Blog
Share:
The retail sector is increasingly keen to invest in AI, but simply implementing AI-based solutions will not secure a competitive edge in the market. McKinsey & Company’s report “The State of Organizations 2026” demonstrates that the true value of AI emerges when companies combine its implementation with a redesign of existing organisational processes, roles and ways of working. This dual transformation ensures faster decision-making, better collaboration between people and technology, and greater productivity across the entire organisation.
Key insights:
- 88% of organisations are experimenting with AI, but 81% still do not see a significant impact of these activities on their financial results.
- 86% of leaders believe their organisations are not ready for the everyday use of AI.
- 55% of managers see the development of AI skills among employees as an opportunity for exponential productivity growth.
- The greatest value of artificial intelligence does not stem from individual pilot projects, but from workflow restructuring, process simplification and collaboration between people and AI agents.
In the retail sector, AI should not be treated as a standalone technology project, but as part of a new operational model – says Marek Nowakowski, Business Development Manager at Exorigo-Upos – Its implementation delivers the greatest benefits when combined with a reorganisation of processes and staff skills. This approach enables a faster transition from experimentation to actual business results.
Why does AI in retail still fail to deliver a full return on investment?
This is the most important question retailers should be asking themselves right now. A McKinsey & Company report shows that the problem does not lie in insufficient implementation of artificial intelligence. On the contrary, 88% of organisations implement AI in at least part of their operations, yet as many as 81% do not see a significant impact of these activities on their financial results.
Simply launching tools, tests and pilot schemes is not enough. In retail, it is easy to implement AI in isolated areas: for data analysis, customer service, promotional planning or the automation of some administrative tasks. But when these activities are not linked to the restructuring of end-to-end processes, they have little impact on the organisation.
The authors of the report “The State of Organizations 2026” emphasise that organisations must undergo a dual transformation – technological and organisational. Only then does AI begin to have a real impact on productivity, speed of operation and the quality of decision-making.
How should a retailer understand an AI-supported organisation?
Put simply, not as a company that uses AI, but as a company that works differently thanks to AI. The future does not lie in isolated use cases that boost the efficiency of individual employees or departments. Greater value for the company emerges when AI is fully embedded in functions, processes and workflows.
For the retail sector, this means a shift in the management paradigm. It is not about whether the marketing team uses generative AI to create content or whether the head office uses AI-based models for forecasting. It is about the organisation being able to combine data, decisions, competencies and accountability into a single, coherent system of operation.
Can humans and AI agents work together?
Yes, but it won’t happen automatically. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, retailers must consciously design the collaboration between humans and AI agents. This means breaking down processes into specific tasks and determining what a human should do, what an agent should do, and where cooperation between the two is needed.
The report also shows that 2026 should be a period of building hybrid working models, rather than full AI autonomy. 53% of companies currently view AI primarily as a support tool, whilst only a quarter expect AI agents to already be operating as autonomous colleagues.
This is exactly why new skills among organisation members are becoming so important, such as the ability to collaborate with artificial intelligence or the ability to use artificial intelligence freely and strategically in day-to-day work.
What benefits could the retail sector derive from this collaboration?
The greatest benefit is productivity, but understood in a broader sense than simply saving time. 55% of market leaders believe that developing AI skills among staff will lead to an exponential increase in productivity. Additionally, 48% point to better access to information, 47% to a reduction in administrative work, and 46% to improved decision-making.
This means the ability to respond more quickly to changes in demand, more efficient planning, better use of data, and at least a partial reduction in repetitive tasks for teams. Importantly, AI-augmented teams should not only speed up their operations but also gain more scope for strategic, creative and development tasks.
This is particularly important in retail, where competitive advantage is built not only on price, but also on the quality of decisions, speed of response and consistency of the customer experience.
What are the most common obstacles to fully utilising AI?
The McKinsey report identifies three main barriers. The first is concerns about AI itself – including intellectual property and its impact on jobs. The second is regulatory, ethical and legal concerns. The third is typically organisational obstacles: changing habits, silos and difficulties in implementing change.
It is worth noting that 86% of market leaders consider their organisations unprepared for the day-to-day use of AI, and one in six companies does not even have a single person in senior management responsible for the development of artificial intelligence.
If a company lacks a clear operational model, defined employee responsibilities and priorities, even the best tools will not translate into results. This is precisely why the role of leaders, dedicated teams and building trust in AI across the organisation is so strongly emphasised.
Why is a new job classification not enough?
This is one of the key findings of the McKinsey & Company report – organisations too often try to improve their efficiency through structural changes, flattening hierarchies and cost-cutting, rather than examining what the actual workflow looks like. Improvements in productivity stem from simplifying processes, reducing duplication of decisions, speeding up the flow of information, and automating where it makes sense.
Companies can speed up decision-making cycles by up to three times through process redesign. A certain European retailer reduced its decision-making processes by 60% and almost immediately began making more accurate decisions, as well as better handling market challenges.
Meanwhile, at an FMCG company, after eliminating 70% of duplicate reports and decisions, the organisation’s operational speed improved and employee engagement increased. So, rather than adding AI to a complex organisational structure and workflow, it is best to simplify them first and only then enhance them with artificial intelligence.
Where should the dual transformation begin?
The most sensible approach is to ask the organisation a few questions. Which processes actually create value? Where can AI reduce lead times, improve the quality of decisions or cut down on manual work? Where is the company currently wasting the most energy on duplication, meetings, manual reporting and fragmented decision-making?
The report “The State of Organizations 2026” suggests starting with selected areas, rather than tackling everything at once. Three actions are key:
- supporting leaders
- appointing a team responsible for AI adoption
- measuring progress and identifying areas of resistance
A retailer seeking to boost productivity through AI should focus not only on technology, but also on developing skills, understanding the rationale behind the change, and addressing the organisation’s daily habits.
Summary
A report by McKinsey & Company shows that the retail sector is at a turning point, where the era of pilot projects must give way to a dual transformation – technological and organisational.
To break the deadlock of having no impact on financial results, companies must move away from implementing AI in isolated silos in favour of a comprehensive overhaul of end-to-end processes and workflows.
The key to success in 2026 will be developing a hybrid model of collaboration between humans and AI agents, supported by the development of employees’ digital skills and modern leadership.
The survey on which the report “The State of Organizations 2026” (available to download here) is based was conducted between June and September 2025 among over 10,000 respondents. These are leaders and managers of companies employing at least 1,000 staff, from 16 countries and representing 17 sectors.
