Retail Technology Trends To Watch In 2025

Among the numerous heartfelt, humorous and humbling moments in the TV series Schitt’s Creek, one that perfectly depicts how keeping up with the latest technology trends in the retail industry helps businesses is the storyline that follows David.

As the former New-York dwelling gallerist and fashionista adjusts to the small town of Schitt’s Creek, he finds himself working as a brand manager at a local clothing store that’s set to shut down due of low sales.

However, David’s vast experience in the industry comes to use as he helps them improve sales by restructuring the store’s layout and brand identity. Essentially, he embraces new retail technology trends and other technology trends in retail to offer customers a better and more personalized experience.

This practice also works for him when he’s helping his father rebuild the image of the motel they’re staying in, as well as when he ultimately opens his own shop, Rose Apothecary.

Essentially, David Rose brings in a style and experience that’s reminiscent of popular and big brands that ooze a personal touch, while showing even smaller establishments can benefit from imbibing the contemporary technology and techniques.

Businesses should always be prepared for what’s to come, which is why we bring you the retail technology trends 2025 – a comprehensive overview of the technology trends in retail industry set to shape the future.

The Retail Technology Trends Of 2024 showed us that omnichannel strategies took the lead in retail, as it pushed towards personalized customer journeys and was supported by AI, ML, Gen AI, automation and retail data analytics.

In 2025, some of these technologies will continue to lead the way, as they’re joined by others. Read on to explore which trends will rule the retail roost and how they’ll help retailers!
 

Trend 1: AI And GenAI Will Continue To Enhance Processes

 
It’s tough to keep artificial intelligence (AI) out of any conversation these days, especially in the retail realm. Of course, AI isn’t a new trend but as the hottest topic on the block, along with generative AI, which are redefining processes across industries, it’s constantly evolving. Moreover, it’s playing an important role in revolutionizing other technologies. It will play a vital role in the other top trends too.

This brilliant technology is not only enabling retail businesses to hyper-personalize experiences for customers but also allowing them to boost efficiency in back-office operations. AI helps personalize interactions and recommendations, while enhancing customer service through GenAI-powered chatbots that act as personal shoppers. In 2025, such AI assistants are about to get sharper!

However, its impact won’t be restricted to the digital sphere, as it will also help businesses offline; in their brick-and-mortar stores. This includes the use of AI-powered in-store robots and smart store systems that use cameras and sensors to analyze foot traffic, optimize product placement and help boost sales. It would also enable targeted promotions on shoppers' mobile devices based on their in-store location.

Precedence Research finds that the global retail AI market size in 2024 was $11.83 billion and is expected to grow to $54.92 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 18.6%. This validates the rising adoption of AI and Gen AI in the retail landscape.

Walmart’s President and CEO, Doug McMillon, who has long been a fan of AI and GenAI, said, “We’re finding tangible ways to leverage generative AI to improve the customer, member and associate experience. We’re leveraging data and large language models from others and building our own. One example is that we’ve used generative AI to improve our product catalog.”

McMillon added, “Customers and members are already enjoying AI-powered search on our app and site, and now they'll have even more help with a new shopping assistant that provides advice and ideas, answering questions like, “Which TV is best for watching sports?””

TechDogs’ Takeaway:
 

• Retailers must prioritize personalization by leveraging AI-driven insights to create customized shopping experiences that anticipate individual customer needs and preferences. 

• Retailers must enhance inventory management with predictive AI tools to forecast demand, optimize stock levels, and ensure popular products are readily available.

• Retailers must integrate AI into customer service channels, utilizing chatbots and virtual assistants to offer 24/7 support and elevate customer satisfaction through quick, accurate responses.

Trend 2: Augment Reality And Virtual Reality Will Deliver Immersive Experiences

 
When it comes to delivering exceptional innovative experiences, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been the technologies generating buzz in the retail industry over the last few years. In 2024, the AR/VR world has taken massive strides with the introduction of cost-effective VR hardware courtesy of tech giants such as Meta’s Quest series, Apple Vision Pro series and others. Meaning that in 2025, the AR/VR technology is poised to go mainstream and smart businesses aren’t waiting around for it to hit peak numbers before building their presence on virtual platforms.

Alternatively, retail brands such as IKEA, Sephora, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Gucci and others have expanded their AR capabilities. This includes offering customers virtual try-ons and real-time 3D renderings, which provide them with a visual representation of how products such as furniture, appliances, makeup, clothing, accessories and others will look on them or in their homes. Not to forget the infused gamification experiences. These experiences are fostering increased engagement and loyalty among shoppers, especially for Gen Z shoppers. Ahead of this, concepts such as mixed reality (MR) and extended reality (XR) will further drive immersive experiences.

Allied Market Research estimates that AR in retail will reach a market size of $61.3 billion by 2031, while Shopify found that 75% of business decision-makers think interacting with customers in the metaverse will become common practice, projecting metaverse revenue to jump from $47.48 billion in 2022 to $678.8 billion in 2030.

This was backed by Piyush Gupta, the CEO of VOSMOS, a company that builds virtual worlds that connects brands and customers through Virtual Events, the Metaverse and Customized Technology Solutions across multiple industries, saying,  By leveraging VR, retailers can design virtual versions of their physical stores, allowing customers to explore products in a simulated space. This not only replicates the in-store experience but also introduces features that are impossible in the physical world. For example, virtual stores can be dynamically updated to reflect seasonal trends or customer preferences, thanks to AI-driven insights. This keeps the shopping experience fresh and engaging, encouraging customers to return and explore new offerings.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway:
 

• Retailers must integrate AR and VR features that allow customers to visualize products in real-world environments, enhancing confidence in purchase decisions.

• Retailers must leverage immersive storytelling to create interactive brand experiences that increase customer engagement and retention.

• Retailers must prioritize seamless cross-platform AR and VR functionality to ensure accessibility across devices, from mobile to in-store kiosks.

Trend 3: Omnichannel Integration Will Provide A Complete Shopping Experience

 
As the number of touchpoints continues to expand and the need to provide personalized, consistent and seamless experiences becomes even more vital, businesses are realizing the importance of omnichannel integration. This ensures that customers can shop whenever and however they choose and pick up where they left off, regardless of where their last interaction was, i.e., in-store, online or mobile apps.

This includes providing tailored product recommendations, offers and experiences through social media platforms. These platforms serve as modern digital storefronts that enable micro sales, where customers don’t need to visit the web store. Doesn’t matter the size of the company, all retailers will need to offer connected physical and digital experiences AKA Phygital retail.

This enables retailers to utilize small store formats with minimum inventory, while fostering flexibility, convenience and personalization, as well as allowing customers to easily switch between touchpoints. Essentially, shoppers purchasing products via web or the mobile app should be able to pick up their products at the store or vice versa. This will see retailers adopt technology to facilitate real-time inventory management, click-and-collect services and unified customer profiles.

A report by Forbes finds that by 2027, 23% of retail purchases are expected to take place online, while a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey reported that 53% of Gen-Z shoppers favor in-person purchases for essentials like apparel and accessories.

“Modern shoppers demand a consistent brand experience, regardless of the channel they choose to engage with – be it a brand's website, social media, mobile apps or physical stores,” said, Brian Gleason, the Chief Revenue Officer at Criteo, a global commerce media company.

He added, “Simultaneously, it enables executives to leverage data-driven insights, personalized recommendations and predictive analytics to create that experience. Customers no longer view shopping channels in isolation – they expect a fluid and interconnected experience. It's a journey where every channel contributes to a narrative of convenience and personalization.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway:
 

• Retailers must prioritize seamless data integration across all channels, ensuring that customer interactions and preferences are unified for a consistent experience.

• Retailers must leverage AI-driven personalization to tailor product recommendations and promotions based on individual shopping behaviors across digital and physical platforms.

• Retailers must invest in advanced analytics to gain insights into customer journey patterns, allowing for agile adjustments to marketing and sales strategies.

Trend 4: Big Data Analytics And Retail Analytics Will Drive Data-driven Decisions

 
From offering personalized experiences to enabling omnichannel integrations (see trend #3), big data analytics helps retailers enhance their offerings. This is done by gathering unparalleled insights into customer behavioral patterns by analyzing copious amounts of data collected from various sources. It also allows them to forecast demand (customer and market) and learn their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

However, to be able to offer such connected, integrated and superior services, retailers will have to leverage every last bit of data they can get their hands on. As the need for hyper-personalization and omnichannel experiences increases, the importance of powerful big data analytics will grow in 2025.

Retail analytics helps retailers streamline and optimize their operations by providing a better understanding of store and workforce performance. It also helps in product pricing strategies, supply chain management, dispatch, fulfilment and integrated inventory management, which ensures products are always available in stores, online and through mobile, meeting omnichannel shopping requirements. As per Research and Markets, the global retail analytics market was valued at $9.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $63.1 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 21.4%. This is propelled by the infusion of AI and ML (see trend #1).

Retail analytics can also enable retailers to provide faster delivery options, including same-day delivery, which is gaining popularity, as well as facilitating easy returns. Mike Plasencia, the Group Director of New Product Strategy at Ryder, a fleet and supply chain management specialist, says, “Today, big data and analytics can be used to help retailers transform their reverse logistics program by focusing on the net recovery of every return.”

He further stated, “Insights and pattern recognition can be used to predict the type and quality of returns. This becomes even more powerful when the end-to-end returns process becomes more connected, and retailers can use these insights to become prescriptive and dynamically make and execute data-driven decisions at different points throughout the lifecycle of a return to improve recovery.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway:
 

• Retailers must prioritize personalized recommendations by using customer data insights to tailor suggestions, ensuring a highly relevant shopping experience.

• Retailers must leverage predictive analytics for inventory management to optimize stock levels and reduce supply chain delays, enhancing customer satisfaction with timely product availability.

• Retailers must adopt real-time analytics to monitor in-store and online behavior, allowing immediate adjustments to marketing strategies that resonate with customers’ evolving preferences.

Trend 5: Sustainable Shopping Will Become The Norm

 
One of the biggest trends in the last few years, sustainability efforts have shot up monumentally across almost every industry. In the retail industry, it’s slowly becoming a mandatory requirement that customers consider when purchasing products. All retailers find themselves under tremendous pressure to adopt eco-friendly practices from eco-conscious customers who are altering their shopping preferences to boost sustainable products. This isn’t restricted to just packaging but also expands to include material sourcing, power consumption, supply chain and logistics, internal operations and other processes.

At present, eco-conscious brands are boasting about their environment-friendly initiatives. At the same time, they’re incorporating sustainable practices into their products, operations and more. This includes sourcing organically grown food, utilizing locally sourced products, providing digital receipts, organizing recycling programs and embracing emission-free logistics. In fact, Trivium Packaging reported that 79% of consumers prefer products with sustainable packing, while 63% were less likely to buy items with environmentally harmful materials.

They’re also investing in the development of digital tools to track and report on sustainability metrics, exploring various biodegradable packaging methods and renewable energy sources, while moving to on-demand manufacturing to tackle overproduction and leveraging rental or subscription business models are reducing wastage.

Akshat Pipersenia, the Head of Customer Strategy & Planning at Unilever (The Netherlands) spoke about the various initiatives that the company takes. Unilever is a globally renowned company that owns over 400 brands, including Dove, Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Knorr, Pepsodent and others.

Pipersenia said, “As a company, we have had very strong commitment to sustainability and ESG codes and we have been working closely with governments and partners in terms of developing a multi stakeholder model, which is now adopted by a number of other companies. We have been at the forefront of sustainability movement and it continues to be a big priority for us.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway:
 

• Retailers must integrate eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient technologies into their retail operations to minimize environmental impact and attract sustainability-conscious customers.

• Retailers must invest in digital tools that track and report sustainability metrics transparently, enabling customers to make informed choices based on a product's environmental footprint.

• Retailers must adopt circular economy practices, such as recycling and repurposing products, to reduce waste and promote longevity in product life cycles, fostering customer loyalty.

To Sum It Up

Just like the Rose family from the TV show Schitt’s Creek had to explore the depths of the consumer world to learn that embracing the latest trends helps them better understand and provide customers, retailers too look out for the top trends to boost their efforts in the upcoming year.

After all, in 2025, the retail sector is expected to be dominated by growth in artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, omnichannel integrations, big data analytics and retail analytics and sustainability. So, are you prepared to enhance the experiences of your customers and take the lead in the retail race?