5 Retail Stats You Need to Know Now

Welcome to Salesforce’s Retail Roundup! In each issue, we spotlight the retail industry’s hits and misses, hot topics, and hype.

September means a lot of things to a lot of people: back to school, the first day of fall, the start of spooky season, the return of pumpkin-spice everything. But around here, September is all about one thing - Dreamforce. The largest AI event in the world, this year’s gathering will help you connect with retail experts, drive innovation, and prepare for the biggest shift in technology in our time. 

As always, the retail sessions will explore the tech, tactics, and mindset that are changing the retail industry. In creating this year’s programming, we looked at the most important trends and statistics impacting retailers. The result? Insightful expertise, real-world success stories, and step-by-step guidance on using data and AI to grow revenue and relationships in retail right now. 

Are you ready for Dreamforce? Register to stream the sessions for free or watch on demand on Salesforce+.

5 Retail Stats Changing the Industry

The retail industry is always evolving, and you need to keep up if you want to meet shoppers’ changing expectations. We’ve done the research and it’s clear AI is changing how retailers meet, woo, and maintain relationships with consumers, both in-store and online. Are you on the right track? Check out these five stats to see if you need to rethink your customer experience.

1. Generative AI could unlock between $240 billion and $390 billion in economic value for retailers, according to McKinsey.

In fact, a 2024 Nvidia study found 69% of retailers surveyed saw an increase in annual revenue after adopting AI. So it’s not surprising that 81% of retailers have an AI budget with 50% dedicated to generative AI. Their priority? 50% say it’s improving the customer experience. One of the top use cases for doing so is to create a conversational digital shopping assistant to help shoppers find the right product or service. 

Want to learn more? Don’t miss the Retail Keynote on how to Grow Revenue and Relationships with Data and AI at this year’s Dreamforce on Wednesday, September 18th, at 4:30 p.m. PST. Explore generative AI’s impact on productivity, consumer experiences, marketing, commerce, service, and stores. 

2. 53% of shoppers said they are interested in using generative AI for inspiring the perfect gift choice this holiday shopping season.

We know that shoppers want personalized experiences, and that’s especially true during the holiday season when they are hunting for the perfect present for each person on their list. AI is a great way to scale personalization to your entire customer base so that every shopper finds exactly what they want, at the price they want to pay. And that’s important this year, as shoppers are more price-conscious, with most of them waiting to make big purchases once the deepest holiday discounts surface. 

What else should you expect this holiday season? Check out Retail Holiday Predictions Revealed on Thursday, September 19th, on demand. 

3. Close to 84% of retail sales are made in a brick-and-mortar store.

It’s never been more important to up your in-store experience. What does that mean? Processing orders and transactions from anywhere in the store, personalizing experiences with clienteling, saving the sale with endless aisle, offering flexible payments with a connected cash drawer, and promoting exclusive loyalty and store offers.

Are you ready to make that happen? Learn how to Unlock the Power of Your Store POS with Salesforce on Wednesday, September 18th, at 11:30 a.m. PST (only available live).

4. As retailers increasingly embed AI into search experiences, we predict search will drive a nearly 3x better conversion rate compared to traffic not engaging with site search.

AI is fast becoming shoppers’ entry point for engaging with you digitally and even in stores. In fact, 17% of orders in November and December of 2023 were influenced by AI, totaling $199 billion in sales. In Cyber Week alone, seven days of online sales generated $51 billion worldwide through AI. No doubt about it: A data-driven, AI-powered ecommerce strategy is crucial to retail success these days. Are you using AI to lower costs and drive revenue with your ecommerce business? Be sure to watch the Commerce Cloud Keynote, Transform AI Insights into Revenue, on Thursday, September 19th at 4 p.m. PST.

5. 80% of consumers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products.

Today, delivering value at every touchpoint across the retail customer experience is more complicated than ever. Shoppers engage with their favorite retailers on apps, in stores and pop-up shops, online, over the phone, and more. And as customer expectations continue to rise, the pressure to win wallet share grows more intense every year. But you can drive loyalty by putting data and AI at the heart of your retail customer experience.

For tips on driving loyalty across the customer journey, join us for Elevate the Customer Experience with AI, available to watch on demand Wednesday, September 18th.

This is just a handful of the informative sessions we’ll be streaming live (and making available on demand) from Dreamforce 2024. Head over to Salesforce+ to register for free so you don’t miss a moment.

Retail Checkout

What else is new in retail? 

• Need some help with last-minute holiday planning? Get our free 2024 Retail Holiday Planning Guide.
• Want to learn more about how the retail industry is moving forward with AI? Don’t miss the Retail Insights report on generative AI.
• Ready to track the latest retail trends? Stay ahead of the curve with our quarterly shopping data.

Retail Q&A

What topic should we tackle in an upcoming newsletter? Let us know what’s on your mind.

This newsletter was curated by Patricia Staino , Editorial Lead at Salesforce.

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