In today's rapidly developing digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) is penetrating various industries at an unprecedented rate, becoming a key factor in maintaining competitiveness in enterprises. Especially in the retail and consumer goods fields, the application of AI is reshaping the business landscape. According to a new global survey by IBM's Institute of Business Value, executives in the retail and consumer goods industry generally recognize the strategic value of AI and expect spending on non-traditional IT operations to rise significantly by 52% over the next year. This trend shows that companies are actively embracing AI technology to cope with the increasingly complex market environment.
The report, titled Embed AI in Brand DNA, is based on an in-depth survey of 1,500 global retail and consumer goods executives, reveals how AI is integrated into all operations of an enterprise, including innovation, customer relationships and business strategy . The survey results show that 81% of executives and 96% of teams are already using AI technology, and they plan to further expand the scope of AI applications by 2025. On average, these executives are willing to invest 3.32% of their company revenue into AI projects, which means up to $33.2 million in investment for a business with an annual revenue of $1 billion.
Executives’ expectations for AI are not limited to the technical level, they hope that AI can be deeply integrated into the company’s comprehensive business planning. It is expected that by 2025, the frequency of AI usage will increase by 82%. In the next 12 months, the AI application areas that companies are most concerned about include marketing and customer experience, supply chain operations, IT and security. It is worth noting that only 5% of respondents plan to reduce their AI budget, reflecting strong confidence in the huge potential that AI brings.
However, AI promotion has not been smooth sailing. The AI skills gap has become one of the main challenges facing enterprises, and many companies have difficulty finding the right talents when developing and implementing AI technologies. The report notes that 31% of employees are expected to receive reskill training or learn new skills to adapt to the use of AI, and this proportion will rise to 45% in three years. In addition, the survey also found that 55% of customer service improvements involved human-computer collaboration, and only 30% could be fully automated, further emphasizing the irreplaceability of humans in AI applications.
In addition to the skills gap, corporate investment in AI ecosystem platforms is also increasing rapidly. These platforms not only facilitate the sharing of data and AI models, but also facilitate the integration of AI capabilities between enterprises and their business and technology partners. IBM predicts that as enterprises deepen their dependence on the AI ecosystem, innovation and efficiency improvement will become the core driving force for enterprise development.
Although 87% of executives say they have established a clear AI governance framework, less than a quarter of businesses have fully implemented and continue to update tools to deal with risks such as bias, transparency and security. This shows that there are still significant gaps in operational supervision of AI. To fill this gap, IBM recommends that companies build internal trust in AI before applying AI to their customers and communicate transparently with customers about data collection and AI use to further strengthen governance and protect brand integrity.
To sum up, AI is becoming a core driver of the retail and consumer goods industries, and companies must actively respond to skills gaps and governance challenges to ensure the successful application of AI technology. With the continuous maturity of AI technology, enterprises will be able to maintain a leading position in a highly competitive market and provide customers with more personalized and efficient services.