Q&A: How Will AI Shape Holiday Shopping in 2025?

Adheer Bahulkar of Accenture unpacks how AI and frontline innovation are reshaping the 2025 holiday shopping season and retail resilience.

For nearly two decades, Accenture’s Holiday Shopping Survey has tracked how consumers think, plan and spend during the most important season of the retail year.

The 2025 edition continues that tradition, offering a window into how new technologies and shifting consumer behaviours are redefining the shopping experience. One of the most striking findings this year is the accelerating influence of generative AI, which is quickly becoming a trusted tool for everything from product discovery to purchase decisions.

To unpack these trends and their implications for the retail industry, Adheer Bahulkar, Accenture’s Global Supply Chain Lead for Consumer Industries, explains how the survey connects consumer sentiment with the actions of retailers and their frontline staff heading into the 2025 holiday season.

Q: Where are the biggest supply chain vulnerabilities this holiday season?

A: Seven in 10 (70%) of US retail executives told us they are worried that potential supply chain shocks could impact their ability to deliver against their holiday trading plan. The same number (70%) are worried about delivering online orders on time and almost two-thirds (64%) are worried they won’t have enough stock this holiday season.

Managing stock is also on the minds of frontline retail workers who face mounting pressure to deliver a seamless and consistent experience across all touchpoints. With shoppers switching between apps, websites and stores to compare products and prices, the promises to meet expectations are faltering.

More than eight in 10 (82%) of frontline workers say items listed as “in stock” online are often unavailable in-store and 73% report frequent price mismatches. These disconnects risk frustrating customers and eroding trust at the peak of the shopping season.

Q: How can retailers balance availability with on-time delivery?

A: Success this holiday season is about having precise stock every hour, at each point of sale, which requires a pull-based supply chain sensing change as it happens and quickly following demand in near real time, creating seamless experiences for their customers.

Successful retailers will be those who have turned agility into a year-round capability, relying on data and autonomous systems to anticipate demand, manage disruptions, continuously refine inventory flows and delight shoppers, all at the speed of the market.

Q: What's the quickest way to give frontline teams real-time inventory visibility?

A: Equipping customer-facing associates with AI-powered tools to enable them to access comprehensive product knowledge, customer preferences and inventory information with re-stocking and alternate fulfilment availability, is one of the quickest ways to give teams real-time visibility.

Innovative retailers are already implementing AI-enhanced strategies that seamlessly fit into existing store operations. For instance, smart inventory integration that instantly tells associates which recommended products are in stock, on display or available for quick ordering. Intelligent prediction of sell-through at each point of sale, combined with store-level inventory execution, ensures best possible on-shelf availability to delight the shopper.

Lowe’s is just one example of a retailer using AI-driven technologies to improve seasonal inventory planning as part of a broader effort to provide customers with a more personalised shopping experience.

Q: How would you recommend redesigning store workflows to cut inventory and pricing friction?

A: Retailers can reduce inventory and pricing friction by redesigning store workflows around data, automation and cloud technology.

First, implement real-time inventory visibility through integrated data platforms that connect suppliers, warehouses and stores, enabling accurate forecasting and agile replenishment. Second, migrate legacy merchandising systems to cloud-based solutions to streamline workflows, automate stock updates and accelerate price changes.

Third, leverage AI-driven analytics for dynamic pricing and demand planning, allowing retailers to adjust prices based on inventory levels, market trends and customer behaviour. Additionally, equip store associates with mobile tools for instant inventory checks and price adjustments, reducing manual errors and delays. Finally, embed automated markdown and promotion planning into workflows to optimise margins and minimise waste.

Q: How can retailers strengthen supplier resilience before the next peak?

A: With disruption an ever present challenge, creating a supply network that is predictive, agile and robust should remain top-of-mind for retailers.

It will require they adopt a proactive, multi-layered approach that starts with diversifying the supplier base to reduce dependency on single-source vendors, especially for high-demand SKUs.

They should also consider leveraging strategic partnerships with key suppliers, incorporating collaborative forecasting and shared inventory visibility to anticipate spikes and mitigate disruptions. It’s also worth considering implementing risk mapping and tier-2 supplier assessments to identify vulnerabilities beyond direct suppliers.

Investing in digital tools such as AI-driven demand planning and real-time supply chain monitoring can also help retailer detect early warning signals of potential disruptions so they can enact solutions to mitigate. This could include building flexible contracts with clauses for expedited shipping or alternative sourcing can provide agility during unforeseen delays.

The adoption of autonomous systems is another crucial element that can significantly enhance supply chain resilience in retail. By leveraging autonomous systems, retailers are seeing a 28% improvement in lead times, 25% increase in productivity, on-time delivery has seen a modest 6% improvement. All of these combined is resulting in 14.4% reduction in emissions, Lastly, it’s important to continuously develop contingency plans, including backup logistics providers and regional warehousing, to ensure last-mile delivery resilience.

By combining diversification, AI-enabled autonomous systems and collaborative planning, retailers can safeguard supply continuity and maintain customer trust during peak seasons and beyond. Of course, all this presumes a strategic prioritisation of the SKUs that matter the most and the investments that will provide the highest returns. Successful retailers will be those making investments to build resilience where it matters the most, to their shoppers.

Source: Supply Chain Digital