The AI aisle: More than a dozen reasons why retail and CPG are already seeing ROI on gen AI

A year ago, generative AI was the buzzword on everyone's lips in the world of retail and consumer packaged goods. Now, it's no longer a futuristic concept, but a powerful tool reshaping the industry and having an impact for many organizations, as new research has found. Gen AI holds enormous potential to improve customer experience, marketing and field productivity, and security.

Our recent survey of 376 retail and CPG executives reveals how these leaders are actively deploying gen AI to drive tangible results. We discovered that retail and CPG leaders are not just experimenting with gen AI — they are actively deploying it to drive immediate, demonstrable results across their organizations.

But how exactly are retailers using this technology today, and what kind of impact is it having online, in the aisles, and on the bottom line? Our survey found more than a dozen ways the industry is already reaping rewards from generative AI. To read them all, you can download the full report, though we’ve gathered three of the most compelling examples here for a sneak peak.

1. 57% of those running gen AI in production report improved customer experience

Retail and CPG organizations are using gen AI to enhance customer experiences, moving beyond simply improving customer support to improving each customer touch point —with nearly 3 in 5 reporting improvements from their gen AI implementations.¹

Gen AI-powered tools are automating call transcription and summarization, generating smart replies, and responding to frequent customer questions faster. This means customers get the information they need quicker and with greater accuracy.

Gen AI is also revolutionizing how customers can find products. By leveraging contextual search, retailers can provide more accurate and relevant search results, helping shoppers quickly discover what they are looking for.

But gen AI can go even further by delivering truly personalized experiences. Imagine AI stylists that combine customer data with a retailer’s products and promotions to offer personalized style recommendations across multiple visits and channels. These AI stylists can even create visual representations of the suggested looks, using gen AI to generate images or videos.

2. 48% of those reporting productivity improvements from gen AI indicate that employee productivity at least doubled

Retail and CPG respondents are seeing significant improvements in productivity — nearly have have seen productivity double² — and there have been gains particularly in marketing, where gen AI is driving both creativity and efficiency.

In fact, 59% of those running gen AI in production use it for sales and marketing.³ Gen AI can provide creative assistance to marketing teams, such as generating customer-centric marketing copy, product descriptions, and curating bespoke images and creative content for campaigns and editorial placements.

Gen AI also allows marketers to respond quickly to current events and capitalize on opportunities, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By infusing AI into marketing strategies, the company can accelerate the time it takes to bring an ad from concept to production by speeding up steps like research and content development.

3. 55% of those running gen AI in production indicate improved security

The retail and CPG industry is navigating a complex landscape of data breaches and security threats — and more than half of those surveyed say they're seeing improvements in their risk posture thanks to AI.³

As gen AI may power more sophisticated scams, retailers need to proactively protect themselves and their customers. In addition to using gen AI to identify fraudulent activity, retailers can also leverage this technology to strengthen their own security systems, building more robust defenses against these evolving threats.

Driving value with gen AI

Realizing gen AI to its fullest will require a strategic approach, to ensure seamless integration into how people work, and navigate the data security and privacy considerations. Gen AI has the power to elevate the customer experience, increase employee productivity, and, in result, drive revenue growth for retail and CPG companies. Moving forward, the message is clear: the time to innovate with gen AI is now.

¹Retail and CPG organizations currently leveraging gen AI in production: n=248
²Retail and CPG organizations currently leveraging gen AI in production and reporting productivity improvements: n=177
³Retail and CPG organizations currently leveraging gen AI in production: n=248