SURVEY RESULTS

Everything is Critical and Nothing Can Wait.
This is Retail in 2026.

Retail in 2026 is defined by a new kind of pressure.

Not a single challenge to solve, but 13 competing priorities demanding attention at once. Consumers want more video, more authenticity, more personalization, and more seamless experiences across every channel.

Retailers are responding by scaling their video libraries, opening platforms to user-generated content (UGC), and deploying generative AI across 14 different workflow tasks. The result is a more dynamic, capable retail experience — and a significantly more complex operation underneath it.

We partnered with independent research firm Researchscape International to survey 539 retailers across 14 countries to better understand how they’re navigating this moment. Here’s what we found.

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Retail in 2026 by the Numbers

13

buyer trends are competing for retailers’ attention simultaneously

61%

use AI across 14 different tasks including image and video creation and editing

41%

of retailers now host 1,000 videos or more — up from just 8% in 2024

48%

of videos hosted on retailers websites are UGC

Retailers Are All in on Video. Their Operations
Are Still Catching Up.

Video has become retailers’ most powerful tool, and their most demanding operational challenge. AI is helping teams automate workflows and scale production, but site performance issues and formatting bottlenecks stand between most brands and video’s full potential.

62%

are looking to deliver more video this year

45%

cite the performance impact on sites and apps as the biggest operational challenge

42%

struggle with the time required to manually format video variations to fit different devices and social media channels

Marks & Spencer Delivers Beautiful CX and Increases Conversions With Video

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Safeguarding Brands and Shoppers as UGC Grows

75%

of retailers accept all types of UGC

37%

identify UGC as a top buyer trend

44%

rely on AI tools for video moderation and compliance

Social is Now the Storefront. Visual Media is What Sells.

81%

deliver video content across their social media platforms

41%

identify social media as the most important channel to their business

42%

report increased social sharing as a direct benefit of their image and video personalization efforts

How AG Jeans Made Every Second Count and Unlocked $1M in Additional Revenue

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AI Shifts From Experiment to Infrastructure

84%

use generative AI tools within their general workflows

56%

use generative AI for workflow automations

71%

plan to employ more AI Concierges and digital stylists this year

Methodology


The 2026 Cloudinary Global Retail Survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Researchscape International, and polled 539 retailers across a variety of executive, IT, and marketing roles in 14 different countries.

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