Retail Rewired

Consumer Behaviour

📈 Rebuilding Retail Trust in the Age of AI: The APAC Challenge

We’re entering a new era where AI isn’t just powering retail — it’s shaping the very nature of consumer relationships. But while the technology is advancing at warp speed, consumer trust is lagging behind.

In Asia-Pacific, one of the most AI-forward regions globally, this disconnect is growing sharper. According to a joint study by F5 and Twimbit (2025), 70% of APAC consumers are now interacting with AI weekly, yet over 60% still lack confidence in how brands use their data and make decisions on their behalf.

This isn’t just a technical challenge — it’s a brand trust crisis in the making.

What Trust-First Innovation Looks Like in APAC

1. Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne
Australia’s fashion capital has launched an AI-powered meal planning concierge, blending personalised recommendations with opt-in privacy settings. Early feedback shows that trust soars when AI is presented as a guide, not a decision-maker.

2. Coles Smart Trolleys
Coles is piloting AI-enabled smart carts that scan, weigh, and process payments but the real innovation lies in transparency-first interfaces, showing customers in real time how their data is used.

3. Singapore’s Digital Service Agents
Retailers in Singapore are deploying AI agents with local language support and cultural nuances, shifting away from generic chatbot models. This localisation focus is key to building relevance and emotional connection.

• Our guidance to retailers: Invisible AI — seamless, embedded, and unannounced — may soon become a liability. The next generation of APAC retail leaders will lean into “Visible AI”:
  • Clearly labeled interactions and sources
  • Co-pilot-style experiences
  • Built-in consent, compliance and control tools
  
  In the AI era, trust isn’t earned by performance alone — it’s earned through transparency, empathy, and shared agency.

 🔍Supply Chain

Code, Containers & Control Towers: Inside APAC’s Digitised Supply Web

We are witnessing a transformative shift in supply chain management, moving from traditional, reactive models to AI-driven, digitised ecosystems. At the heart of this evolution are Supply Chain Control Towers, centralised platforms that provide real-time visibility, predictive analytics, and proactive decision-making capabilities.  

Key Examples in APAC’s Supply Chain Digitisation:

1. JD Logistics’ AI-Enhanced Control Towers:
JD Logistics is expanding its global footprint by doubling its overseas warehouse capacity by the end of 2025. This expansion is supported by AI-powered control towers that enable real-time monitoring and predictive analytics, ensuring efficient and resilient logistics operations across borders.  

2. Lenskart’s Integrated Analytics Platform:
Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart has developed an integrated analytics platform that consolidates data across its supply chain, manufacturing, and customer experience domains. This holistic approach allows for agile decision-making and enhanced customer satisfaction.

3. Tata’s Strategic Supply Chain Transformation:
The Tata Group is leveraging AI and machine learning to drive a comprehensive supply chain transformation. By focusing on digital supply chain resilience, Tata aims to position India as a central hub in the rebalanced global supply chain landscape.  

What does this mean for retailers?

• Enhanced Visibility: Real-time data integration across the supply chain enables proactive identification and mitigation of disruptions.
• Predictive Analytics: AI-driven models forecast demand fluctuations and supply constraints, allowing for informed strategic planning.
• Operational Efficiency: Automation of routine tasks reduces manual intervention, leading to cost savings and improved service levels.

The integration of AI-powered control towers is redefining supply chain management in APAC. Retailers embracing these technologies are better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern logistics, ensuring agility, resilience, and customer satisfaction in an increasingly dynamic market

🧰 Framework of the Edition

🎯 SENSE: The 5-Stage Model for Adaptive Retail Innovation

SENSE = Signal, Experiment, Network, Scale, Execute

1. S – Signal Scanning
Look beyond your category. Track early signals across tech, policy, culture, and consumer behavior.
• Example: Walmart scans regulatory shifts on sustainability to shape packaging strategy.

2. E – Experimentation
Test fast, test cheap. Use A/B pilots, pop-up formats, or virtual product drops.
• Example: L’Oréal runs micro-experiments with AR try-on tools in key SEA markets.

3. N – Network Intelligence
Tap external data, partners, and customers. Insights multiply at intersections.
• Example: Decathlon’s co-design approach with sports communities feeds product innovation loops.

4. S – Scalable Design
Build solutions that can expand across markets and platforms with modularity in mind.
• Example: Uniqlo’s RFID checkout system launched in Japan, scaled to Australia with minor local adaptation.

5. E – Execute with Agility
Operationalise quickly with flexible supply chains, empowered store teams, and digital orchestration.
• Example: Reliance Retail’s hybrid delivery/store model allows rapid fulfilment based on shifting customer behaviour.

How Retailers Can Leverage This Approach:

In a world where disruption is no longer an anomaly but a constant, retailers can’t afford to innovate sporadically or reactively. The SENSE framework just makes sense (I’m sorry, I know that was cringeworthy and awful).

By adopting SENSE, retailers will be assisted in their move from:
• Ad hoc innovation to systematic evolution
• Gut-feel decisions to signal-informed strategy
• Siloed pilots to scalable, cross-functional execution

Retailers that embed SENSE into their operations:
• Spot trends earlier (before competitors do)
• Test smarter (without risking scale too soon)
• Collaborate wider (using partners as a force multiplier)
• Scale faster (because solutions are designed for repeatability)
• Deliver with precision (even in chaotic markets)

The retail winners of the next decade will be sensing, scaling, and evolving in real time.
SENSE is how they’ll get there.

 📡 Link Roundup + My Take

• Roblox Bridges Virtual and Real-World Shopping with New Commerce Integrations — Digital gaming platform Roblox has been toying around with real-world commerce integrations for a while, but now the company is getting serious with the addition of two new features: Commerce APIs that will allow brands and creators to sell physical products within their virtual Roblox experiences, and a separate new program that lets brands link product purchases in the real world with digital items in Roblox.

• April retail sales subdued as most discretionary categories remain in decline — Australian retail sales remained subdued in April 2024, with a modest increase of 1.3% compared to the same month last year – and most discretionary categories remaining in decline. The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed April’s retail spending totalled $35.7 billion nationwide.

• 1 in 3 Australians now use AI for shopping according to Adyen — Artificial intelligence use for shopping in Australia grew 45% in the past year, with one in three relying on it for outfits, meals, and new brands, according to Adyen’s newly released 2025 Annual Retail Report.

• Shopee Owner Sea’s Profit Tops Estimates on Steady E-Commerce Demand— Sea Ltd. reported profit that topped analysts’ estimates, a sign that the Southeast Asian e-commerce leader is holding up well against fierce rivals TikTok and Lazada.

• DICK'S Sporting Goods to Acquire Foot Locker to Create a Global Leader in the Sports Retail Industry — The combination creates global platform within the growing sports retail industry, positioned to serve evolving needs of a broader range of consumer. They will be poised to drive long-term success through innovative store concepts and digital experiences.