US Softlines Retail: Expert Meeting Recap: Bullish on AI‘s Impact on Softlines

Research evidence excerpt

US Softlines Retail: Expert Meeting Recap: Bullish on AI‘s Impact on Softlines

oader AI adoption and value realization is retailers’ ability to Associate Analyst

establish clear ownership, integrate data, document processes, develop shared srikar.vinjamuri@ubs.com

platforms, and redesign workflows. Overall, this supports our prior view that the +1-212-713 3448

financial impact will come from applying AI across many functions rather than from one

transformative use case. Please find the key takeaways below and more details inside.

1. Marketing and inventory remain two key areas. AI in marketing can improve

segmentation, personalization, content and measurement. Meanwhile, inventory

models can strengthen forecasting, allocation, replenishment, and fulfillment.

These established use cases have a direct path to higher sales, gross margin and

working-capital productivity. We see progress in both areas as the clearest

evidence that a Softlines company is moving beyond isolated pilots and

embedding AI into core decisions.

2. AI can drive higher sales, margins and productivity. Better models allow faster and

more granular retail decisions. Some benefits are likely already occurring without

being labeled as AI. This supports our prior work linking sales-per-employee gains

with higher EBIT margins.

3. Brands need to play both sides of agentic commerce. Third-party agents can

expand discovery across brands, while first-party agents can preserve service,

selling and the direct customer relationship. Opting out from third-parties risks

removing a brand from the consideration set, but solely relying on external

platforms risks losing customer data and control. Brands using agentic commerce

require AI-readable content, contextual search and drop-ship fulfillment before