Around 9 in 10 APAC retail CIOs plan to invest in GenAI

Challenges in GenAI adoption include cybersecurity and privacy.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continues to gain traction with 94% of chief information officers (CIO) from the retail sector in Asia Pacific planning to invest or have invested already in the technology, according to a report by Lenovo.

The retail sector is expected to edge investment in GenAI by 31% this year, with retail and customer experience, real-time analytics and insight as the top use cases for the tool.

This aligns with CIOs seeing the impact of AI, through their game-changing innovations and hygiene factor, growing to 92%.

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However, challenges such as cybersecurity and privacy, and digital transformation have become challenging for retailers to integrate AI into their systems. Even 52% of CIOs in APAC have also revealed challenges in recruitment for AI-related positions.

Despite this, 68% of CIOs in Singapore are currently using AI to improve their security systems, and 25% are already planning to invest in the innovation.

“In our AI journey, collaboration is key across our ecosystem. With domain experts ensuring relevance and clear communication, we're transforming the customer experience. Powered by 'Smarter Technology' and our commitment to 'AI for All,' it's not just a destination; it's enriching our entire customer journey,” Sumir Bhatia, President - APAC at Lenovo ISG, said.