Retailers struggle to align AI with business strategy

Many APAC retailers face barriers in data readiness.

Asia-Pacific’s e-commerce market is on track to hit US$3.87 trillion in 2025, with over 60% of consumers now shopping online. But as AI rapidly reshapes how retailers engage consumers, predict trends, and optimise operations, many companies are still falling short of harnessing its full potential—mainly due to strategic misalignment and internal execution gaps.

“[AI] allows us to better understand and faster understand what consumer trends are… leveraging social media, search engines, etc., and then developing the right products very quickly,” said Martijn Peeters, Partner at PwC, President Director of PwC Consulting Indonesia, and Retail & Consumer Leader for PwC Indonesia.

However, Peeters warned that AI’s value is not just about technology—it’s about how well it fits into the organisation’s broader strategy. “How does AI obviously fit broader in your strategy, and how do you get on the journey then just getting started?” he said. “You need to have the right technology and data in place.”

Many companies, he added, possess data but fail to make it usable. “They’re not using it, or it’s not the right data that they can use,” he said. The problem isn’t just tech—it’s talent. “Lots of companies… are not able to get all the people who should be using [AI tools] to adopt the new AI solutions, which is a big miss.”

This internal resistance is stalling retail innovation across the region. Without broad organisational buy-in and cross-department integration, AI adoption remains fragmented.

“Once you have successful pilots, make sure the organisation seizes it and then moves it to scale… so that everybody uses it on a daily basis for the benefit of the retailers,” he said.

He also underscored that AI must be a business enabler—not just a tech initiative. “AI shouldn’t be for the benefit of the technology department and the data scientist. It needs to directly help the company in being successful. So it needs to be aligned with your strategies and capabilities.”