Walmart, Amazon and Macy's have AI-powered shopping assistants that aim to enhance customer engagement and boost sales. Walmart's Sparky focuses on intent-driven commerce, increasing basket values by 35%. Amazon's Rufus has generated almost $12 billion in incremental annualized sales, leveraging up to a two-year head start against its competitors and extensive user base. Also, the Ask Macy's chatbot is designed to reverse declining sales with features like virtual try-on, reporting a 4.75 times spend lift during beta testing.

With the popularity of online shopping, fashion retailers and ecommerce platforms are increasingly turning to AI to tackle the challenge of high product return rates, which significantly impact profitability. Amazon, Zara, ASOS, Shopify and other companies use innovative virtual try-on tools to help reduce returns, particularly for online sales, which saw a return rate of 19.3% in 2025, according to NRF. Startups like Catches are developing virtual try-on technologies that offer "mirror-like realism" to help customers visualize fit before purchasing. While AI tools are promising, experts caution that they are not a complete solution, as retailers also explore incentivizing exchanges and enhancing sizing details.

Levi Strauss & Co. held an AI-focused hackathon this winter, a hands-on culmination of the company's expansive AI learning and training programs, with participants ranging from non-technical product managers to commercial stakeholders and engineers. The hackathon fostered collaboration and creativity, ultimately narrowing 40 teams to 10 semi-finalists and selecting a winner: Imagine on Me, a feature designed to let shoppers virtually try on products using generative AI. Leadership underscored the hackathon's role in breaking down silos and accelerating Levi's evolution into a leading DTC-first retailer.

Fenty Beauty has introduced an AI-powered beauty adviser called "Rose Amber" on WhatsApp, offering users personalized product recommendations, reviews and tutorials through conversational chat. The tool is designed to create a more relatable one-on-one experience, allowing users to ask about concerns, take quizzes and explore products across Fenty Skin, Fenty Hair and Fenty Beauty. By leveraging community-driven content and direct messaging, Fenty seeks to deepen customer engagement and refine the offering based on real-time feedback.

Shake Shack has introduced Project Catalyst, a comprehensive technology initiative geared at supporting its goal of surpassing 1,500 US locations. The project includes new point-of-sale and kitchen display systems, enhanced AI integration and a more personalized guest engagement through data usage. The new AI-driven tools will provide real-time insights, enabling faster decision-making and proactive issue resolution within restaurants, and Project Catalyst will also support Shake Shack's launch of a loyalty program later this year.

Fashion brand AllSaints has entered into a partnership with Impact Analytics to overhaul its legacy systems and modernize its global buying and merchandising operations. The collaboration will replace manual, spreadsheet-heavy workflows with an AI-native platform that supports end-to-end supply chain, planning, pricing and business intelligence. This strategic move reflects AllSaints' ongoing investment in advanced technology as it continues to expand internationally.

There is a growing public preference for ecommerce warehouses, like an Amazon facility, over data centers in local areas. While 24% to 40% support data center construction, 32% to 65% oppose it, with concerns about rising electricity prices and limited job creation, according to surveys by Harvard/MIT and Quinnipiac University. These findings highlight ongoing public discontent and its potential political implications.

There is a growing acceptance of AI agents among US consumers and businesses, though significant trust issues persist, according to Visa's Business-to-AI Report. While 58% of consumers are comfortable with AI agents for price comparisons and 55% are okay with them applying discounts, only 38% trust AI agents to complete purchases, but businesses are more open to AI, with 77% already integrating AI into their operations. The report underscores the transition to AI-driven commerce, stressing the necessity of building trust to ensure widespread adoption.