EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.
Recent Searches
Trending
-
Advancing Canada’s defence innovation
09 Apr 2026 -
Canadian Insurance Outlook 2026: navigating uncertainty, unlocking opportunity
13 Mar 2026 Financial services -
From bottleneck to accelerator: the strategic role of digital identity controls for industrials and energy companies
18 Feb 2026 Energy and resources
Retail
Canadian retail is in constant flux — driven by rising customer expectations, new competitors and relentless disruption.
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
CAD$1b+
annual investment in data, tech and AI to solve complex client challenges
Solving your complex challenges
- AI-led innovation
- Resilient supply chain
- Customer-led growth
- Managing risk and cybersecurity
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
Agentic AI primed to fill baskets for Canadian grocers
Discover how agentic AI can help Canadian grocers boost loyalty, unlock data value and create new revenue opportunities.
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.
Explore our offerings
-
Our Supply Chain & Operations professionals can help you modernize your commercial compliance.
Read more -
Discover how EY's digital transformation teams can help your business evolve quickly to seize opportunities and mitigate risks. Find out more.
Read more -
EY Retail Intelligence can help businesses address their data management challenges and adapt to their customers’ sustainability expectations. Learn more.
Read more
EY-Parthenon: Transformative strategy and transactions – solutions that work in practice, not just on paper.
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
- Webinars
- Case Studies
Our latest thinking
Agentic AI primed to fill baskets for Canadian grocers
Discover how agentic AI can help Canadian grocers boost loyalty, unlock data value, and create new revenue opportunities.
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.
Reaching shoppers beyond the cart: Using retail media networks to drive brand awareness and sales
Retail media networks help brand marketers boost awareness, sales and loyalty. Learn more.
Four strategic steps for Canada's consumer product and retail sector to navigate tariff uncertainty
Explore how Canadian consumer product and retail businesses can sustain competitive advantage amidst shifting tariffs. Uncover four strategic steps to navigate uncertainty effectively.
Transforming retail and consumer products podcast series
Successful retailers are responding fast in a world where the shopper experience and convenience define retail. Listen now.
How to measure and demonstrate loyalty program ROI
Loyalty programs can drive business growth and strengthen customer relationships, but determining their true value can be a challenge. Read more.
Trust by design helps grocers maximize customer experiences
Grocers that adopt a trust by design approach now can improve customer privacy experiences in ways that foster loyalty and sustainable growth. Learn how.
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.
Why consumers are wise to holiday sales and tracking more lasting value
Learn how savvy holiday shoppers redefine value despite economic challenges, and the impact on brands and retail.
Retailers: jointly own your customers’ journey to strengthen their trust and loyalty
In today’s retail landscape, a connected customer experience is the key to consumer trust.
Resilience could be retail’s next big value driver
Retail’s Future: Foster Resilience for Growth and Profit
Rethink customer experience as human experience
Technology is defining customer experience but differentiation comes from connecting to what is essentially human. Read more on studio.ey.com.
Five ways consumer brands and retailers can strengthen sustainability claims
Sustainability disclosure requirements are taking shape in Canada and around the world. Consumers are increasingly making buying decisions based on a product or brand’s sustainability commitments. Now’s the time for consumer brands and retailers to strengthen sustainability reporting. Doing so can mitigate risk while reinforcing customer loyalty.
Three best practices to drive entrepreneurial success
Explore EY’s Proven Practices for Entrepreneurial Success in Canada.
How are consumers reacting to the impact of cost and climate?
In this episode we discuss the impact of the cost-of-living and climate change on consumer sentiment. Listen now.
28m 16s
EY Future Consumer Index: when talk turns into action, be set for change
Climate change is becoming a growing reality for people around the world, and disrupting ingrained consumption habits. Learn more.
Retailers: jointly own your customers’ journey to strengthen their trust and loyalty
Meeting today’s independent consumers means getting to know them in a new way and being accepted into their circle of influence.
How retailers are positively embracing multiple challenges
In this episode the panel discuss the highlights and takeaways from World Retail Congress 2023 in Barcelona. Learn more.
15m 8s
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
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.
In this episode of the Transforming retail podcast, panelists share their experiences from store tours around different locations in London. Listen now.
19m 25s
Future Consumer Index: Five consumer types you need to understand
The 11th wave of the global study explores the emerging priorities that will shape future consumption patterns. Learn more.
Webcasts
In this webcast, panelists discuss data privacy strategies for retailers, focusing on secure, seamless customer experiences and responsible data stewardship.
Beyond borders: global trade with Shopify
In this webinar, panelists discuss how Managed Markets has helped businesses navigate cross-border challenges and its near-immediate effects of building an intentional futureproofed customer experience.
Unlock the power of unified commerce: exclusive conversation with EY and Shopify
In this webinar, explore how unified commerce is not just a trend, but a strategic necessity for futureproofing your retail operations and delivering exceptional customer journeys.
Powering Oak and Fort’s Hypergrowth Journey with Shopify and EY
In this webcast, panelists discuss OAK + FORT’s retail transformation, exploring Shopify and EY’s role in enabling hypergrowth for Canadian businesses.
Case studies
How Canadian Tire leveraged the potential of customer data with AI
An iconic Canadian retailer drives personalized customer service with smarter data management and advanced analytics. Learn more in this case study.
The team
Explore related sector pages: Consumer Products | Life Sciences | Health