In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) evolved from theory to practice in the retail industry, changing the way businesses interact with customers, manage operations and develop products. From inventory management to virtual shopping experiences, AI has become essential for retailers looking to stay ahead. Here are ten key ways it reshaped the industry this year.
Retail giants like Amazon and Walmart expanded their use of AI assistants to improve customer service. Amazon’s “Rufus” offered tailored product recommendations. While effective overall, these tools faced occasional errors, underscoring the need for ongoing refinement.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT played a significant role in holiday shopping, helping consumers find products and deals more efficiently. Retailers reported significant traffic growth from AI-powered searches, marking a shift from traditional search engines. This approach streamlined the shopping process and highlighted AI’s role in driving online retail engagement.
AI agents in 2024 began handling complex retail operations autonomously, from managing supply chains to personalizing customer interactions. These agents acted as decision-makers, analyzing vast datasets in real time to adjust inventory levels, optimize delivery routes or recommend products. Companies like Skyfire Systems launched payment networks specifically for AI agents, enabling them to execute transactions without human involvement, further streamlining processes.
Predictive AI models enhanced inventory management efficiency in the retail sector. Retailers implemented tools like Gated Recurrent Units to analyze historical sales data, seasonal patterns and market trends, enabling more accurate demand forecasting. This approach reduced instances of stockouts and overstock, leading to better inventory control, minimized waste and improved profitability.
Retailers used AI-powered analytics to understand how customers interacted with their stores. Technologies like YOLOV8 tracked shopper movements, identifying high-traffic areas and pinpointing where customers spent the most time. This data enabled retailers to make strategic decisions, such as relocating popular items to easily accessible locations and streamlining aisle layouts to improve flow.
AI tools were integral to the success of Black Friday, with U.S. online sales reaching a record $10.8 billion. Generative AI chatbots guided shoppers to deals and sped up checkout processes, helping retailers achieve higher conversion rates.
AI reduced the time and cost of developing new products by analyzing market trends and customer feedback. This allowed companies to roll out products more quickly and tailor them to specific consumer needs. Retailers using AI in product development gained a competitive edge by being able to respond faster to market demands.
As AI became integral to personalization, retailers faced growing scrutiny over customer data use and security. Balancing the benefits of AI-driven insights with ethical data practices and compliance was a priority for many companies.
AI-powered visual search tools, like those offered by Pinterest and Google Lens, changed how consumers discovered products. By uploading images, shoppers could find visually similar items online. Retailers integrated these tools to improve product discovery and better align with consumer shopping trends.
Retailers increasingly use AI to enhance sustainability in their operations. Algorithms optimized supply chains, reduced waste and monitored environmental impact, helping businesses meet both regulatory requirements and consumer expectations. AI’s role in sustainability also offered cost-saving benefits alongside ecological ones.
In 2024, AI’s role in retail shifted from experimental to essential. While its implementation presented challenges around accuracy, privacy and ethics, efficiency, engagement and innovation, its benefits were undeniable. As the industry looks ahead to 2025, AI will likely continue to evolve, further transforming how retailers operate and connect with customers.
Job cuts in government, technology and retail led the way as U.S. employers announced the largest number of cuts in one month since May 2020.
Among the 275,240 job cuts announced in March, 216,215 were in government, 15,055 were in technology and 11,709 were in retail, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a report released Thursday (April 3).
“Job cut announcements were dominated last month by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to eliminate positions in the federal government,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in the report. “It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs.”
The total number of job cuts made in March was more than three times the 90,309 cuts announced in March 2024, according to the report.
By sector, compared to March 2024, government job cuts were almost six times higher, technology cuts were about 6% higher and retail cuts were nearly twice as high, per the report.
All the government job cuts made in March occurred in the federal government, the report said.
The top reason employers gave for cutting jobs in March was “DOGE impact,” which was cited for 216,670 of the month’s cuts, according to the report.
Other common reasons included store, unit or department closing, to which 17,666 job cuts were attributed, and market/economic conditions, which accounted for 11,594 cuts, per the report.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas also said in the report that employers are planning to hire fewer workers than they were a year ago. Companies’ hiring plans dropped by about 37%, from 21,102 in March 2024 to 13,198 in March 2025, according to the report.
The specter of uncertain job security may accelerate a spending pullback that is already in motion, PYMNTS reported Wednesday (April 2). Consumer confidence that was already shaken may have been further impacted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest snapshot of the labor market released Tuesday (April 1), which found that the labor market slowed in February, with a decline in job openings over the past year.
The Conference Board reported March 25 that consumer confidence slipped for the fourth straight month in March, due in part to a plunge in consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions.
