Within the retail industry the continuing introduction of AI is generating considerable excitement. While there is a rapidly growing literature on the role of AI in retailing, how individual retailers have publicly reported on their introduction of AI has attracted little or no attention in the business and management literature. This article makes a contribution to addressing that gap by providing some simple illustrations of how four leading retailers, namely Amazon, Carrefour, J. Sainsbury and Walmart are developing their relationship with AI. The paper concludes that while the four retailers paint a very positive picture of the benefits AI will generate, there are also a number of issues surrounding the increasing use of AI within retailing that will require careful and vigilant management. These include ethical concerns, balancing personalization and privacy, cybersecurity, the upskilling challenges for retailers, impacts on their employees, sustainability and consumption, environmental problems and corporate social responsibility. This is an exploratory paper and is limited to a secondary research focus, but may provide a useful platform for future research endeavors that could include, for example, empirical research on one or more of the large retailers.

1. Simmons AB, Chappell SG. Artificial intelligence-definition and practice. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. 1988; 13(2): 14-42. doi: 10.1109/48.551

2. IBM. What is artificial intelligence. Available online: https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence (accessed on 20 December 2024).

3. Schuett J. Defining the scope of AI regulations. Law, Innovation and Technology. 2023; 15(1): 60-82. doi: 10.1080/17579961.2023.2184135

4. Elliott K, Price R, Shaw P, et al. Corporate Digital Responsibility. Society. 2021; 58(3): 179-188. doi: 10.1007/s12115-021-00594-8

5. Gill J, Johnson P. Research Methods for Managers, 3rd ed. SAGE: London, UK; 2002.

6. Popay J, Roberts H, Sowden A, et al. Guidance on the Conduct of Narrative Synthesis in Systematic Reviews. Lancaster University: Lancaster, UK; 2006.

7. Porter AL, Kongthon A, Lu JC. Research Profiling: Improving the Literature Review. Scientometrics. 2002; 53: 351-370. doi: 10.1023/A:1014873029258

8. Bell E, Bryman A, Harley B. Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK; 2018.

9. Yin RK. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods, 6th ed. SAGE: London, UK; 2018.

10. Rowley J. Using case studies in research. Management Research News. 2002; 25(1): 16-27. doi: 10.1108/01409170210782990

11. Flyvbjerg B. Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry. 2006; 12(2): 219-245. doi: 10.1177/1077800405284363

12. Heins C. Artificial intelligence in retail—a systematic literature review. foresight. 2022; 25(2): 264-286. doi: 10.1108/fs-10-2021-0210

13. Wilson G, Johnson O, Brown W. Exploring the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Retail Operations. Business, Economics and Management; 2024.

14. Wang Q, Ji X, Zhao N. Embracing the power of AI in retail platform operations: Considering the showrooming effect and consumer returns. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 2024; 182: 103409. doi: 10.1016/j.tre.2023.103409

15. Sharma M, Shail H, Painuly PK, et al. AI-Powered Technologies Used in Online Fashion Retail for Sustainable Business. In: Sustainable Marketing, Branding, and Reputation Management. Igi Global; 2023.

16. Jain S, Gandhi AV. Impact of artificial intelligence on impulse buying behaviour of Indian shoppers in fashion retail outlets. International Journal of Innovation Science. 2021; 13(2): 193-204. doi: 10.1108/ijis-10-2020-0181

17. Haque A, Akther N, Khan I, et al. Artificial Intelligence in Retail Marketing: Research Agenda Based on Bibliometric Reflection and Content Analysis (2000–2023). Informatics. 2024; 11(4): 74. doi: 10.3390/informatics11040074

18. Alboqami H. Trust me, I’m an influencer!—Causal recipes for customer trust in artificial intelligence influencers in the retail industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 2023; 72: 103242. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103242

19. Moore S, Bulmer S, Elms J. The social significance of AI in retail on customer experience and shopping practices. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 2022; 64: 102755. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102755

20. Ameen N, Tarhini A, Reppel A, et al. Customer experiences in the age of artificial intelligence. Computers in Human Behavior. 2021; 114: 106548. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106548

21. Kondapakka S. Advanced Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Demand Forecasting in Retail Supply Chains: Models, Applications, and Real-World Case Studies. African Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development. 2021; 1(1): 180-218.

22. Nimmagadda VSP. AI-Powered Predictive Analytics for Retail Supply Chain Risk Management: Advanced Techniques, Applications, and Real-World Case Studies. Distributed Learning and Broad Applications in Scientific Research. 2020; 6.

23. Jayadatta S. AI-Based Predictive Analytics for Optimising Visual Merchandising Layouts in Retail Stores: A Theoretical Framework. International Journal of Business and Marketing Communications. 2023; 12(3): 193-204.

24. Deryl MDs, Verma S, Srivastava V. How does AI drive branding? Towards an integrated theoretical framework for AI-driven branding. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights. 2023; 3(2): 100205. doi: 10.1016/j.jjimei.2023.100205

25. Mahmoud AB, Tehseen S, Fuxman L. (2020). The Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence in Retail Innovation. In: Retail Futures: The good, the bad and the ugly of the digital transformation. Emerald Publishing Limited: Leeds, UK; 2020.

26. Guha A, Grewal D, Kopalle PK, et al. How artificial intelligence will affect the future of retailing. Journal of Retailing. 2021; 97(1): 28-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2021.01.005

27. Noble SM, Mende M. The future of artificial intelligence and robotics in the retail and service sector: Sketching the field of consumer-robot-experiences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2023; 51(4): 747-756. doi: 10.1007/s11747-023-00948-0

28. Amazon. Amazon’s new AI Shopping Guides make it easier to research product types and buy smarter. Here’s how. Available online: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-ai-shopping-guides-product-research-recommendations (accessed on 13 December 2024).

29. Amazon. How Amazon Fashion is using AI to help you find the perfect fit. Available online: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/how-amazon-is-using-ai-to-help-customers-shop (accessed on 14 December 2024).

30. Carrefour. Launch of Horizons by Carrefour. Group Communications. Available online: https://www.carrefour.com/en/news/launch-horizons-carrefour#:~:text=Carrefour%20has%20just%20launched%20%22Horizons,them%20on%20your%20social%20networks! (accessed on 5 December 2024).

31. Toolify.ai. Carrefour’s Innovations with Generative AI: Revolutionizing Retail. Available online: https://www.toolify.ai/ai-news/carrefours-innovations-with-generative-ai-revolutionizing-retail-2427893 (accessed on 5 December 2024).

32. Carrefour. Carrefour Integrates Open AI Technologies and Launches a Generative AI-Powered Shopping Experience. Available online: www.carrefour.com/en/news/2023/carrefour-integrates-openai-technologies-and-launches-generative-ai-powered-shopping (accessed on 5 December 2024).

33. J. Sainsbury. Sainsbury’s and Microsoft collaborate to power up customer and colleague experience with AI. Available online: https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2024/17-05-2024-sainsburys-microsoft-power-up-customer-colleague-experience-with-ai (accessed on 5 December 2024).

34. Walmart. Three Ways We’re Using Conversational AI at Walmart. Available online: https://tech.walmart.com/content/walmart-global-tech/en_us/blog/post/three-ways-we-are-using-conversational-ai-at-walmart.html (accessed on 5 December 2024)

35. David E. Walmart bets on multiple AI models with new Wallaby LLM. Available online: https://venturebeat.com/ai/walmart-bets-on-multiple-ai-models-with-new-wallaby-llm/ (accessed on 5 December 2024).

36. Walmart. Walmart Reveals Plan for Scaling Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Augmented Reality and Immersive Commerce Experiences. Available online: https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/10/09/walmart-reveals-plan-for-scaling-artificial-intelligence-generative-ai-augmented-reality-and-immersive-commerce-experiences (accessed on 5 December 2024).

37. Reed C, Wynn M, Bown R. Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing: Towards an Analytical Framework for Revealing and Mitigating Bias. Big Data and Cognitive Computing. 2025; 9(2): 40. doi: 10.3390/bdcc9020040

38. Brookings Institution. The US must balance climate justice challenges in era of Artificial Intelligence. Available online: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-us-must-balance-climate-justice-challenges-in-the-era-of-artificial-intelligence/#:~ (accessed on 5 December 2024).

39. Friends of the Earth. Report: Artificial Intelligence A Threat to Climate Change, Energy Usage and Climate Disinformation. Available online: https://foe.org/news/ai-threat-report/ (accessed on 12 December 2024).

40. Jones P, Wynn M. Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Digital Responsibility. Journal of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science. 2023; 1(2): 50-58. doi: 10.51219/jaimld/martin-wynn/07

41. Malekpour M, Maurer O, Basile V, et al. Grocery shopping in metaverse: understanding drivers and barriers. EuroMed Journal of Business; 2025.

42. Anshari M, Syafrudin M, Fitriyani NL, et al. Ethical Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS) Development in a Metaverse Business Model. Sustainability. 2022; 14(23): 15805. doi: 10.3390/su142315805

43. Wynn M, Jones P. New Technology Deployment and Corporate Responsibilities in the Metaverse. Knowledge. 2023; 3(4): 543-556. doi: 10.3390/knowledge3040035

44. Yahaya M, Umagba A, Obeta S, et al. Critical Evaluation of the Future Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business and Society. Journal of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science. 2023; 1(1): 21-29. doi: 10.51219/jaimld/moshood-yahaya/03