An increasing number of shoppers believe that artificial intelligence (AI) is helping to improve their retail experiences, with concerns around the technology decreasing, according to research from SAP Emarsys.
The survey of 2,000 UK consumers and 250 UK marketers found that 52% of shoppers think AI has improved their retail experiences – up from 40% last year. Within this, 33% feel the technology has made shopper easier (up from 26% in 2023), 29% have seen it boost personalisation (up from 22%), and 35% think it is helping them to find new products (up from 26%).
Due to these benefits, only 20% of consumers now oppose greater integration of AI into retail.
This feeling amongst consumers is have a net positive effect on brands as well, with 50% of UK marketers attributing an increase in customer engagement to AI, while a further 50% report a boost in customer loyalty. This successful adoption of AI within retail has led to 69% of these marketers increasing investment in AI this year.
In response to the findings, SAP Emarsys has announced a pilot for its new AI Product Finder, which is an email marketing solution that enables marketers and retailers to more easily locate and incorporate a brand’s products into their campaigns. This adds to its AI Subject Generator.
“We are committed to a relevant, reliable, and responsible approach to AI, which is giving marketers the freedom to innovate and re-imagine what is possible in this new era of marketing,” said Joanna Milliken, SAP Emarsys CEO. “By infusing AI into everything we do, SAP Emarsys will help our customers save time and effort on complex tasks, so they can focus on ROI and delighting their customers.”
