The future of retail arrived faster than anyone expected. In October 2025, generative AI traffic to retail sites converted 16% better than non-AI traffic sources—a dramatic reversal from just three months earlier when AI traffic was converting 9% worse than traditional channels.
This isn’t just another data point. It’s the inflection point that transforms how consumers shop and how retailers must operate.
In this week’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, hosts Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton welcomed the A&M Consumer and Retail Group’s Managing Director Waqas Khan and Director Kelly Carey to unpack this seismic shift alongside four other headlines that reveal where retail is headed.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: AI Shopping Has Crossed the Chasm
According to Adobe Analytics data analyzing over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, AI-driven shoppers are now 13.6% more engaged, spending 44% longer on sites with 31% lower bounce rates. AI traffic itself increased 1,200% year over year in October.
Kelly Carey emphasized this shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention: “Back in the spring, our consumer sentiment survey was already showing that 24% of consumers are strongly influenced by AI purchases. Major retailers like Walmart, Sam’s Club, Skims, and Glossier have been partnering with ChatGPT since summer.”
The reason? Digital shopping has become overwhelming. Massive assortments. Endless scrolling. Analysis paralysis.
“To be able to just type in ‘here’s exactly what I’m looking for’ and have ChatGPT send you three links that direct you right to the site—it’s so easy,” Carey explained. “I’m not surprised conversion has skyrocketed.”
Amazon vs. Perplexity: The Battle for First Product Search
If AI shopping is the future, Amazon has the most to lose. That’s why the e-commerce giant filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI over its Comet agent, which automates purchases for users.
Amazon’s claim? Perplexity “covertly accessed Amazon customer accounts” and interfered with the “tailored shopping experience Amazon curated over decades.”
Waqas Khan sees this as inevitable: “This is just the first salvo in a long series of legal challenges. New technologies push limits. The consumer engagement model is changing fundamentally.”
But here’s the uncomfortable truth for Amazon: They’re playing defense. “Amazon is now back in 1990, playing the role of the incumbent retailer facing the threat of e-commerce,” Chris Walton observed. “Search has always been their bread and butter. Now OpenAI is going after that first product search.”
Meanwhile, competitors like Walmart—who’ve “always been third banana” in search—have plugged directly into ChatGPT with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Khan believes this will eventually settle: “Sometimes these legal actions are taken just to set up negotiations. Even Perplexity’s CEO statement ends with a more conciliatory note—that they want to talk and come to an agreement.”
Bath & Body Works Masters Experiential Marketing
In a refreshing departure from digital disruption, Bath & Body Works is taking its signature holiday scents to Grand Central Terminal, movie theaters, and interactive mall kiosks.
The brand became the first ever to scent New York City’s iconic Grand Central Terminal, where commuters encounter the aroma of Fresh Balsam. The same scent will be pumped into select theaters during the brand’s holiday ad spot.
Kelly Carey called it her favorite marketing campaign of the year: “Fragrance is the top-growing category in beauty right now, and Bath & Body Works is in the right space but maybe lost some awareness. Using the actual product—the scent people will buy—in high-traffic locations with holiday heritage at exactly the right time? It’s genius.”
The campaign hits multiple marks: brand awareness during peak candle-buying season, sensory engagement in commuter spaces, and clever use of existing traffic patterns rather than fighting for attention online.
Target’s “10-4” Policy Reveals a Broken Culture
Target’s new customer service policy requires employees within 10 feet to smile, make eye contact, and wave. Within 4 feet, they must personally greet guests.
The reaction from retail veterans? Not enthusiasm.
“It feels very forced and performative,” Carey said. “People go into Target either on a mission or for that treasure hunt experience. Having someone in your face guiding you through isn’t the model they’ve been successful with.”
Chris Walton, a former Target district store manager, was more direct: “When I was there, it was culturally accepted—we didn’t even have to train people. You’d just ask ‘Can I help you find something?’ No ambiguity, no footage rules. This tells me the culture is broken and will be very hard to get back.”
Khan noted the execution challenges: “If you have to police it with foot measurements, it just feels awkward. My fear is this almost gives people a pass to not get within 10 feet of anybody.”
The policy reveals how far retail culture has shifted—and how difficult it will be to restore what was once natural.
The Chief AI Officer Trap
Dollar General named Travis Nixon as its Senior Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, tasking him with using AI to optimize supply chain, store operations, and merchandising.
Is this the future of retail org charts? Not according to Waqas Khan.
“A few years ago, everyone had a Chief Digital Officer. Now very few companies have those roles left,” Khan explained. “The problem with standalone roles is these individuals don’t own infrastructure, applications, or operations. They’re dependent on other executives to deliver what they’re promising.”
Khan cited World Economic Forum research showing CDO lifespans averaged less than two years: “They called it the progression from Chief Dazzling Officer to Chief Disconnected Officer to Chief Depressed Officer—then they exit.”
His prediction? “AI will be effective and fashionable for a period of time, but I don’t see this lasting more than five years. Eventually AI has to be in the business. Your Chief Merchant has to know how to plan using AI naturally.”
Kelly Carey agreed: “Every functional area needs to figure out how to apply AI to their own space. It needs to be embedded across the whole business—you don’t have separate Chief Retail and Chief E-commerce Officers.”
What This Means for Your Business
The train has left the station on AI commerce. The inflection point isn’t coming—it arrived in October 2025.
Retailers can no longer afford to treat AI as a pilot program or innovation theater. It’s the fundamental reshaping of consumer behavior that happens once every 30 years—just like e-commerce in the 1990s.
The winners will be those who embed AI capabilities across their entire organization, optimize for AI-driven traffic, and prepare for a world where agents do the shopping.
As Anne Mezzenga noted: “This isn’t something you can go back on. This is the only forward motion at this point.”
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Be careful out there,
– Chris, Anne, Producer Ella and the Omni Talk team
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Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.