers, this translates into tangible efficiency gains: procedures that previously spanned six weeks can now be completed in eight days. Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Castorama, provides a blueprint for this transition. Romain Roulleau, the company’s Group Digital and E-Commerce Director, highlighted that their Spirit recommendation engine has already generated £100 million in additional revenue. Beyond personalization, the retailer has achieved a 15% margin improvement by optimizing markdown promotions through machine learning.

However, technology alone does not guarantee success. Julie Averill, former CIO at lululemon, emphasized that data quality must precede any AI rollout. She also pointed to the cultural challenge of employee apprehension, noting that staff often fear for their roles when automation is introduced. Without transparent communication regarding how AI can augment rather than replace human work, internal resistance can derail even the most sophisticated systems. Meagan Sobol, Chief Product Officer at Zipline, echoed this sentiment, arguing that trust serves as the bedrock for AI adoption. As the industry moves toward agentic commerce and machine-to-machine payments, brand strength and consumer confidence will ultimately dictate which retailers thrive in an increasingly automated marketplace.