Generative AI is the topic of the moment, and the dollars are following: Spending on AI-centric systems worldwide will jump to $154 billion this year from $121 billion last year, according to the International Data Corporation. If you’re not already using the tech, it’s time to get startedHere’s how retailers are using the AI.

Even as suspicions surrounding ChatGPT and generative AI swirl, marketers know the new tech will turn search—and its ad dollars—on its head. As search shifts toward chatbots, the way brands advertise with Google and Microsoft will change completely, creating problems for publishers and agencies.

Walmart ramps up automation to lower fulfillment costs: The retailer is investing in technology to optimize inventory planning and delivery speed.

Tech’s nightmare becomes reality: As Amazon lays off thousands more, the talent bloodletting shows no signs of letting up. It’s a symptom of impulsivity in the tech industry that could come back to haunt it amid the tight labor market.

The labor market is extremely challenging for retailers and restaurants: Quit rates are on the rise, which is making it difficult for companies seeking to improve the customer experience.

Forty-two percent of marketers said they plan on exploring AI and automation as a strategy in 2023, according to an August 2022 Sagefrog survey

B2B marketing leaders have lost their focus on the benefits of email marketing. Email is a key distribution channel, and investments will allow relevant messages with high engagement rates and ROI to be delivered efficiently and effectively.

Programmatic display ad spending is growing despite challenging economic conditions. Where it’s growing, and how fast, depends on how much data advertisers can access.

Microsoft is the latest to resort to layoffs: The company is reducing its headcount by 5% as it pivots to plug AI into its key products, subscriptions, and cloud services. But AI still has a lot of hurdles to jump.

“We used to talk about ‘omnichannel’ and we should just be talking about ‘commerce.’” That’s according to our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian, speaking on our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

Not all startups are feeling the VC funding pinch: Investors are still funding startups, but they’re more selective, gravitating toward tech areas that show promise for enterprises without the risk.

Amazon continued to dominate ecommerce in 2022: But advertising, not retail, was the company’s biggest success story this year—although not enough to prevent the layoffs of 20,000 employees.

IT and technology spending will register anemic mid-single-digit growth throughout our forecast period. Property and casualty tech leaders must maximize spending to support their organizations’ bottom line in a time of extraordinary pressures on profitability.

To stand out against competitors, tech leaders must sharpen their agility to act quickly on emerging opportunities, zero in on key priorities, and carefully allocate budgets.

There’s evidence that automation is coming for our jobs: MIT research shows how automation has reduced workers’ wages over the past 40 years. Expect a future workforce of automation managers.

In 2024, robots will be used by just under half of medium to large operators of warehouses and fulfillment centers in the US. That’s up slightly from 44.9% this year and significantly from 28.0% in 2019.

The pace of automation in retail is increasing. For example, retail drones will expand from nearly 35,000 in 2022 to over 110,000 in 2024, our latest forecast shows. That growth means the industry has the opportunity to improve efficiencies and meet growing consumer demand for better, faster service.

Retailers are increasingly turning toward drones, robots, and automated systems to improve fulfillment and the in-store customer experience (CX).

Today’s privacy-focused ecosystem has fundamentally altered how marketing performance is measured. Ever resilient, most marketers are turning to technology like AI to ensure they can still measure performance and provide personalized experiences, recent Salesforce research has found.

Supply chains snafus are easing, but retailers aren’t out of the woods yet: More investment in supply chain management and automation is needed to futureproof operations as climate change disrupts logistics networks.