AI to transform retail marketing - just not yet

Marketers in retail and ecommerce have big expectations for the impact of artificial intelligence on their sector, with 88% forecasting that it will reinvent the industry and 81% looking to AI to reinvent what their company does. But while big changes are ahead, only 11% of practitioners are classed as already AI marketing experts according to a new survey. This leading group has already shown excellence in its digital capabilities across strategy, organisation and technology. By contrast, 27% are classed as laggards and 28% as novices, with the rest opportunists. The event horizon when AI becomes mainstream seems likely to be late 2018 and, even then, most plans are focused on the automation of existing marketing activities, rather than innovative new ways of delivering the customer experience.