KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights

Acceleratingwithintent

KPMG.MaketheDifference.

KPMGInternational|

Contents

triiui:nsumer

03

Keyfindings04

businessescandeliversuperiorresults

rlC&R05

vare07

gwidespread09

Thefutureforconsumerandretail12

Methodology

13

Abouttheauthors

14

HowKPMGcanhelp

15

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights2

?2025CopyrightownedbyoneormoreoftheKPMGInternationalentities.KPMGInternationalentitiesprovidenoservicestoclients.Allrightsreserved.

?2025CopyrightownedbyoneormoreoftheKPMGInternationalentities.KPMGInternationalentitiesprovidenoservicestoclients.Allrightsreserved.

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

Acceleratingwithintent:Whyconsumerandretailmustlevelupondata

Consumerandretail(C&R)companiesareembracingdigitaltransformationwitharenewedsenseofdirection.Tomoveforwardatspeed,theymustrampupinvestmentintheirdatacapabilities.

Today’schallengingeconomicclimateisforcingconsumersand

organizationstoadapt.AccordingtoKPMG’srecentglobal

Consumer

&RetailCEOOutlook

,81percentofindustryexecsexpectthecost

oflivingcrisistonegativelyimpacttheirorganizationforthenextthreeyears.1Tosucceed,consumerandretailcompaniesmustanticipateandadapttoconsumers’evolvingneedsandpreferences.Technologycanhelpthemachievethat.Byharnessingthepowerofdata,businessescangainadeeperunderstandingoftheircustomers,optimizetheir

operations,anddeliverpersonalizedandseamlessexperiencesthatdriveloyaltyandgrowth.

But,therealityis,manyC&Rcompaniesfallshortwiththesedata

ambitions.AsnotedinKPMG’sreport:

Fromdataoverloadtodata-

drivendecisionsinretail

,“Manyretailersarenotableto[create]the

unifieddataandinsights[theyrequire],duetoinadequateinfrastructure,

siloeddataanddepartments,multiplebutdisparatetechnologysystems,andout-of-synctransformations.”2

Againstthisbackdrop,theKPMGGlobalTechReport2024,basedonasurveyof2,450executivesfrom26countriesacrosseight

sectors,exploreshowC&Rbusinessesareusingtechnologytocreatevalueatatimeofsignificantvolatility,andhowtheyare

overcomingchallengessuchaspoordataquality,siloeddataandcapabilitygaps.

Ourresearch,whichfeaturesinsightsfrom490executivesfromC&Rbusinesses,suggeststhesectorispursuingatargetedtechnologyinvestmentstrategy.Moresophisticateddatacapabilitiesand

scaling-upartificialintelligence(AI)usecaseswithtrustandsecurityinmindcanhelpleadingbusinessessecurecompetitiveadvantage.

1KPMG,‘Consumer&RetailCEOOutlook’,2024.

2KPMG,‘Fromdataoverloadtodata-drivendecisionsinretail’,2025.

Inaneraofrapidtechnologicaladvancements,consumerandretailcompaniesareamassingvastamountsofdata.However,thechallengeliesintransformingthisdataintoactionable

insights.Whilethereisaconsensusthat

dataispivotalfordrivingperformanceand

competitiveness,manybusinessesstruggletoconvertitintomeaningfuloutcomes.They?ndthemselvesinundatedwithinformation,yetlackingthecriticalinsightsnecessaryforsustainablegrowthandinnovation.”

IsabelleAllen

GlobalHeadofConsumer&Retail,KPMGInternational

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights3

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

Accelerating

withintent

HowKPMG

canhelp

Aboutthe

authors

Key

findings

Keyfindings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesof

consumerandretailbusinessesaredeliveringsuperiorresults

In2024,theproportionoftechnologiesbringingprofitabilitygains

toC&Rbusinessessawayear-on-yearincrease.Thesecompanies’investmentdecisionsaremoredisciplinedandbasedonpastsuccess

saytheirtechinvestment

prioritiesreflectprovenreturns.

74%

Targetedimprovementsareenhancingthesector’sdatamaturity

Overthepast12months,C&Rbusinesseshavematuredmarkedlyintermsoftheirdatamanagementprograms.Forexample,

52%

nowsaytheyareeffectivelysecuringinsightfromthedata,upfrom38percentayearago.However,theystilllag

theirpeersinothersectors.

AIisgeneratingwidespread

businessvalue,withoperationalefficiencyandproductinnovationkeyaspirations

Aroundthree-quarters

73%

ofC&RcompanieshavealreadysecuredvaluefromactiveAIusecases.Now,theyarefocusingonscalingandacceleration.

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights4

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

ThehighlyintentionaldigitaltransformationstrategiesofC&Rbusinessescandeliver

superiorresults

Ratherthandefaultingtocopytheircompetitors’techinvestmentchoices,asseeninthe2023research,C&Rcompaniesareshiftingtoamoretargeted

approach.Theyarefocusingtheirtechspendingontheareaswiththegreatestpotentialtodrivereturns.Andthisfocusedapproachispayingoff.

Foreverytechnologytypeinourresearch,theproportionofC&Rcompaniesreportinggreaterprofitabilitybecauseoftheirinvestmentshasincreased

year-on-year.Moreover,thesebusinessesaremorelikelytoseelargerprofitincreases(10percentormore)incomparisonwiththecross-sectoraverage.

Figure1:Year-on-yearincreaseinproportionofC&Rtechnologyexecutivesconfirmingdigitaltransformationeffortshavepositivelyimpactedtheirorganizations’profitability

36%35%

Moderndelivery(includinglowcode/nocode)

Cybersecurity

34%29%

VR/AR/XR(includingMetaverse)andspatialcomputingAIandautomation(includinggenerativeAI)

28%28%

XaaStechnologies(includingpubliccloudormulti-cloud)

Dataandanalytics

YoYshift

Overthepast24months,haveyourdigitaltransformationeffortswiththefollowingtechnologiespositivelyimpactedyourorganization’sprofitability?Increasesummary

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights5

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

Earlyadoptersareyieldingsigni?cantbene?ts,”con?rmsMartinSokalski,USConsultingTechnology

74%

LeaderforConsumerandRetailKPMGin[country].“AI-poweredsolutionsaredeliveringquickreturnsinareassuchasstoresupportandinventorymanagement.Dataanalyticstoolsareenablingthemtoidentifytheirmostpro?tableproductsandtogetthoseinfrontofcustomers.”

Intoday’sprice-consciousclimateforconsumersandbusinesses,

dataisunlockinggreaterprofitabilityfortheindustry.Asseenin

theKPMGresearch‘Fromdataoverloadtodata-drivendecisionsin

retail’,3dynamicdata-drivenpricingtoolsthatadaptpricestomarket

forces,competitormovesandcustomerbehaviorpatterns,arehelpingretailandconsumercompaniesenhancetheirprofits.

AKPMGreport,‘TheAustralianRetailOutlook,’highlightsthecritical

needforretailerstoembraceadvancedtechnologiestocompete

effectively.“Thefutureofretailsuccessliesincreatingseamless,

personalized,andengagingexperiencesthatresonatewithcustomers

onanemotionallevel.Thismeansleveragingdataanalyticsto

personalizetheshoppingexperienceandintegratingbackendsystemstohelpachievereal-timevisibilityacrosstouchpoints.Byembracingthesetechnologies,Australianretailerscancaptureashareofthegrowing

e-commercemarketandbuildlastingcustomerloyalty.”JamesStewart,NationalSectorLeaderforConsumerandRetail,KPMGAustralia

BarryRaghunathan,Consumer&RetailTechnologyLeaderatKPMGin[country],notesthatthemostproductivechangejourneysinthesectorareledbyCIOswhoprioritizeaholistictechnologystrategy

thatisunderpinnedbydrivingstrategicbusinessvalue,asopposed

toseekingtechnologyoptimizationalone.“Thestrategistlensgoes

beyondtechnologicalfactorsofacertainprojectinsiloandadjuststooptimizethelong-termimpactson,say,theemployeeexperienceandthestrategicgoalsoftheenterprise,”Raghunathansays.

saytheirprioritiesfortechnologyinvestmentsreflectprovenreturnsonpreviousinvestment,upfrom

50percentin2023.

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

The2024KPMGGlobalTechReportdataindicatesthatthisstrategistethosisbeginningtoshapethesector’sspendinghabits.Incontrastwith2023,insteadofmerelyimitatingtheircompetitors’investmentpatterns,C&Rcompaniesarenowlaser-focusedonwhatworksbestforthem.Consequently,followingcompetitorsisnolongerthetop

driveroftechinvestmentdecisions.Inthislatestresearch,74percentsaytheirprioritiesfortechnologyinvestmentsreflectprovenreturnsonpreviousinvestment,upfrom50percentin2023.Thenumber

ofcompaniesinvestingbasedontheresultsoftrialsandproof-of-concept(PoC)testinghasalsoincreasedmarkedly.

Thisdisciplinedandmethodicalinvestmentapproachissetto

continue.WhilemostC&Rrespondentsplantoinvestfurtherinthetechcategoriesmeasured,thisisataslightlylowerratethanthe

cross-sectoraverage,indicatingconsideredrestraint.

3KPMG,‘Fromdataoverloadtodata-drivendecisionsinretail’,2025.

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights

6

?2025CopyrightownedbyoneormoreoftheKPMGInternationalentities.KPMGInternationalentitiesprovidenoservicestoclients.Allrightsreserved.

?2025CopyrightownedbyoneormoreoftheKPMGInternationalentities.KPMGInternationalentitiesprovidenoservicestoclients.Allrightsreserved.

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

Targetedimprovementsareenhancingdatamaturity

Overthepastyear,theproportionofC&R

companiesinourstudyreachingthemost

advancedstagesofmaturityfortheirdata-

managementactivitieshasincreased

signi?cantly,with52percentofthesebusinessesdescribingtheirabilitytoextractmeaningful

insightfromdataas‘influential’or‘embedded,’upfrom38percentin2023.And50percent

saythesameaboutdataaccessibility,a

17-percentage-pointincreaseonayearago.

ofthesebusinessesdescribingtheirabilitytoextract

meaningfulinsightfromdataas‘influential’orembedded,’upfrom38percentin2023.

52%

Figure2:ProportionofC&Rrespondentsinthetoptwolevelsofdatamaturity(influentialandembedded)

33%

50%

50%

Dataaccessibility:Ensuringusershavethedatatheyneedtoful?lltheirroles,helpingtoenableemergingtechnologiesandthepartnerecosystem

36%

Datainvestments:Ensuringdatasysteminvestmentsalignwith

prioritiesofallbusinessstakeholders

38%

52%

Extractingmeaningfulinsights:Filteringthroughdatarepositoriesto?ndusefulinsightsthatwillbene?tcustomersandbusinessoperations

40%

Datascience:Usingreal-timeorpredictiveanalyticstoinformdecisions

46%

acrossthebusiness

41%

Datamonetization:Leveragingdataforcompetitiveadvantageinnew

49%

49%

businessmodels

35%

Dataculture:Educatingemployeessotheycanappreciatethevalueof

dataandutilizeitintheirdailyworkinglives

20232024

Howeffectiveareyourdataandanalyticsactivitiesinthefollowingareas?—Influential/EmbeddedSUMMARY

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights7

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

ThehighlyintentionaldigitalTargetedimprovementsare

transformationstrategiesofC&R...enhancingdatamaturity

Accelerating

withintent

HowKPMG

canhelp

Aboutthe

authors

Key

findings

Nevertheless,maturityinthissectorlagsthelevelsrecordedinothersectors.AccordingtoRaghunathan,ConsumerPackagedGoods(CPG)companiesshouldstrivetoimprovetheirfirst-

partydataeffortsandhowthatdatainformstheirworkflows.Andregardingthird-partydatastrategies:“We’reseeingalotofinefficiency,alotofmissedopportunities,”saysSokalski.

“Thankfully,manyinthesectorarecraftingasingleviewofthecustomeracrossdifferentchannels.”

Whileacquiringthird-partydatahaslongbeenthepriority,

manyfailtoutilizethedatatoitsfullpotentialformoretargetedmarketing—personalizedrecommendations,orimprovedsupplychainmanagement.RaghunathancitestheexampleofaleadingCPGbusinessthatspendsmillionsofdollarseachyearonthird-partydatafromaretailpartnerbutuseslessthanone-tenthofthedatacollected.Aswellasbeingmoreselectiveastowhichthird-partydatasetstheypurchase,organizationsshouldput

thosesourcestoworkbyusingtheinsightstoenhancetheiroperations.Forinstance,learningsaboutcustomerappetitescanhelpenhanceproductdesignandinventorymanagementtominimizewastage,andinsightsonunitlocationscanbringnewsupplychainefficienciestoaccelerateproductionand

distribution.

Onedatamanagementareaofparticularfocusistheimperative

toplugleaksinvoice-of-the-customerdatastrategies.Indeed,

60percentofC&Rrespondentssaythattheycollectcustomer

feedbackbutfrequentlyfailtousetheinsights.Stubborndata

disconnectsbetweencontactchannelsobstructthetransferof

customerinsightsacrossC&Rbusinesses.Thesedisconnects

alsolimitthefunctionalityoftheomnichannelcapabilitiesC&R

companieshavebeeninvestingintooverthepastdecade.Despiteyearsofworkunifyingdataandsilosintoacentralizedsource,

manycompaniesarestillyettoestablishatrue‘singlesourceoftruth’fortheircustomerdata,saysRaghunathan.

So,ratherthanhavingseamlessomnichannelinteractionsbetweenaprovider’se-commerceplatform,physicalstoresandmarketing

campaigns,forexample,oftenconsumersmustendurefragmentedshoppingexperiencesbecausevariouspiecesofdataremain

trappedwithindifferentchannels.Tohelpresolvethis,thesector

needstoperseverewithprioritizingitsfirst-partydatastrategies

andaddressingthedatasiloesandlegacysystemsthatunderpinitsvariousdeliveryplatforms.

StrengtheningdatafoundationswouldalsohelpC&Rbusinessesto

becomemoreagileandadaptive.Manypointtoscenario-forecastingandrisk-identificationworkshopsasespeciallyimportanttotheirabilitytorespondtoevolvingmarkettrendsandemergingrisks.

60%

ofC&Rrespondentssaythattheycollect

customerfeedbackbutfrequentlyfailtousetheinsights.Stubborndatadisconnectsbetween

contactchannelsobstructthetransferofcustomerinsightsacrossC&Rbusinesses.

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

Findoutaboutoursixkeypillarsfordatastrategieshere.

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights8

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

AIisgeneratingwidespreadbusinessvalue

C&RbusinessesareimplementingAIwithsomeurgency:

73percentreportalreadyhavingachievedbusinessvalue

fromsuchinitiatives.Thatmirrorsthefindingsof

ourrecent

researchonretailintheAsia-Pacificregion

,wherenearly

everycompanysurveyedisexploringorimplementingAI.

Severalexecutivesnotedthattherateofuptakeissurpassinganyprevioustechnology.4Similarly,ourlatest

Consumer&

RetailCEOOutlook

researchfoundleadersinthesectornowseetheracetoembraceandembedgenerativeAI(GenAI)astheirthird-biggestchallenge;onlyeconomicuncertainty

andgeopoliticalcomplexityaremoretop-of-mind.5

Respondentstothisresearchpointtoawiderangeof

examples,includingopportunitiesforoperationalefficienciesandthepotentialtodriverevenuegrowththroughnew

productdevelopment.

4KPMG,‘NavigatingthefutureofseamlesscommerceinAsiaPacific’,2024.

5KPMG,‘Consumer&RetailCEOOutlook’,2024

Figure3:Consumerandretail’sshort-termgoalsforharnessingAIoverthenexttwoyears(inorderofpriority)

Boostingoperationalefficiency(automatingrepetitivetasksandenhancingtheemployeeexperience)

Productandservicedevelopmentandinnovation

Advancedpatterndetectionandissueresolution

Customerserviceautomation(externaluse)

EnergymanagementandESGdelivery

Fraud/risk/securityincidentdetectionandresponse

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights9

TargetedimprovementsareAIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

enhancingdatamaturitybusinessvalueconsumerandretail

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Accelerating

withintent

HowKPMG

canhelp

Aboutthe

authors

Key

findings

C&Rbusinessesencouragecross-functionalcollaborationtodrivethediscoveryofnewAIusecases.Indeed,46percentofthesebusinessessayopencollaborationistheirpreferredapproach,

withAIcentersofexcellenceorotherworkinggroupsthatincludecolleaguesfromacrosstheirorganizations.

AstheyscaleAIimplementation,C&Rcompaniesareconscious

oftheimperativetomaintaingoodgovernance,withtrustand

cybersecuritykeyconsiderations.KPMG’s

C&RCEOOutlook

6

foundleaderspreparingcarefullytogoverntheirownuseofAIandautomation.Inthatresearch,manyC&RCEOs(84percent—which

ofthese

businesses

sayopen

46%

collaborationistheirpreferredapproach,withAIcentersof

excellenceor

otherworkinggroupsthat

include

colleaguesfromacrosstheir

organizations.

ishigherthanallothersectorssurveyed)agreedthatthedegreeofregulationforGenAIshouldmirrorthatofclimatecommitments.

Thisgovernanceimperativewilllikelyseenewcontrolstructures

emerge.Currently,39percentplantoshifttoacentralizedapproachtoAIexperimentationoncetheyhaveobtainedacriticalmassof

ideasfromtheworkforce.

“Thenumberofusecasesisgrowingexponentially,”says

Raghunathan.“C&Rcompaniesneedtoprioritize,butitalsoforcesthemtofocusongovernance.Astheseusecasescometolife,it’sclearsomeofthemodelsdoincludeproblematicbiases.”

plantoshifttoacentralizedapproachtoAIexperimentationoncetheyhaveobtainedacriticalmassofideasfromtheworkforce.

Consumerandretailcompaniesarerapidly

transformingthroughdigitalizationand

enhancedcustomerexperiences.AsGenAI

becomesakeyinvestmentarea,organizationsmustprioritizeaholisticstrategythataligns

withimmediatebusinessgoalsanddeliverssustainablevalue.Thisstrategicapproachshouldfocusonthelong-termimpacton

customerexperienceandoverallbusinessobjectives,helpingensurethatinvestmentsdrivemeaningfulbusinessvaluebeyond

individualtechnicalprojects.”

PuneetMansukhani

HeadofGlobalRetailDigital

TechnologyandTransformationKPMGinIndia

Source:KPMGglobaltechreport2024

6KPMG,‘Consumer&RetailCEOOutlook’,2024.

KPMGglobaltechreport:Consumerandretailinsights10

Accelerating

withintent

Key

findings

Thehighlyintentionaldigital

transformationstrategiesofC&R...

Targetedimprovementsare

enhancingdatamaturity

AIisgeneratingwidespreadThefutureforMethodology

businessvalueconsumerandretail

Aboutthe

authors

HowKPMG

canhelp

LeadingtrendsinAIinRetail

Customersegmentation

Customizedwebsitecontentforindividuals,suchaspersonalizedproductdescriptionsrelevanttotheuser’sinterest.

1

8

Personalizedmarketing

Analyzingcustomerbehaviorandpurchasehistorytogeneratepersonalizedmarketingmessagesorevencustomizedproductrecommendations.

9

Storelayout&design

Analyzingdatasuchasfoottrafficpatterns,purchasehistoryandexternalfactorstooptimizestorelayoutanddesign.

2

Customerservice

Generatingresponsestocustomerenquiriesandcreatingguidestohelpcustomersresolveissues.

10

Pricingstrategy

Productdevelopment

Designingmockupsfornewproductsorvisualizechangestoexistingproducts.

3

Adjustingpricingtooptimizeprofitability,salesormarketsharebasedonfactorssuchassupply,demand,buyingpatternsandcompetitorpricing.

11

Fashiontrends

Predictingfuturefashiontrendsbasedondataandevengeneratescompletelynewdesigns.

4

Employeetraining

Tailoringtrainingprogramstoindividualemployees,

Sustainability

12

consideringtheirexistingskills,learningpace,andareasofinterestorweakness.

Generatesdesignoptionsforproductsusingeco-friendlyinnovations.

5

Demandforecasting

Assistinpredictingdemandtrendsorinventoryissues.

13

Individualization

Asdatabecomesmorerobust,thefocuswillmovefrom

Virtualtryon

UsingARcustomerscanvirtually‘tryon’clothes.AIcananalyzethefit,

6

color,stylepreferences,andsuggestitemsthatcustomersmightlikebasedontheirpastbehaviorandpreferences.

segmentationtoindividualizationleadingtopromotionsbasedonhistoricalpurchases,currentcartandbrowsingtime.AIwouldstartpromptingrecommendationsonthepreviouspurchasetohelp

improvethepairingstandards.

14

SupplyChainOptimization

Virtualshoppingassistants

Personalizedassistancetoonlineshoppers,helpingthemfindproducts,answeringquestions.

7

Omni-channelretaildemandsoptimizedsupplychains,whereAI

analyzesdatatorecommendfulfillmentandrouteoptimization,

leadingtoimproveddeliveries,costredu