Executive Summary: The State of AI in Retail 2025-2026
Limited clarity around how AI translates into measurable business value, combined with gaps in core technical expertise, has resulted in an absence of coherent strategic direction, leaving many retail organizations struggling to embed AI meaningfully into core business processes.
In Brief
Based on insights from 254 C-level retail executives.
The report reveals that more than half of the surveyed organizations have implemented AI systems across multiple functions. The other half is looking to catch up, reporting either limited deployment, pilot testing, or active exploration of AI-powered solutions.
Our experience with retail clients at HTEC mirrors the survey findings. From computer vision and agentic shopping to edge AI, we see strong ambition to adopt and scale AI, with a growing emphasis on edge deployment. Yet this ambition is often undermined by limited clarity around how AI translates into measurable business value.
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KEY FINDINGS
AI Adoption Maturity Across Retail Organizations
All surveyed organizations are pursuing AI, but barely more than a half have it embedded across multiple functions.
Top Barriers to AI Transformation
Edge AI: Powering Real-Time Retail at the Point of Sale
Confidence in Deploying AI
at the Edge
Why retailers would combine
cloud and edge AI
Approaches to
Edge-to-Cloud Integration
Retail leaders aim to establish a hybrid edge AI operating model—one that deliberately balances cloud and edge architectures, and combines internal capabilities with ecosystem partnerships. This ambition is reflected in how they structure delivery: 68% plan to partner with technology providers for edge-to-cloud integration. At the same time, retailers are not committing to a single path—51% intend to build capabilities in-house, and an equal share plan to rely on third-party platforms. Rather than choosing between build, buy, or partner, most organizations are combining all three approaches to balance control, speed, and scalability.
This blended strategy also reflects an awareness that building entirely in-house would slow progress, particularly as many retail leaders report critical gaps in core technical capabilities across their workforce (download the report for full overview).
AI Transformation is a Multi-Year Project
Executive AI
Literacy
Keeping Pace is Challenging
Leaders estimate that falling behind on AI would set organizations back by nearly
2 years on
average.
Only
20%
believe they can adopt and scale AI rapidly.
Methodology
The report was commissioned by HTEC and conducted by Censuswide. It includes the insights from 254 C-level retail executives, gathered as part of broader global research into the perspectives of 1,529 C-suite executives across the USA, UK, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, spanning CEO, CIO, CTO, CDO, CFO, COO, CPO, and CSO roles.
What next?
The results reflect organizations in transition: confident in AI’s importance, but still working through the realities of scaling, integration, and execution. While AI is now firmly embedded on the executive agenda, turning adoption into coordinated, enterprise-wide impact remains a work in progress.
Access the full report for deeper data, cross-industry insights, and practical guidance on how leaders can move from fragmented adoption to scalable AI transformation.
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