Industries · Retail
AI consulting & automation for retail
IMAGENN.AI provides AI consulting and automation for retail businesses in Toronto, the GTA and across Canada, including independent and multi-location stores, specialty and boutique retailers and omnichannel brands. We design and build customer enquiry assistants, product-data readiness for AI search, inventory and sales insight, marketing workflows and back-office automation, fixed-scope and PIPEDA-compliant, with consent and privacy rules built into every workflow.
By Roberto Gennaro, Founder & CEO, IMAGENN.AI · Updated · 8 min read
At a glance
AI in retail: key takeaways
- Canadian shoppers are starting to use AI: 11% used AI assistants for shopping research in the past 30 days, and 68% of those users plan to use them again (Retail Council of Canada, 2026).
- Stores are not going away: 72% of surveyed consumers across 23 countries still shop in stores, while 45% turn to AI for help during their buying journeys (IBM and NRF, 2026).
- AI users arrive more informed, not elsewhere: the Retail Council says shoppers using AI are arriving at retailer channels faster, so accurate, well-structured product information matters.
- Staffing is a cost issue: Canadian retail payroll employment is down 3.4% from its June 2023 peak (Statistics Canada, March 2026).
- Marketing consent rules apply to AI: Canada's anti-spam law prohibits commercial electronic messages without consent, with penalties up to $10 million for businesses.
2026 research
7 AI trends reshaping retail
What current research says, and what it means for your business. Statistics are linked to their original sources below.
- 01
Canadian shoppers are beginning to use AI to research purchases
Use is still early, but the people who try AI like it. They use it to find and compare products faster, then continue to shop with retailers.
11% of Canadian shoppers used AI assistants for shopping research in the past 30 days. Among those who used AI, 46% found relevant products faster, 43% found it easier to compare options and prices and 40% saved time; 68% plan to use it again in the next three months (Retail Council of Canada, Canadian Shopper Sentiment Study, 2,014 shoppers surveyed February 2026, margin of error ±2.2%).[1]
What it means: AI is becoming one more step on the path to your store or site. What it finds about you has to be accurate.
- 02
Shoppers still visit stores, and many use AI along the way
AI is changing how people research and compare, not where they ultimately buy. Most still shop in physical stores.
72% of surveyed consumers still shop in stores, and 45% turn to AI for help during their buying journeys, using it to research products (41%), interpret reviews (33%) and hunt for deals (31%) (IBM and NRF study of 18,000+ consumers in 23 countries, January 2026).[2]
What it means: Invest in the in-store experience and in being discoverable before the visit. Definitions of AI use differ between studies, so compare them with care.
- 03
AI makes mistakes, so product information has to be right
Even satisfied AI users report problems: results that favour certain brands, wrong answers and products that do not exist. The retailer's own data is the best defence.
Among Canadian shoppers who used AI, 12% reported bias toward certain brands, 11% were suggested products that didn't exist and 10% got wrong results. The Retail Council concludes retailers should ensure product information is accurate and well-structured so AI tools can surface it (Retail Council of Canada, 2026).[1]
What it means: Keep prices, hours, stock status and product details consistent across your website, Google profile and listings. Accurate, structured data is what AI tools quote.
- 04
Canadian retail staffing is below its peak
Fewer people are on retail payrolls than two years ago, which puts a premium on getting more done with the team you have.
Payroll employment in retail trade decreased by 3,600 (-0.2%) in March 2026, is down 69,700 (-3.4%) since the June 2023 peak, and was down 20,300 (-1.0%) year over year (Statistics Canada, The Daily, May 28, 2026).[3]
What it means: Automate the administrative and repetitive work, such as enquiries, scheduling, reporting and reordering, so staff time goes to customers. Nothing here shows AI caused the change in headcount.
- 05
Canadian businesses are adopting AI, most often for analytics and chat
Overall AI use among Canadian businesses has tripled in two years, led by data and text analytics and virtual agents. A large share still see no relevance.
19.2% of Canadian businesses reported using AI in the 12 months before the survey, up from 12.2% in Q2 2025 and 6.1% in Q2 2024. The top uses were data analytics (36.6%), text analytics (34.5%) and virtual agents or chat bots (28.2%), and 40.0% said AI is not relevant to their goods or services (Statistics Canada, Q2 2026, all industries).[4]
What it means: Retailers with a practical use case, such as customer chat or sales analytics, are ahead of most. These figures cover all industries, not retail alone.
- 06
Marketing consent rules apply to AI-drafted campaigns
AI makes it easy to produce more messages, but consent rules do not change. Email, social media and text messages sent for commercial purposes are covered.
Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL) generally prohibits sending commercial electronic messages without consent, including email, social media and text messages, and penalties for the most serious violations can reach $1 million for individuals and $10 million for businesses (Government of Canada).[5]
What it means: Build consent records and unsubscribe handling into any AI-assisted email or text campaign, and have a person review before sending.
- 07
Privacy regulators expect transparent, meaningful consent for AI
When AI touches customer personal information, Canada's privacy commissioner expects consent to be real and the use to be explainable.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner says businesses using AI with personal information should ensure consent is valid and meaningful, be open and transparent, make AI tools explainable to users and implement privacy by design (OPC, AI, privacy, and your business, modified May 2025).[6]
What it means: Decide which customer data your AI tools may use, tell customers plainly, and keep a record. Build it in from the start rather than adding it later.
What we build
Where AI creates value in retail
Customer enquiry assistant
Answer common questions about hours, locations, products, returns and order status from your own approved content, any time of day, and hand off to your team when a person is needed.
For: Independent stores, multi-location retailers, omnichannel brands
See XeniaProduct data readiness for AI search
Clean up and structure product, price, stock and store information so AI tools describe you accurately, and audit how your business appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews.
For: Retailers that depend on discovery and local search
See IrisSales, inventory and customer insight
Bring point-of-sale, inventory and customer data together into plain-language reports that show what is selling, what is stalling and where to reorder.
For: Owners, merchandisers and operations managers
AI for data analysisMarketing content and consent-aware campaigns
Draft emails, social posts and promotions faster, with consent records, unsubscribe handling and human review built in to meet CASL requirements.
For: Marketing teams and owner-operators
Customer service and returns workflows
Automate order tracking, return requests, appointment booking and follow-up so common service tasks are handled quickly and exceptions reach a person.
For: Customer service and store operations teams
AI for customer service automationBack-office and staff scheduling automation
Automate reporting, supplier communication, onboarding material and routine admin so a lean team covers more without burning out.
For: Every retailer
AI workflow automation
Not sure where AI fits in your retail business?
A 30–45 minute strategy call, no hard sell and no commitment.
Who we help
Built for your kind of business
Independent & boutique stores
Customer enquiries, local discoverability, simple reporting and marketing help that fits a small team.
Multi-location retailers
Consistent customer service, shared reporting and inventory insight across stores.
Specialty & omnichannel brands
Product-data readiness, customer communication and connected insight across store and online channels.
Grocery, convenience & services retail
Staffing-aware scheduling, supplier and reordering workflows, and customer communication at volume.
How we work
A fixed-scope engagement, step by step
Discover
We map your customer questions, product and stock data, systems and store workflows to find where AI creates real leverage.
Design
A prioritized roadmap, consent and privacy approach and review rules, scoped and agreed before any build begins.
Build
We integrate with your POS, e-commerce, CRM and email tools, test with your team and set clear handoff rules.
Scale
Measure against your baseline, refine and extend to new stores and use cases, with PIPEDA-compliant data handling throughout.
FAQ
AI for retail: your questions, answered.
Are Canadian shoppers really using AI?
Early but growing. The Retail Council of Canada's 2026 study of 2,014 Canadian shoppers found 11% used AI assistants for shopping research in the past 30 days, and 68% of AI users plan to use them again in the next three months. Globally, an IBM and NRF study found 45% of consumers turn to AI for help during their buying journeys.
Will AI replace in-store shopping?
Not on current evidence. The IBM and NRF study found 72% of consumers still shop in stores, and the Retail Council of Canada says shoppers using AI are arriving at retailer channels faster and more informed, not bypassing retailers.
How do I make sure AI tools describe my store accurately?
Keep your product, price, stock and store information accurate and consistent across your website, Google profile and listings, and structure it so machines can read it. The Retail Council recommends exactly this, because some AI users report wrong results and products that don't exist. Our Iris audit shows how your business currently appears in AI answers.
Where should a small retailer start with AI?
With one measurable problem. For most stores that means customer enquiries and service, product-data accuracy, or reporting. Statistics Canada found virtual agents or chat bots were used by 28.2% of AI-using Canadian businesses, behind data analytics and text analytics. We help you pick the use case with the clearest baseline.
Can I use AI to write marketing emails and texts?
Yes, for drafting. The messages are still commercial electronic messages: Canada's anti-spam legislation generally prohibits sending them without consent, with penalties up to $10 million for businesses. We design campaigns around consent and unsubscribe handling, and a person reviews before sending.
What privacy rules apply when AI uses customer data?
PIPEDA applies to private-sector organizations, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner says AI use should rely on valid and meaningful consent, be transparent and explainable and build in privacy by design. Quebec-based businesses face additional requirements under Law 25. Our work is built to be PIPEDA-compliant.
Will AI cost my staff their jobs?
Our approach is to extend your team. Statistics Canada reports retail payroll employment is down 3.4% from its June 2023 peak, but nothing in that data ties it to AI. We focus on taking repetitive work off a lean team so people can spend time with customers.
How do we get started with AI in our retail business?
Book a strategy call. It runs 30–45 minutes with no hard sell and no commitment, and we respond within one business day. You'll leave with a clear view of the highest-impact AI opportunities for your stores.
References
Sources
Statistics on this page were checked against the original publications on October 11, 2026. We update this page as new research is published.
- 1.Retail Council of Canada. The Canadian Shopper Sentiment Study: How Trip Purposes and Journeys Shape Shopper Decisions (Spring 2026) (). Online survey of 2,014 Canadian shoppers (February 2026) plus six focus groups, margin of error ±2.2%, 19 times out of 20. Publication date taken from the PDF file date.
- 2.IBM and the National Retail Federation (NRF). IBM-NRF Study: Brands and Retailers Navigate a New Reality as AI Shapes Consumer Decisions Before Shopping Begins (). Consumer survey of 18,000+ respondents in 23 countries, plus a survey of 200 senior executives.
- 3.Statistics Canada. The Daily: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, March 2026 ().
- 4.Statistics Canada. The Daily: Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, second quarter 2026 (). Survey run April 1 to May 6, 2026; all industries.
- 5.Government of Canada. Understanding Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation.
- 6.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. AI, privacy, and your business (). Date modified shown on the page.
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