AI could lift European retail earnings

AI is becoming an active force across the European retail value chain, with a EuroCommerce and McKinsey & Company report estimating that end-to-end adoption could unlock between 240 billion euros and 320 billion euros in economic value across the sector over the next five years. The research says scaled implementation can improve earnings by 4 to 10 percent through revenue growth, stronger margins and higher operational productivity.

Investment remains uneven. A survey of 36 retail executives conducted in March 2026 found that only 15 percent of current AI investments are directed toward the commercial domain, while more spending continues to flow into marketing and support functions. Softline retail, including clothing, footwear and beauty, is expected to see the largest upside because of higher assortment complexity, volatile demand and stronger demand for personalization.

Softline retailers could achieve an EBITDA improvement of 8 to 10 percent, representing a value pool of 100 billion euros to 130 billion euros. Inditex uses an in-house AI platform to identify emerging consumer trends 3 to 4 weeks faster than traditional manual forecasting, while Zalando has embedded analytical and generative AI across customer experience and supply chain processes.