The Survey Forecasts a Sharp rise: over 70% of Retailers will embrace Gen AI In Next 12 Months

Ernst & Young conducted a market survey, which revealed that general AI will make up 70% of the retail market share in the future, with the majority of merchants relying on AI simply because of its widespread availability. The recognized international accounting, auditing, and taxation firm Ernst & Young, also known as E&Y, published a survey on Thursday in which they revealed how general artificial intelligence (AI) is generally assisting retailers by making their business easier through its different branches.

According to the research, 6% of the participants have already incorporated general AI in their organizations and workplaces, while 71% intend to do so in the future, most likely by the end of 2024.

The survey also covered topics such as customer experience, production innovation, ease of work, and cost reduction, with 76% believing that AI has a significant impact on customer experience, while 65% believe that AI has helped them with production innovation and 54% with cost reduction.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to revolutionize the way that merchants operate. Previously, they all relied on their fundamental knowledge to estimate sales and try to understand the buying behaviour of their customers. By performing sales forecasting and analyzing current market trends and consumer behaviour, artificial intelligence is simplifying all of these tasks. According to the report, current retail AI investment is $5 billion, with an estimated increase to $31 billion by 2028.

The general AI can boost merchants’ profitability by 20% by the end of 2025, according to the EY evaluation. This can be accomplished by understanding consumer purchasing behaviour and improving customer satisfaction levels. AI is being used by even local merchants, including those in Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations, to give their customers the greatest possible experience.

While experts are concerned about privacy when using AI, AI will be able to track your location based on all sales data from retailers and customers, which could be an indication of danger in the event of a cyberattack on the AI’s database. This data can be sold to companies so they can customize your online advertising experience and show you advertisements according to your buying experience.

In the field of marketing, a common aphorism goes, “If you are not paying for the product, then you are the product!” Since the current version of AI is mostly free for everyone to use, retailers should keep this in mind when utilizing it for their businesses.

In today’s world, where retailers and local markets are ending because of online shopping and better prices available, general AI is nothing but a saviour for local retailers who are here to save them from bankruptcy and help them grow their businesses with ease. Though the privacy concern will always be there, it doesn’t matter how secure the database can be.