5 Key Insights from the 2025 State of Generative AI in B2C Retail
Analysis of 1,100+ retail websites reveals that retail brands are skipping steps on the path to agentic AI
The backwards AI strategy that’s costing retailers millions
Here’s what we discovered: Most retailers are building advanced AI features while missing fundamental capabilities their customers actually need.
“We discovered that 34% of e-commerce companies are working on AI-guided selling, yet 49% don’t even have product availability in their search results. They’re doing it backwards. It’s like chatting with a salesperson at a clothing store, only to learn that they ran out of your size.”
— Michael Sinoway, CEO of Lucidworks
Our research used agentic AI to evaluate what customers actually experience on retail websites, not what companies claim to have implemented.
Key findings that will shape your retail AI strategy:
- The Implementation Gap: Companies are investing in sophisticated AI while overlooking basic functionality that drives conversion.
- The Language Oversight: Only 38% of retailers support multiple languages — the most neglected capability of 24 analyzed.
- The Investment Shift: AI spending plans dropped from 93% to 58% since 2023, but 33% now report significant benefits (up from 14%).
- The Performance Leaders:
- Furniture: Wayfair (79%), Raymour & Flanigan (69%)
- Footwear: Vans (71%), UGG (69%)
- Beauty: CVS Pharmacy (73%), Ulta Beauty (71%)
Unexpected leader: 122-year-old Harley-Davidson ranked #3 in automotive.
Our research methodology
1,100+ retail websites
analyzed by agentic AI
10,000+ executives
surveyed over 3 years
24 AI capabilities
evaluated objectively
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