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AI shopping assistants remain years away from becoming routine, experts say

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Major Australian retailers already use customer-facing chatbots and are investing in “agentic commerce,” in which AI programs shop on behalf of customers.
  • Online sales are growing, but experts say logistics costs could reduce margins and push grocery prices higher.
  • Retail specialists also warned that wider AI adoption could raise privacy concerns and require regulation.

Australia’s biggest retailers are putting money behind AI shopping assistants, but experts say the technology remains years away from becoming a normal part of retail. Bunnings already uses Buddy, while Woolworths has developed Olive, which chief executive Amanda Bardwell described as a personal shopping companion.

Olive, our much-loved digital shopping assistant, has transformed into a personal shopping companion.

· Amanda BardwellThe Woolworths chief executive described the retailer’s AI assistant during its financial results presentation.

During their full-year results presentations, the major retailers identified “agentic commerce,” where an AI program shops for customers, as an area for investment. Coles has not developed its own chatbot but has identified conversational shopping as another opportunity. The retailers reported combined profit of more than $5 billion in the last financial year, although Retail Customer Advisory director Trent Rigby said earnings growth came from lower costs rather than higher customer spending.

Online orders are driving a significant share of revenue growth. Coles online sales rose 26.4 percent to $5.6 billion, nearly 14 percent of total sales. Woolworths online orders increased 18 percent to almost $11 billion. Queensland University of Technology’s Gary Mortimer said as many as one in three products could be bought online in the coming years.

The earnings growth came out of cost, not out of customers spending more.

· Trent RigbyThe Retail Customer Advisory director assessed the major retailers’ profit growth.

That expansion will not necessarily translate into higher margins. Mortimer said transport and logistics costs would limit profits, while the growth of home delivery could shrink store sizes and product ranges for repeat purchases such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Ocado’s 2024 annual report put the cost of picking an item for its British clients at 52 British pence, or $1.06. Kroger also announced the closure of three automated warehouses operated with Ocado after they failed to meet financial expectations.

It is certainly cheaper to fill shelves and have shoppers physically select, scan and take their purchases with them.

· Gary MortimerThe Queensland University of Technology professor discussed the costs of home delivery.

University of Sydney retail expert Lisa Asher said customers could ultimately bear the additional cost of online orders. She also called for regulation to address “surveillance capitalism” and protect shoppers’ privacy as retailers consider expanding AI in stores and online.

Groceries will continue to go up if they're going to push forward with this as an option because the price point that you pay online versus in store is the same.

· Lisa AsherThe University of Sydney retail expert warned that customers could face higher costs.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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