AI in Retail: How US Brands Are Leveraging AI

Last Update on 27 June, 2025

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AI in Retail: How US Brands Are Leveraging AI | IT IDOL Technologies

Not long ago, a simple computer science project was forged with a concept to program machines to think just like the movie “Terminator or Blade Runner 2049” where one can see the futuristic technology that one can only imagine with full-scale holograms that interact with the people or the movie Real Player One where people can commerce in the virtual world just like what” Meta”(Facebook) is working on, A world within the world.

In the past decade, artificial intelligence has become one of the most powerful tools that is on the path of changing industries, like healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and retail.

AI Revolutionizing the Retail Industry

AI Revolutionizing the Retail Industry | IT IDOL Technologies

Market Growth and Adoption

  • The adoption of AI technologies in retail will exceed $127.09 billion during the period from 2024 to 2033 according to Leeway Hertz (2024).
  • Research indicates the retail sector will generate substantial revenue through AI applications while the market is projected to reach $89.79 billion by 2031 (Mapsted, 2024).
  • The application of AI technology possesses both positive and negative effects on retail customer interactions and commercial achievements.
  • Under AI intervention the delivery of personalized suggestions generates sales increases of up to 15–20% according to WorldMetrics’ (2024) research.

Next Level Shopping Experience with AI

Next Level Shopping experience with AI | IT IDOL Technologies

One thing is for sure, with all these futuristic implementations of technologies shopping has become more immersive and personalized and the online and offline worlds have started to merge seamlessly.

Today digital e-commerce or brick-and-mortar stores are booming worldwide, and thanks to incredible technological advances — from manufacturing to retail — AI has completely upended the old ways of conducting operations and transactions.

Today customer expectations are changing and evolving rapidly and retailers, small and large, are under constant pressure to keep up.

This is where AI plays an important role. You may think it’s a futuristic idea, but today it’s an indispensable tool for any industry, especially retail, to increase efficiency, improve the customer experience, and boost sales.  

AI in Commerce: Enhancing Retail Efficiency and Customer Experience

AI in Commerce: Enhancing Retail Efficiency and Customer Experience | IT IDOL Technologies

1. Predictive Analytics:

Retailers get AI-driven analytics that helps them make informed decisions in inventory management, pricing dynamics, and personalized product recommendations.

Marketers also benefited from AI to identify market trends, optimize campaigns, and improve their target audience.

Popular tools: Seery | Plat.AI

2. Inventory Management

AI helps with inventory management in optimizing supply chains, reducing stockouts, and aligning demand forecasts. This helps the business in cost control, improves efficiency, and increases profitability.

Popular tools: C3 AI | Visionify

3. Product Recommendations

Through browsing history and preferences AI provides recommendations by analyzing customer data and providing personalized product suggestions to the customers.

Collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and NLP help with recommendations to increase sales and customer engagement.

Popular tools: Depict | IT Idol Technologies

4. Image Recognition

This AI-driven technology helps to filter out counterfeit products, generate product categories, and improve visual search capabilities.

Businesses use several tools for product authenticity and better inventory management.

Popular tools: Google Lens | Alpolu Vision

5. Customer Segmentations

To create detailed customer profiles and segmentations AI analyzes consumer data from multiple sources.

This indirectly helps businesses to target their potential customers with personalized recommendations and marketing campaigns.

Popular tools: Peak AI | Aqurate.AI

6. Fraud Detection and Preventions

Fraudulent activities are the nightmares of any business, AI detects the activities and analyzes them through purchase patterns, transaction anomalies, and unusual behaviors.

It prevents financial losses by identifying suspicious transactions.

Popular tools: DataVisor | InscribeAI | Nethone

7. Product Descriptions

Business owners might feel restricted with their writing skills, but AI writing tools help them to generate product descriptions and create engaging product content at scale within minutes.

Popular Tools: ChatGPT | Jasper | QuillBot

8. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

For any business customer service is a priority, and that’s where AI-powered chatbots can provide a helping hand with 24/7 customer support, by handling inquiries instantly and reducing response time.

According to the reports AI-powered Chatbots have saved approximately $439 billion annually.

Popular tools:  Google Meena | EBI.AI | Chatfuel

Now let’s dive into how US retailers are taking advantage of AI in their businesses and getting the maximum benefits in terms of customer experiences, streamlining operations, and increasing their revenue.

Key Use Cases:

Personalized Recommendations

For any retailer, it is important to analyze and understand customer behavior and purchase history of its customer, to curate tailored recommendations and promotions.

Sephora uses the virtual artist app, which helps the customer try on makeup virtually and customers get personalized product suggestions.

Amazon is another example that gets insights using AI for each customer purchasing power, which helps the company curate and customize its customer home page.

Inventory Management and Supply Chain Optimization

In comparison to conventional long and monotone processes, AI has provided smooth transitions in inventory management and supply chain management in terms of forecasting demands, aligning with the supply, keeping inventory at satisfactory levels, and efficient logistics.

Walmart being one of the biggest global retailers, uses AI to track the inventory in real-time and product assortment and make sure the shelves are stocked with the right products within the right sections.

Automation Stores

With AI systems like sensor fusion and computer vision at Amazon stores, customers come and take the products and leave, they don’t need to pay or scan, the system automatically charges them.

Dynamic Pricing

To adjust the prices, AI helps to analyze the market trends and customer demands and does a comparative analysis with the competitor pricing in real-time to adjust the prices dynamically.

Zara ensures that their product pricing is competitive and is based on demand and seasonality.

Customer Service

After service is one of the key parts of any business, AI-powered chatbots help with 24×7 customer support and personalized product recommendations.

Voice Activated Shopping

Customers can search for products, add them to their cart, and place orders through voice interactions, the best example is Amazon Alexa.

Visual Search

This helps the customer to search for similar products based on images they upload, this is done with the AI-powered image recognition technology.

Loyalty Programs

For loyalty programs and offering personalized drink suggestions Starbucks uses AI by analyzing individual customer preferences.

AI and the Future of Shopping: What’s Next?

AI is evolving and reshaping the retail industry, helping business owners with streamlined operations, better customer engagement, and an increase in sales.

Whether it is virtual shopping or automated cafes, one can see the paradigm shift in technology that is pushing boundaries like never before.

However one has to be clear, AI is not a “MAGIC”  Abracadabra whoosh!! It still requires human interference for accuracy, relevance, and reliability.

AI helps to enhance the experience and make seamless processes so that businesses can focus on quality management. Even with the advanced algorithm, it is impossible to deliver results if accurate well-structured information is not provided.

This is the reason why product information management(PIM) is so important. At IT Idol Technologies we help businesses equip them with AI and Optimized product information management for a smarter and better connected retail experience.

FAQs

1. How are US retailers using AI to improve customer experience?

Retailers in the US use AI for personalized recommendations, virtual shopping assistants, AI-powered chatbots, and computer vision technology to enhance in-store and online shopping experiences.

2. What are the most common AI applications in US retail?

Key AI applications include demand forecasting, dynamic pricing, fraud detection, automated customer support, cashier-less checkout, and supply chain optimisation.

3. Which US brands are leading in AI adoption for retail?

Major US retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Macy’s use AI for inventory management, AI-driven personalization, voice commerce, and autonomous retail experiences.

4. How does AI help retailers optimize pricing and promotions?

AI analyzes market trends, competitor pricing, and customer behavior to enable dynamic pricing, personalized discounts, and real-time promotions that maximize sales and profitability.

5. How do AI-powered chatbots improve customer service in retail?

AI chatbots handle customer inquiries, process orders, offer product recommendations, and provide 24/7 support, reducing wait times and improving overall customer satisfaction.

6. What challenges do US retailers face when implementing AI?

Retailers struggle with high implementation costs, data privacy concerns, integration with legacy systems, AI bias, and the need for skilled AI talent to manage and optimize AI solutions.

Also Read: How US Businesses Are Leveraging Generative AI for Innovation

blog owner
Parth Inamdar
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Parth Inamdar is a Content Writer at IT IDOL Technologies, specializing in AI, ML, data engineering, and digital product development. With 5+ years in tech content, he turns complex systems into clear, actionable insights. At ITIDOL, he also contributes to content strategy—aligning narratives with business goals and emerging trends. Off the clock, he enjoys exploring prompt engineering and systems design.