Retailers double down on AI, loyalty and eCommerce as shopper expectations rapidly evolve
Arktic Fox & Six Degrees Executive
Key findings from the report include:
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83.4% of retailers believe AI and agentic commerce will have a significant or moderate impact on how shoppers buy
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The top 3 areas garnering moderate to significant investment by retailers for AI and agentic commerce - Product content creation and optimisation (78.3%), improving onsite search & discoverability (76.1%), powering personalisation (67.4%)
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Only 12% are fully confident their customer data, product data and marTech foundations are ready to support AI-driven use cases
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78.6% believe loyalty programs need to evolve to meet changing customer expectations
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30.3% of retailers now operate an owned marketplace to tackle the rise of Amazon, Temu and others head on
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24.2% leverage quick commerce (rapid delivery) platforms, while 28% plan to trial the channel over the next 12–18 months
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81.2% rate their identity resolution capability as developing at best
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89.1% see personalisation as strategically important, but only 10% believe they have mature capability to deliver it
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97.8% rate eCommerce growth as strategically important over the next 12–18 months
Australian retailers are accelerating investment in AI, loyalty and digital commerce as shopper behaviour rapidly evolves, yet many still lack the foundational capability, data maturity and organisational alignment required to fully capitalise on the opportunity.
The retail findings from the Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026 Report, produced by Arktic Fox and Six Degrees Executive, reveal an industry actively investing in AI-driven commerce while simultaneously grappling with fragmented technology ecosystems, operational complexity and mounting capability pressures.
Drawing on insights from Australian retail leaders across digital, eCommerce, marketing and retail media, the study highlights an industry at a significant inflection point as changing shopper expectations, AI adoption and new commerce models reshape the path to growth.
"The findings reveal a market at a genuine inflection point. For the first time, Gen Zs outnumber Baby Boomers in the workforce and as their discretionary income grows, their expectations are reshaping commerce significantly. Forward-thinking retailers and are preparing for this shift, while simultaneously navigating the rapid rise of AI, agentic commerce and retail media. The opportunity ahead is significant, but in a tough economic climate, balancing change required and investing appropriately will challenge many," said Teresa Sperti, Director of Arktic Fox.
AI and agentic commerce are redefining retail
AI and agentic commerce emerged as one of the most significant forces reshaping the retail landscape, with retailers expecting major disruption to how shoppers discover, evaluate and purchase products.
The report found 83.4% of retailers believe AI and agentic commerce will have a significant or moderate impact on how shoppers buy.
Retailers are already directing investment toward the areas most likely to influence AI-driven commerce experiences, including product content creation and optimisation (78.3%), onsite search and discoverability (76.1%), personalisation (67.4%), customer service and support (65.2%) and self-serve insights (64.4%).
At the same time, the impact of AI is already being felt. More than one in three retailers report observing declines in website traffic linked to the shift toward AI-driven discovery through Ai consumer applications including ChatGPT, Perplexity and more, with 9% reporting declines greater than 4% in traffic.
"AI is fundamentally changing the interface between shoppers and commerce," said Sperti. "Productivity gains matter, but the larger risk for retailers is whether they are evolving fast enough as shopper behaviour changes. Local retailers must increasingly think about visibility inside AI-powered environments, not just their owned web | app experiences."
Omnichannel ambition remains ahead of operational maturity
Despite omnichannel and personalisation remaining dominant priorities, many retailers continue to struggle translating ambition into execution.
While nearly all retailers see delivering seamless omnichannel experiences as strategically important, only 34.7% believe they have mature capability to deliver it. More than three quarters also rated their ability to deliver integrated fulfilment, returns and service experiences across channels as developing at best.
The findings suggest customer expectations continue to rise faster than many organisations can operationalise connected experiences.
Loyalty is increasingly becoming central to solving this challenge. More than four in five retail leaders identified loyalty as strategically important, while 78.6% agree their programs need to evolve to remain relevant.
Australians now belong to an average of 10.1 loyalty programs, placing increased pressure on retailers to create stronger value exchange and more differentiated customer experiences.
"Loyalty is no longer just about points or discounts," said Sperti. "It is becoming one of the few mechanisms capable of connecting data, experience and commerce across the customer journey. As organisations look to close the gap between omnichannel and personalisation ambition and experience realities, loyalty is moving much closer to the centre of the growth strategy. "
eCommerce growth increasingly linked to organisational mindset
The report identified a strong relationship between organisational prioritisation of eCommerce and commercial performance.
Among retailers where eCommerce is viewed as integral to the business, 96% reported more than 10% year-on-year eCommerce revenue growth. In contrast, where eCommerce was not considered integral to business performance, half reported less than 10% growth or declining performance.
As retailers look to meet shoppers across broader purchase missions and behaviours, many are increasingly moving beyond traditional eCommerce models. Owned marketplaces continue gaining momentum, with 30.3% of retailers now operating marketplace models to expand range and unlock new growth opportunities.
Quick commerce is also becoming more prominent. Nearly one in four retailers already leverage quick commerce platforms, while 28% plan to trial the channel over the next 12–18 months and a further 12% intend to increase investment.
The data is unequivocal - retailers that treat eCommerce as a core part of their business are pulling away from the field," said Sperti. "But what's equally striking is how the growth agenda is evolving. Owned marketplaces and quick commerce are no longer emerging concepts; they're perceived as key growth levers for retailers serious about capturing the next wave of online demand as well as meeting rising consumer demand for immediacy and convenience”
Retail media enters its next phase of maturity
Retail media continues to evolve rapidly as retailers seek new revenue opportunities and greater monetisation of customer ecosystems. However, capability maturity remains uneven.
The report found in-store retail media and onsite media remain the most developed capabilities, while measurement capability and supporting data infrastructure continue lagging behind.
As networks scale, retailers increasingly face pressure to strengthen reporting standards, improve attribution and build internal capability.
Amazon's growing dominance is also reshaping the competitive landscape for retail media. More than half of brands now advertise on Amazon Ads - up from 33% in 2025 - making the threat to retailer revenues very real.
53.7% of brands also cited pressure from retailers to increase retail media spend even when they don’t have sufficient capacity or budget to do so – and when combined with 73.2% of brand leaders citing, they have difficulty quantifying return retailers need to work harder to build compelling propositions.
Data and marTech foundations become critical growth infrastructure
As AI investment accelerates, customer and technology foundations are increasingly becoming strategic differentiators.
While many retailers are prioritising extracting greater value from existing technology investments, capability gaps remain significant. More than 81% of retailers rated identity resolution maturity as developing at best, while 83.3% reported their single customer view capability remained underdeveloped.
Only 12% expressed strong confidence in the data (product & customer) and technology foundations required to support AI use cases.
The findings suggest retailers increasingly recognise that AI ambition alone will not create advantage. As customer expectations rise and commerce experiences become more connected, foundational capability across customer data, identity and technology integration is becoming a critical enabler of future growth.
Skills and talent expectations outpace supply
As retailers accelerate investment across AI, eCommerce, omnichannel and retail media, demand for specialised capability is increasing rapidly.
The report found 74.4% of retailers are either restructuring or have already restructured around future growth priorities and specialist capability. At the same time, broader roles are increasingly being redesigned into specialist functions spanning AI, eCommerce trading, CRM, customer experience, retail media and data.
“We’re already seeing talent shortages emerge across a number of areas. Access to passive talent will become increasingly important, particularly as many of the strongest candidates are not actively looking and require a compelling opportunity and EVP to consider making a move.” – Jo Krause, State Contracting Lead, Six Degrees Executive
About the report
The Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026 Report is produced by Arktic Fox and Six Degrees Executive and draws on insights from Australian retail, marketing, digital, eCommerce and retail media leaders.
The study was conducted between February and April 2026 and explores the evolving priorities, capabilities and challenges shaping AI, omnichannel, loyalty, retail media, marTech and eCommerce strategy across the Australian retail market.
About us:
About Arktic Fox
Arktic Fox advises and coaches brands across digital, data and eCommerce to help leaders navigate the evolving and ever-changing landscape. Specialising in digital strategy and transformation, eCommerce and digital shelf, marTech, loyalty and data, we partner with top Australian retailers and brand manufacturers (industrial, consumer brands and FMCG) to drive material growth and sustainable change to deliver growth outcomes.
About Six Degrees Executive
For over 20 years, Six Degrees Executive has been the trusted talent partner for businesses across Australia. As specialists in recruitment, executive search, and contracting solutions, we connect organisations with the very leaders who shape the future of their business. With offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, our team bring deep industry expertise across multiple functions such as digital, eCommerce, marketing, sales, technology, supply chain, procurement & more.
Contact details:
Teresa Sperti
p: 0418 101 577
