Retailers Ramp Up Video, AI, and UGC to Navigate 13 Competing…

Event summary

Cloudinary's 2026 Global Retail Survey polled 539 retailers across 14 countries, revealing 13 competing buyer priorities, including mobile shopping (43%), high-volume video (42%), and social commerce (39%).
62% of retailers plan to deliver more video this year, with 41% now hosting 1,000+ videos, up from 8% in 2024.
75% of retailers have opened platforms to user-generated content (UGC), with 44% using AI for moderation.
84% of retailers now use AI across 14 distinct workflow use cases, with 71% planning to deploy AI concierges this year.

The big picture

The survey underscores the accelerating shift toward visual commerce, where video, UGC, and AI are no longer optional but foundational. Retailers face a balancing act between scaling content production and maintaining operational efficiency, particularly as the holiday season approaches. The even spread of AI adoption across workflows suggests a maturing infrastructure, but performance bottlenecks remain a critical hurdle.

What we're watching

Operational Scaling: How retailers will address site performance issues as video libraries grow, with 45% citing it as a major challenge.
AI Integration: Whether the even distribution of AI adoption across 14 use cases signals sustained operational efficiency gains.
Holiday Season Impact: The pace at which retailers can operationalize AI concierges and digital stylists before the critical holiday shopping period.