Retail

In an era where complexity and disruption have become the norm, every change in how products move, stores operate and customers engage presents challenges but also opportunities, for retailers to unlock value and build trust. 

14,000+
retail practitioners worldwide are ready to help clients today

13,000+
retail clients trust EY to help them unlock value and build trust

US$1b+
annual investment in data, tech and AI to solve complex client challenges

Solving your complex challenges

CHALLENGE

Navigating AI‑driven retail transformation

Retailers face growing pressure to modernize legacy platforms while determining how AI should be deployed across the business. Making the right investment and prioritization decisions for the short, medium and long term is critical to delivering measurable value and shaping the future retail experience.


HOW EY CAN HELP

EY teams help retail clients to reimagine channels, operations and customer experience by redefining data and technology infrastructure to realize measurable value from AI across the value chain.

  • Future-ready retail platforms: providing end‑to‑end integration of modern, scalable technology architecture

  • Clear returns on AI investment: prioritizing and deploying AI use cases that improve efficiency, decision-making and commercial performance

  • Integrated data and analytics: modernizing data, architecture and governance to deliver trusted AI solutions at speed and scale

FEATURED

Will the future of retail be led by humans or AI?
Discover the future of retail and the essential balance between AI innovation and a human-centric approach.

CHALLENGE

Building retail supply chains to withstand market volatility, control costs, increase transparency and optimize inventory

Retailers face pressure to rapidly transform their supply chains amid volatility, rising costs and service expectations. Companies must improve planning, forecasting and fulfilment to maintain performance and service levels.


HOW EY CAN HELP

EY teams support retail clients to build end-to-end AI-led solutions that provide efficiency, transparency and resilience into retail supply chains.

  • Simplify complex supply chains: providing AI-enabled networks to enable predictive tracking and inventory management

  • Scale logistics and infrastructure: leveraging partnerships and existing assets to optimize cost to serve, including last mile

  • Create long-term resilience: deploying AI to simplify the complexity of diversifying, nearshoring and onshoring supply networks

FEATURED

New Rules, New Retail: How Dollar Tree is Maximizing Profit Through Smarter Stock Optimization

EY Partner, Jennifer Fagan, joined World Retail Congress’ podcast alongside WRC Chairman, Ian McGarrigle, and Dollar Tree SVP Mark Adams, to discuss the strategic shift retailers need to make: from viewing inventory as a cost center, to a growth lever.

CHALLENGE

Turning customer insight into profitable growth

To unlock profitable growth, retailers need to respond to evolving customer demands, develop personalized engagement and reshape customer journeys that enhance the customer experience, as well as secure new revenue streams from retail media and marketplaces.


HOW EY CAN HELP

EY teams support retail clients to deliver integrated digital and AI solutions to manage inventory, assortment and customer experience, driving commercial excellence by improving the commercial potential of customer data for profitability.

  • Drive growth: providing the curation of personalized products, services and promotions informed by AI and customer data

  • Inform commercial strategies: leveraging customer insights and loyalty data to manage assortments and pricing

  • Improve profitability: facilitating insight-led, multi-channel consumer engagement supported by AI-enabled tools

FEATURED

How to navigate the luxury paradox to win back aspirational clients
As luxury maisons encounter a slowdown in growth, they can explore new growth opportunities that make them more relevant to their clients.

CHALLENGE

Navigating cyber and compliance risks to strengthen stakeholder trust through robust controls

Retailers face an increasingly complex regulatory environment alongside rising cyber threats, making it essential to address compliance in areas such as sustainability and AI. Robust cybersecurity and governance are vital for strengthening stakeholder trust.


HOW EY CAN HELP

EY teams help retailers to navigate, anticipate, understand and manage complex international tax and regulatory frameworks, as well as stress test their operations to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities across the value chain.

  • Anticipate market shocks: implementing scenario planning for political, regulatory and climate risk to inform effective responses

  • Transparent governance: providing visibility across sourcing, technology, workforce and product quality

  • Secure the extended retail ecosystem: investing in third-party risk management architecture and vendor monitoring

FEATURED

Cybersecurity

Secure Creators can innovate and adopt emerging technology without compromising cybersecurity.

EY Partner Ecosystem

EY harnesses a connected ecosystem of strategic alliances and partnerships to co-create value and deliver comprehensive technology solutions and business outcomes for our clients.

Our latest thinking

How to navigate the luxury paradox to win back aspirational clients 

As luxury maisons encounter a slowdown in growth, they can explore new growth opportunities that make them more relevant to their clients.

Should retailers close stores or make them work harder?

Consumers still prefer to shop in physical retail stores. Instead of closing them, retailers should reconsider the purpose of the store. Read more.

Are retail CEOs pessimistic? Cautiously optimistic? Or just realistic?

Retail CEOs are more pessimistic about the outlook for the industry than CEOs in other industries. Does this mean it’s all bad news for retail? Learn more.

Shape the future with confidence

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help you to confidently reimagine retail channels, operations and experience to grow profitable customer-centric businesses.

Explore related sector pages:   Consumer Products  |  Life Sciences   |   Health


Should your business shrink to grow?

Complexity costs. Simplicity pays. Explore our approach to cost optimisation.

 

two-men-cutting-bonsai

Our latest thinking

The return of consumer confidence in Australia: Are we there yet?

Latest EY Future Consumer Index data shows a ray of light between the dark clouds of Australian consumer attitudes.

How to balance the CPG, retail and consumer relationship

Why the changing dynamic in the CPG and retail relationship, means consumer-centricity is more important than ever to stay relevant. Find out more.

Will the great AI device race close the generational confidence gap?

We are witnessing a pivotal moment in the gen AI landscape, and the generational AI confidence gap needs to be addressed.

Tune into how consumers feel to navigate the uncertainty

The 14th wave of the Future Consumer Index explores how cost of living pressures affect different aspects of Australian lives and the resulting shifts in behaviour.

Why consumer brands must look beyond Black Friday

Wave 13 of the Future Consumer Index explores the downshift in consumer spend and how brands and retailers must look beyond the current sales events to set up for a stronger 2024.

How GenAI changes the way CPG and retail operate — and consumers too

As generative AI for business takes-off so do generative AI business use cases for retail and CPG. But GenAI will change consumer behavior too. Learn more.

How to serve consumers who rely on tech, but don’t trust tech

Our global research shows how digital is transforming the consumer and why relationships shaped by trust, respect and value are critical. Learn more.

Reframing the future of an iconic skiwear brand

EY-Parthenon helped BOGNER refinance, reshape and return to profitability in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.

How retailers’ value propositions need to evolve for success

As consumer expectations evolve, retailers are under pressure to deliver authentic, customer-centric value propositions. Find out more.

Is data delivering an improved customer experience?

In this episode, we discuss whether data really holds the key to capturing the voice of the customer, enhancing their shopping experience. Listen now.

25m 4s

Transforming retail podcast

In this episode of the Transforming retail podcast, panelists share their experiences from store tours around different locations in London. Listen now.

19m 25s

When experience defines how consumers buy, what will retailers sell?

Instead of the “store” of the future, retailers should be thinking about the “space” of the future. Find out more.

How will customer-first technology create retailer value that lasts?

Retailers must build technology foundations for the future to respond to changing consumer behaviors and expectations around how they shop. Find out how.

Fashioning a sustainable future for an online clothing retailer

EY-Parthenon has helped fashion retailer ASOS to identify opportunities to unlock value, making it more resilient and better prepared for the future. Learn more.

How retailers can integrate into consumer lives at scale

To be truly relevant, retailers need to transform their technology and focus on creating value customers appreciate. Learn more.

How the retail power of many is stronger than the power of one

As consumers increasingly choose to shop online, smaller retailers may need a network of partners to compete against the e-commerce giants. Learn more.

What will the metaverse bring to the future of retail?

We discuss the potential of the metaverse for retailers and what it could mean for the shopping experience. Listen now.

17m 47s


Contact us
Like what you’ve seen? Get in touch to learn more.