Retailgentic Retail Media, GenAI & Agentic AI Shopping | Sucharita Kodali, Forrester
Jun 5, 2025
Sucharita Kodali, Vice President at Forrester Research and retail expert, joins the discussion to unpack the rise of agentic AI in shopping. She dives into the surge of retail media networks post-COVID and how generative AI is reshaping brand strategies. TikTok’s growing role in product discovery poses a challenge to traditional platforms like Google. The conversation also touches on the hype versus reality of agentic shopping, as well as the potential threats AI poses to industries like ticketing, making it a must-listen for retail enthusiasts.
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Retail Media Networks' Rapid Rise
- Retail media networks exploded post-COVID due to the promise of easy money from agencies bringing brand dollars.
- Despite their complexity, retailers quickly embraced retail media more than marketplaces because of perceived ease and revenue potential.
Instacart Ads Outpace Core Business
- Instacart's core grocery business has low margins, but its ad business is rapidly growing.
- Instacart CEO hire to OpenAI hints at potential integration of retail advertising in AI platforms.
Retailers' Current GenAI Uses
- GenAI is mainly used in retail chatbots, marketing personalization, product augmentation, and code generation.
- These uses provide incremental benefits but are not yet transformational for retailers.