The year ahead will see several key customer data and AI trends significantly impact the customer experience, retail media and marketing ecosystem. Leading female experts share their thoughts on the tech Trends for 2025. And, discuss, what the year ahead looks like as businesses continue to find more innovative ways to remain competitive and reap more ROI from the ad and marketing spend.
AI transformation and business impact
Artificial intelligence is poised to be the driving force of innovation in 2025. The AI landscape is set for dramatic evolution, according to Amperity’s Head of Generative AI, Joyce Gordon. She emphasises that AI adoption will create a clear divide between companies that thrive and those that struggle.
“These successful companies will make better decisions because their teams can easily access and understand data, deliver more personalised customer experiences using generative AI, and run more efficiently by using AI for tasks like drafting creative briefs and handling initial customer service responses,” Gordon explains. “Brands that aren’t adopting AI with a cohesive strategy will fall behind.”
However, implementing AI successfully requires more than just adopting the technology. Gordon particularly emphasises the importance of proper AI implementation. Gordon also cautions that success requires clean, well-organised customer data as a foundation.
“Companies will move beyond segmented AI-driven content, closer to one-to-one personalisation,” she adds. “This shift is possible now because AI models are becoming smaller, cheaper, and more capable, and because companies are getting better at using them.”
Innovation in loyalty programs
In the field of loyalty program design, Eagle Eye’s Communications and Propositions Director, Sarah Jarvis, expects a significant shift to take place when it comes to third-party redemption partnerships – moving beyond traditional ‘single-brand’ rewards.
“Modern examples show innovation in this space: recent examples include Westpac partnering with Woolworths to allow its customers to convert their loyalty rewards into Everyday Rewards points, and Asda’s digital “Cashpot for Schools” program,” she explains. “These partnerships demonstrate how loyalty programs are evolving from simple point collection to leveraging technology and creating broader ecosystems of redemption options.”
“This trend is expected to accelerate as programs seek to increase everyday engagement and attract ‘burn chasers’, highly engaged customers who actively accumulate points for specific partner redemptions.”
However, Jarvis highlights this trend comes with increased operational complexity and costs, suggesting that successful programs will need sophisticated real-time partner management systems to handle these expanded ecosystems effectively.
“Looking ahead, we can expect to see more diverse and innovative partnership models, particularly those focusing on everyday redemption opportunities that keep members actively engaged between larger redemptions,” she adds.
Evolution of user experience in ecommerce
According to Impressive’s Head Of Performance, Jasmin Allen, innovation in e-commerce technology will continue to shape the future of retail, creating an environment where shopping is even more seamlessly integrated into social apps and digital platforms.
“This shift in the e-commerce marketplace will allow users to browse, compare, and complete purchases without ever leaving their preferred sites,” she says. ‘It will also continue to make the buying process more efficient and appealing.”
We’ve already seen major players such as Amazon continue to dominate in Western markets, while marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada continue to lead across Asia, each capturing significant market share, Allen notes.
“As these platforms evolve, they continue refining search functionality and user experience, making it easier for shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for at the lowest price,” she says.
However, this convenience will continue to present new challenges for retailers housing non-exclusive brands, especially those relying on paid ads to maintain visibility. With intense competition from established marketplace giants, Allen says a more strategic approach is essential for these brands to stand out.
“To navigate this crowded digital landscape, tailored, data-driven strategies are crucial to ensure marketing efficiency and to be able to maximise return on investment amidst increasingly dominant platforms,” she explains.
Retail media is set to bloom
Retail media is the advertising of brands not just on retail shelves but across websites, apps, in-store screens and other digital properties. It enables advertisers to connect with shoppers at pivotal moments in their buying journey, driving higher engagement and sales. According to Nexxen’s VP Platform & Client Service APAC, Janice Chan, retail media is set to see major growth.
“We expect to see a lot of innovation and growth in the retail media space, as retailers and brands connect their data to expand and energise their marketing strategies,” she explains. Major retailers are already making significant moves in this space, together with the acceleration of DOOH (in-store digital screens and shopping malls) and the growth of e-commerce.”
Chan highlights that retail media is also expanding beyond traditional retailers.
“We’re seeing financial services launch media networks, which will allow advertisers to reach customers through their physical and digital channels (branches, ATMs, publications and digital platforms), using de-identified transaction data to help with targeting,” she adds.
As retail media continues to expand, Chan says advertisers are benefiting from improved engagement and precise targeting in a contextual and timely manner, resulting in higher sales return.
Chan adds that retail media has been activated programmatically in various forms, and more standardised full-funnel capabilities will continue to be built out. The standard for measurement and metrics will also need to advance alongside industry growth and in consideration with the evolving privacy laws.
“Apart from ad space and inventory opportunities, retailers’ first-party data plays a key role in providing insights and measurement for brands to better tailor their ads, target new shopping audiences, and measure the campaign effectiveness,” she concludes
