In this edition of the Glossy+ Research Briefing, we unpack insights from a recent report from vision AI platform Everseen about AI’s evolving role in retail operations and shopper interactions.
Consumers and retailers are comfortable using AI for improved shopping experiences
Retailers are setting ambitious goals for how they plan to use AI for tasks such as inventory management, customer service and security operations. This is according to a 2025 survey of consumers and retailers from vision AI platform Everseen which found that 98% of retailers are aiming to have full “deployment of AI systems” by 2027.
According to the report, retailers are making progress when it comes to incorporating AI into their workflows. Of the retailers aiming to have full integration by 2027, over half (52%) are currently researching or planning implementation, 21% are already pilot testing AI technologies, and 12% have partially added AI tools in their stores.
Currently, retailers are investing in AI for a variety of applications including loss prevention, predictive inventory analytics, automated checkouts, customer service, chatbots and personalized product recommendations. Most retailers have already incorporated AI for these tasks and, if not, they plan to do so within the next 12 months, according to Everseen’s survey.
Consumers are also becoming more comfortable with using AI and they are increasingly recognizing AI’s role in enhancing the shopping experience, according to Everseen’s study. Forty-four percent of consumers in Everseen’s survey said they had experienced the benefits of using AI for faster checkout, while 43% said they saw the benefits of using AI to provide better inventory accuracy and availability.
During a recent earnings call for fourth quarter 2024, The RealReal’s svp of finance Caitlin Howe said incorporating AI into the luxury online marketplace’s inventory and checkout systems has improved customer satisfaction. “More accurate item attribution results in improved search, higher customer satisfaction, lower returns, better pricing accuracy and quicker time to launch, and we are just getting started,” Howe said.
In fact, according to Everseen’s survey, some consumers believe AI has the potential to help retailers lower prices in stores. Nearly half of surveyed consumers (45%) expect AI to reduce retail theft and 40% believe it will enhance product availability and inventory accuracy — ultimately leading to better margins for retailers and lower prices for consumers.
Nearly a quarter of surveyed consumers (24%) said they recognize AI’s role in providing improved personalized shopping experiences. Ulta, for example, uses data and AI to curate personalized product recommendations and encourage users to shop on its app. “We have great data that helps us to tee up recommendations,” Kelly Mahoney, Ulta Beauty interim CMO and svp of customer and growth marketing, told Glossy.
Meanwhile, the majority of consumer respondents in Everseen’s survey are comfortable with using AI for in-store surveillance. Seven out of 10 surveyed consumers (68%) said they are comfortable with using AI to examine in-store video and images, and six out of 10 consumers (58%) said they have interacted with in-store retail technologies, such as smart carts, digital kiosks or enhanced self-checkouts that may use cameras or sensors.
However, ensuring there are privacy controls on the personal data retailers collect and store and providing transparency about when vision AI is being used in stores are both major concerns for consumers. Nearly three-quarters of shoppers (74%) believe it is very important to know when Vision AI is in use, and 72% say retailers need to provide more transparency when AI technology is being used in grocery and retail stores.
Aside from consumers’ concerns around ethical communication of AI use, retailers are facing major hurdles when it comes to incorporating AI technology. Nearly half of retailer respondents to Everseen’s survey (47%) said they faced challenges when training personnel on AI and 44% have struggled to integrate AI within their existing systems.
However, nearly half of retailers believe AI is worth the investment despite the challenges they face. Forty-eight percent of senior retail managers said they expect AI to deliver a 21%-50% return on investment within the first three years after they’ve integrated it.
With so many retailers investing in AI, ThredUps’ chief technology officer Dan Demeyere said it’s important to keep up. “We knew that [generative AI] will transform e-commerce in some way,” DeMeyere said. “If we don’t figure out what it means for us, someone else is going to, and then we’re going to be behind.”
