AI STRATEGY has come to retail – and it is transforming everything from how you order your morning coffee to which trainers appear on your phone screen.
From personalised product recommendations to supply chain optimisation, AI technologies are projected to generate a cumulative economic impact of US $ 22.3tn by 2030, according to IDC’ s April 2025 analysis – and that transformation is now unfolding in the world’ s most popular stores and shops.
The numbers tell the story, but they do not quite capture the scale of what’ s happening.
Some 88 % of organisations now report regular AI use in at least one business function, up from 78 % a year earlier, according to McKinsey’ s State of AI 2025 survey. But beneath these adoption rates lies something more profound: enterprises are moving from discrete pilots to integrated systems that personalise experiences at scale.
When Santa speaks 26 languages Coca-Cola exemplifies this AI movement in style. In just 60 days – that’ s two months from concept to global deployment – the beverage giant launched its“ Create Real Magic” holiday campaign using Azure AI, enabling conversational interactions with a digital Santa across 43 markets and 26 languages.
Over a million users engaged with the experience in three weeks.
The campaign is part of a US $ 1.1bn commitment to cloud-based and Gen AI capabilities through an expanded partnership with Microsoft announced in April 2024.
“ It all started with an iconic asset and a magical idea,” says Pratik Thakar, Vice President( VP) and Global Head of Generative AI at Coca-Cola.
“ We wanted to create a first-of-itskind holiday campaign by bringing to life the famous Sundblom Santa popularised by Coca-Cola back in 1931.”
74 January 2026