Retail is undergoing a profound transformation to ensure perceptiveness as artificial intelligence turns into business backbone from an industry buzzword.
Senior executives now overwhelmingly view AI as the cornerstone of future success, ranking generative and agentic AI among the top enablers for nearly every strategic priority—from profitable growth to customer experience.
The key findings from the TCS Global Retail Outlook report offer a strategic view on the future of retail while exploring how artificial intelligence, agentic systems, and real-time data are reshaping the industry. The bottom line, Perceptive Retail™, the next chapter for the industry, will be defined by how quickly organizations move from experimenting with AI tools to embedding it as a strategic, enterprise-wide capability—unlocking new levels of decisions, speed, and agility.
The report, encompassing 18 countries and 5 subsectors, is designed for senior leaders and decision-makers who want to understand the forces driving transformation and the defining capabilities of the most successful retailers going forward.
The report:
Understand the major trends, technologies, and business priorities that are redefining competitiveness, resilience, and customer-centricity in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Discover how retailers are integrating AI across the value chain—from customer experience to supply chain agility—and what it takes to unlock its full potential.
Get insights into how top-performing retailers are blending digital innovation, operational excellence, and unified customer experiences to drive profitable growth and long-term loyalty.
Find out where the industry stands on critical issues like workforce skills, organizational alignment, and the shift from siloed initiatives to integrated transformation.
Learn how leading organizations are moving beyond incremental improvements to embrace intelligent, context-aware decision-making and proactive operations.
The report concludes with practical guidance for retailers aiming to become more adaptive, intelligent, and future-ready.
Grocery retailers are prioritising AI initiatives that support operations and workforce management and turn customer loyalty data into margin-focused pricing.
Learn how fashion retailers in 2026 are investing in predictive analytics and AI and using it to bridge customer experience with operational execution at scale.
With growth as their top priority, home improvement retailers are deploying AI to optimise supply chain, scale loyalty programs and elevate customer experience.
Quick service restaurants are using AI to transform daily operations, boost loyalty programs and CX, and to connect growth with high-quality service at scale.
As Benelux retail faces several hurdles, this report recommends enterprise-wide AI adoption and human+AI collaboration for better planning, forecasting, and CX.
The path to success in 2026 depends on AI investments in retail and implementing multi-agent systems for improved supply chain resilience and sustainable growth.
The report offers insights on AI investments in retail and how French retailers must adopt multi-agent systems and human+AI collaboration for sustainable growth.
Our report highlights the key factors impacting the US retail industry and how to chart an effective strategy toward sustainable success in the age of AI-powered retail.
The UK & Ireland retail sector faces mounting challenges from operational costs, security requirements, and data privacy compliance, demanding strategic innovation and efficiency to sustain growth.
AI-powered retail with a focus on profitable growth, CX, and customer loyalty are the key priorities for ANZ retailers to unlock growth, speed, and agility.
The report offers insights on AI investments in retail and how French retailers must adopt multi-agent systems and human+AI collaboration for sustainable growth.
The path to success in 2026 depends on AI investments in retail and implementing multi-agent systems for improved supply chain resilience and sustainable growth.
Spanish retailers must adopt AI techniques and modern payment options like digital wallets and buy now pay later for customer retention and business growth.
The report offers insights on AI investments in retail and how French retailers must adopt multi-agent systems and human+AI collaboration for sustainable growth.
Krishnan Ramanujam
President Consumer Business Group, Tata Consultancy Services
At TCS, we believe perceptive retail is more than a technological evolution; it is a call to reimagine every aspect of this sector. It means moving beyond better processes to better choices—choices informed by deep context, foresight, and a holistic understanding of customer and organizational needs. It means embracing federated supply chains and resilient operations that can thrive during uncertainty. And above all, it means fostering trust—ensuring that technology serves both the business and consumers transparently and ethically.”
Hannu Krook
CEO of SOK Corporation
Retail’s future is intelligent, federated and data driven. At SOK, we’re blending national scale with local agility—empowering regional co-ops to act on real-time signals while AI and advanced analytics guide decisions across the in-store network. We’re reimagining member value through digital engagement, sustainability commitments, and multichannel convenience, all while staying true to our cooperative purpose in a world that demands speed and resilience.”
David Wood
CEO of Wickes
To succeed in Retail, customer centricity, agility and innovation are paramount. At Wickes we’ve always prided ourselves on being digitally enabled, successfully blending our online presence with our physical store network to deliver a seamless shopping experience for our customers. With all the exciting opportunities that AI now presents, we are constantly exploring and finding new ways to further enhance the way we understand and interact with our customers and operate our business ever more efficiently."