Two thirds of UK retailers only react once problems have already impacted commercial performance

Despite widespread investment in AI, most UK retailers remain stuck in reactive decision-making, according to new research from UiPath.

The survey of 500 UK retail leaders found that 69% only respond to issues after they’ve already affected commercial performance, leaving businesses exposed to lost sales, margin erosion and operational disruption during the busiest trading periods.

The research also found:

• 97% are confident they’ll hit their commercial targets this Golden Quarter.
• Yet 47% have implemented AI but are still waiting to see measurable commercial impact.
• Only 19% can respond to pricing, inventory or operational disruptions in real time.
• 43% say delayed decision-making is their biggest barrier to agility.
• 40% say stock visibility failures are the biggest cause of underperformance.

The findings suggest the challenge isn’t AI adoption, but turning insight into action.

The report concludes that the retailers most likely to succeed during peak trading will be those that connect data, systems and decisions to identify issues earlier and respond before they affect revenue.

Download the full report here.