A recent report from Fluent Commerce underscores the expanding influence of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in retail, highlighting both advancements and ongoing adoption challenges. Over 70 percent of retailers have piloted or partially deployed agentic AI solutions to boost operational efficiency, with 71 percent expecting measurable improvements within the next year. This reflects broad industry recognition of AI’s transformative potential. However, the report reveals that full integration remains limited: only 8 percent of retailers have consistently deployed AI across their entire operations, and merely 5 percent consider their AI systems mature and fully optimized. This gap indicates many retailers are still grappling with the complexities of comprehensive AI adoption. The impact of AI varies significantly—about 12 percent of retailers report significant operational benefits from current AI initiatives. Yet, widespread implementation faces considerable barriers. Ethical and regulatory concerns affect 43 percent of retailers, involving compliance, privacy, and algorithmic bias issues.

Equally, 43 percent identify customer trust as a critical challenge, as consumer apprehension about AI and data use can hinder deployment. Internal hurdles also persist: 39 percent cite difficulties with integrating diverse, siloed data streams, and 36 percent report shortages of skilled professionals to develop and manage AI technologies. Currently, AI is predominantly applied in customer service and personalized marketing; 56 percent of retailers use AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to enhance service responsiveness and efficiency, while 46 percent employ AI for personalized marketing, tailoring offers through advanced data analysis. Interest is growing in applying AI to more complex operations: about 30 percent explore AI for inventory management to optimize stock and reduce waste, and 32 percent consider AI for supply chain optimization to improve logistics and cost efficiency. Agentic AI systems—capable of independently managing complex operational tasks—are particularly attractive for their potential not only to automate but also to generate actionable insights, streamlining workflows and informing decisions. The report notes a shift from AI-enhanced creativity toward AI-augmented administration, where AI handles routine and complex administrative functions, while humans retain strategic planning and governance roles. Fluent Commerce emphasizes that with quality data and strategic planning, agentic AI can unlock significant gains in retail operational efficiency and productivity. Addressing challenges around regulation, trust, data integration, and workforce skills is critical for retailers to fully leverage AI in an increasingly digital marketplace. In summary, the report portrays retail as a sector actively advancing AI adoption—moving from pilot projects toward mature, enterprise-wide implementation. This progression features promising use cases and evolving strategies, alongside ongoing efforts to overcome ethical, technical, and organizational challenges inherent to this digital transformation.