Yihan Ma
Research expert covering e-commerce and FMCG in Greater China
AI-driven retail in China - statistics & facts
Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a massive game-changer across numerous industries, rapidly gaining attention and influencing many traditional business practices. In China, AI is poised to play a pivotal role in the retail industry, encompassing both online and offline sectors.
The path of smart retail in China
Smart retail is no novelty for many Chinese retailers. Over the past decade, China’s retail digitalization solution industry witnessed rapid growth. As of now, many have adopted smart technologies, including smart warehouse management, demand forecasting tools, and AI assistants, to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences. Leveraging on facial recognition technology and sensor-equipped shelves, China’s automated retail stores are expected to flourish, with the market size surpassing 75 billion yuan by 2027.AI unlocks new frontiers of retail industry
Artificial intelligence is expected to drive China’s retail revolution on multiple fronts. To begin with, integrating AI into logistics and supply chain automation enables retailers to minimize stockouts and accelerate deliveries. Moreover, advancements in AI technology have allowed retailers to monitor and analyze customer behavior, enabling them to provide personalized recommendations. A 2025 survey indicates that artificial intelligence has significantly influenced consumers’ shopping behaviors and decision-making processes in China.Generative AI revolutionized China’s retail
While industries like internet and telecommunications have raced ahead with generative artificial intelligence, the retail sector is still catching up. A 2024 survey found that fewer than half of retail companies had any hands-on experience with Gen-AI, and only four percent reported having extensive knowledge in this field. Nevertheless, a growing number of retail enterprises have included this cutting-edge technology in their daily operation, from chatbots to AI-generated advertising. More than half of the enterprises that have adopted Gen AI relied on public generative AI applications, while over a third have established their own in-house Gen AI platforms. The same survey also revealed that roughly 90 percent of retail enterprises believed that generative AI would improve their productivity and efficiency.
