The retail industry is riding a wave of artificial intelligence enthusiasm, but a new national survey reveals a sobering truth: while almost half of retailers now use AI on a weekly basis, the vast majority struggle to leverage it at scale, held back by data fragmentation, technical hurdles, and rising costs.
AI Adoption Is Rapid, Yet Readiness Trails Far Behind
The 2025 State of AI in Retail report from Amperity, an AI-powered customer data cloud, surveyed 1,000 professionals across marketing, IT, data, and executive leadership roles. The findings are striking:
- 45% of retailers say they now use AI daily or several times a week
- 97% plan to maintain or increase AI investment in the coming year
Yet, in a harsh reality check, only 11% feel fully prepared to deploy AI tools at scale.
“Retailers believe in AI’s potential to drive loyalty and lifetime value—but belief alone won’t close the gap between ambition and execution,” said Tony Owens, CEO of Amperity. “What’s needed is unified, actionable customer data—regardless of where it resides. With Amperity’s patented identity resolution, retailers can unify data without moving it, transforming fragmented records into complete customer profiles that fuel AI and measurable business results”.
Customer-Facing AI: A Promising Yet Underused Avenue
Retailers are betting big on AI’s potential to unlock better customer experiences:
- 63% expect AI to enhance customer loyalty
- 65% anticipate higher customer lifetime value
But in actual practice, adoption falls short:
- Only 43% currently use AI in customer-facing applications (personalization, chatbots, tailored marketing)
- Just 23% have AI in production to resolve customer identities or prepare data for marketing
This signals a missed opportunity for deeper, data-driven customer engagement and highlights the gap between optimism and real execution.
CDPs Deliver a Competitive Edge
Retailers equipped with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)—especially those using advanced customer data clouds—stand out from their peers. According to the survey:
- 60% of CDP-equipped retailers use AI daily or several times per week (compared to 29% without a CDP)
- 35% use AI in production to prep data for marketing or analytics (vs. 9% without a CDP)
- 22% report full AI adoption across multiple business units (vs. 10% without a CDP)
“These retailers are also far more confident in their ability to understand and act on customer behavior, reinforcing the CDP’s role as a critical enabler of enterprise AI strategy,” said Tapan Patel, research director at IDC. “This survey highlights a pivotal shift in retail: AI is moving decisively from experimentation to scaled execution. Retailers who integrate AI into core workflows—across supply chain, merchandising, and engagement—are setting the new standards for customer experience in an increasingly dynamic market”.
Key Barriers: Data Fragmentation, High Costs, and Skills
Despite optimism, several barriers stand in the way:
- 58% say customer data is fragmented or incomplete
- 46% cite the high cost of AI tools as a challenge
- 35% report limited technical expertise
- Only 21% feel “very confident” in their ability to understand and act on customer data
Without clean, unified data, retailers risk AI projects that never expand beyond pilot programs or don’t deliver measurable value.
Moving From Ambition to Action
Experts emphasize that the path forward requires more than just investment in AI; it depends on building a strong foundation of integrated, high-quality customer data. Solutions like Amperity’s Customer Data Cloud are designed to “turn data into a growth engine—powering personalized experiences, smarter decisions, and measurable ROI” by resolving fragmented customer identities and making insights available organization-wide.
The Bottom Line
Retailers are all-in on AI, with enthusiastic investment and expectations for transformation. But true competitive advantage will belong to those who solve their data challenges, turning silos into unified profiles that fuel innovative, scalable AI strategies in 2025 and beyond.
