AI innovation and omnichannel are critical to retail success in 2026
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) on Jan 12, 2026 released the 2025 Retail Readiness Report showing retailers balancing AI and digital transformation with operational constraints across a $30 trillion global market.
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Rhea-AI Summary
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) on Jan 12, 2026 released the 2025 Retail Readiness Report showing retailers balancing AI and digital transformation with operational constraints across a $30 trillion global market. The report finds 48% of retail leaders upgraded IT and AI investments rose 33% year-over-year, while nearly 25% cite technical debt and ~one-third report mission-critical infrastructure at end-of-service. With >80% of retail sales in physical stores, the report emphasizes system unification, inventory precision, and governed agentic AI as priorities to achieve omnichannel readiness.
Positive
- AI investments increased by 33% in the past 12 months
- 48% of retail leaders significantly upgraded IT infrastructure
Negative
- Only 15% of leaders use omnichannel systems to full potential
- Nearly 25% of retailers cite technical debt as a major constraint
- Almost 1/3 report mission-critical networks, storage, servers at end-of-service
- Only 33% of leaders express concern about upskilling for AI-driven roles
Details
News Market Reaction – KD
On Jan 12, the day this news came out, KD closed 0.33% above the previous close.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Jan 12 session.
Key Figures
- Global retail market size
- $30 trillion
- Size of global retail market cited in 2025 Retail Readiness Report
- Leaders upgrading IT
- 48%
- Retail leaders that significantly upgraded IT infrastructure in past 12 months
- AI investment increase
- 33%
- Increase in AI investments by retail leaders in past 12 months
- Brick-and-mortar share
- more than 80%
- Share of retail sales still occurring in physical stores
- Omnichannel full use
- 15%
- Retail leaders who believe they use omnichannel systems to full potential
- AI job transformation view
- 89%
- Retail leaders who believe AI will completely transform job roles within 12 months
- Upskilling concern
- 33%
- Retail leaders concerned about upskilling employees affected by AI
Historical Context
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Planned CHRO retirement with named successor and advisory transition period.
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Named Leader in ISG report for agentic and generative AI capabilities.
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Launch of Quantum Safe Assessment for post-quantum cryptography readiness.
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Launch of agentic AI mainframe services and Agentic AI Framework for IBM z/OS.
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Three-year renewal with Vodafone Idea to transform IT operations and resilience.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
omnichannel technical
agentic AI technical
technical debt technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Kyndryl Readiness Report reveals that retailers that prioritize operational fundamentals and technology integration will be ready to deliver seamless customer experiences
The retail industry report shows that while
"Retail is entering a critical era where every technology investment must prove its value," said Rachel Calhoun, Global Vice President for Retail at Kyndryl. "Retailers have spent years layering new technology atop legacy systems, but this next year demands a shift from expansion to integration. Those that balance physical operations with digital intelligence, while deploying responsible agentic AI, will set the pace for the future."
Key findings from the Retail Readiness Report:
- Back to basics will define competitive advantage in retail – The majority of sales remain in-store, so retailers are shifting focus to inventory precision, stock-keeping units rationalization, and store-level agility.
- Omnichannel systems need urgent integration – Only
15% of retail leaders believe they use their omnichannel systems to full potential, with the rest hampered by fragmented digital add-ons and manual workflows. - Overcoming barriers to agentic AI adoption – While retail leaders have increased their AI investments, progress is blocked by data silos and organizational resistance. Success requires embedding AI frameworks that operate autonomously within clear governance structures.
- Technical debt threatens innovation – Nearly one-third of retail leaders report mission-critical networks, storage and servers are at end-of-service. Nearly half say innovation is delayed by foundational tech-stack issues.
- Retail industry workforce transformation is accelerating –
89% of retail leaders believe AI will completely transform retail industry job roles within the next 12 months, yet only33% express concern about upskilling employees whose roles are affected by AI.
For more insights, view the full 2025 Retail Readiness Report.
About Kyndryl
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise technology services, offering advisory, implementation and managed service capabilities to thousands of customers in more than 60 countries. As the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, the company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.
Kyndryl Press Contact
press@kyndryl.com
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SOURCE Kyndryl
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