What's Happening?
Retailers are increasingly adopting omnichannel strategies and artificial intelligence (AI) to manage a growing volume of digital content and enhance customer experiences. A recent survey by Cloudinary, conducted by Researchscape International, polled
539 retail professionals across 14 countries, revealing that 84% of retailers now use AI within their general workflows. This widespread adoption is driven by the need to balance 13 buyer priorities, including mobile shopping (43%), high-volume video (42%), social commerce (39%), hyper-personalization (35%), sustainable production (26%), and seamless omnichannel experiences (25%). The survey highlights a significant increase in video content, with 41% of retailers now hosting at least 1,000 videos, up from 8% in 2024. This surge in visual content, including user-generated content (UGC), presents operational challenges related to site performance, formatting, asset management, and bandwidth. AI is being integrated across various workflow stages, such as content creation and editing (61%), workflow automation (56%), and copy generation (50%), to address these challenges and streamline operations.
Why It's Important?
The shift towards omnichannel retailing and AI integration is crucial for U.S. businesses as it directly impacts customer engagement, operational efficiency, and market competitiveness. The survey indicates that 88% of consumers are more likely to purchase when engagement is personalized in real-time, while 71% will abandon a purchase if the experience is not relevant. This underscores the necessity for retailers to provide cohesive and personalized interactions across all touchpoints, from in-store to online. The increasing reliance on video and UGC also means that retailers must invest in robust content infrastructure to manage, moderate, and deliver visual assets at scale. Companies that successfully implement these strategies stand to gain increased customer loyalty, higher conversion rates, and improved brand perception. Conversely, those that fail to adapt risk losing market share to more agile competitors, as consumers increasingly expect seamless and personalized shopping journeys.
What's Next?
Looking ahead, retailers are planning further integration of AI into customer-facing roles, with 71% intending to deploy AI concierges and digital stylists. This indicates a move towards more sophisticated AI applications that directly assist customers in product discovery and selection. The focus will be on ensuring that these AI-driven experiences are supported by accurate, accessible, and appropriately formatted product information and visual assets. Furthermore, the expansion of e-commerce and omnichannel fashion retail is expected to continue driving growth in markets like casual wear, which is projected to reach USD 812.43 billion by 2031. This growth will be fueled by personalized recommendations, virtual try-on tools, flexible delivery options, and hassle-free returns. Retailers will need to prioritize identity resolution to create unified customer records, which is essential for effective personalization and the successful deployment of advanced AI models.
Beyond the Headlines
The widespread adoption of AI and omnichannel strategies in retail also brings deeper implications concerning data privacy, ethical AI use, and the evolving nature of customer relationships. As retailers collect and unify more customer data to power personalization, ensuring transparency and control over personal information becomes paramount. The survey found that 84% of consumers desire control over their personalization settings, and 54% want to know when they are interacting with AI. This highlights a growing need for ethical guidelines and clear communication regarding AI's role in customer interactions. Moreover, the integration of AI into content moderation for UGC raises questions about bias and fairness in content filtering. The long-term success of these technologies will depend not only on their technical capabilities but also on retailers' ability to build and maintain customer trust through responsible data practices and transparent AI implementation.
