Furniture retailer Ashley has partnered with Perplexity and PayPal to offer an AI-powered shopping experience, allowing customers to add items to their cart, complete transactions seamlessly and receive product recommendations. This initiative is part of Ashley's strategy to cater to digital-first consumers, positioning itself as a leader in agentic commerce. The move reflects a broader trend in retail, with companies like Walmart and Target also integrating AI to enhance customer interactions.

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Fashion retailer LPP's strategic use of robotization and AI is helping the company maintain a competitive edge against fast-fashion platforms. LPP has managed to cut operational costs by 25% at its largest logistics facility via robots, allowing it to offer competitive pricing and faster delivery, and it's leveraging AI-generated backgrounds to save on marketing campaign expenses. "There is no turning back from implementing AI solutions, especially in a business of our format," CFO Marcin Bojko said.

Consumers are increasingly using AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google's Gemini for holiday shopping, and Ulta Beauty, Best Buy and Adidas are among the brands benefiting the most. Profound's Black Friday Index shows Ulta appeared in 85.9% of beauty-related queries, while Best Buy was prominent in the appliances category, and Adidas led in shoes.

Tractor Supply has chosen OpenAI as its primary AI partner, moving away from using multiple platforms to focus on a single vendor. Executive Vice President Rob Mills says the collaboration is designed to enhance AI implementation and governance. OpenAI technology is already being used in the retailer's customer-facing tools and supply chain operations.

Fashion brand Hugo Boss has announced a strategic update focusing on realigning and strengthening its business operations to achieve long-term growth. CEO Daniel Grieder said Hugo Boss plans to increase its use of AI, with the clear vision of being "the premium, tech-driven, customer-centric global fashion platform." The company seeks to refine its brand and distribution strategies, with an emphasis on elevating its Boss and Hugo brands, as well as drive sustainable growth and improve efficiency from 2027 onward by optimising branding, distribution and operations.

Meta has purchased AI-wearables startup Limitless, known for its pendant device that records and transcribes conversations, as part of its strategy to enhance AI-enabled consumer hardware. Limitless's technology will be integrated into Meta's development of next-generation wearables, complementing existing partnerships with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley. Although financial terms were not disclosed, Limitless, which has raised over $33 million from investors, will cease selling devices to new customers but continue supporting existing users under revised privacy terms.

AI startup AKA Foods is helping chocolate manufacturers reformulate products faster by using AI to analyze R&D data and sensory insights, reducing development timelines from years to weeks. The company's AKA Studio platform addresses fragmented R&D knowledge, a major pain point for manufacturers. However, while it "doesn't reformulate products automatically, it gives R&D teams the intelligence, context and alternatives they need to respond quickly when ingredients become scarce or expensive," CEO David Sack said.

AI is reshaping consumer behavior, with shoppers spending more time researching and using AI-driven tools to inform their purchase decisions, says Google's Courtney Rose, who adds that search queries are becoming longer, more conversational and more visual. AI-powered ads, such as Google's AI Max for Search, enable companies to reach high-value shoppers more efficiently, driving increased conversions and higher order values by delivering personalized, relevant content at the right moment, Rose says.

AI platforms are redefining holiday shopping as consumers increasingly use them to find gifts, leading to a 4,700% jump in retail visits driven by AI assistants, according to Adobe Digital Insights. This shift has resulted in a 34% drop in SEO click-through rates, with Google and other platforms adapting by integrating conversational shopping and AI-mode ads. Since relevance, extractability and trust determine which products get recommended, brands, including Target, Amazon, Bloomingdale's, Ulta and Sephora, may increase their competitiveness by focusing on these signals.