KPMG consumer and retail industry technology insights report

KPMG reports on the state of consumer and retail industry digital transformation, automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning

Digital to the core

In May and June 2022, KPMG U.S. surveyed 1,052 U.S.-based, executive-level technology leaders across eight broad industry sectors. The 2022 KPMG U.S. Technology Survey Report covers the current state of their organization’s digital transformation journey, the challenges they are facing along that journey and their planned technology investments. This consumer and retail industry insights report highlights the most significant differences in the survey findings for the 151 technology leaders in the consumer and retail sector relative to all sectors represented in the survey.

Key findings

Consumer and retail companies report that their digital transformation efforts have been highly effective—impressive results that appear to be outweighed only by their executives’ expectations for more. Their desire to move faster and get more for their technology investments appears to be driven by their customers’ own growing expectations for a better customer experience.

This is Speed to Modern Technology

Our 15,000+ technology professionals have a wide range of specialties, from AI to analytics and 5G to blockchain. But they’re all dedicated to just one thing: helping technology leaders succeed by accelerating their transformation efforts — starting now.

LEARN MORE

Here are a few highlights:

Consumer and retail companies see more meaningful wins from digital transformation than companies as a whole:

  • More say they’ve been very or extremely effective using digital technology to advance business strategy (73% vs. 66%)
  • More say digital transformation efforts have increased profitability or performance more than 10 percent (30% vs. 21%)


Even so, the speed of digital transformation is lagging expectations:

  • 57% say implementation of their overall digital transformation strategy is moving slower than expected—more than any other industry
  • 33% say their organization is proactive in progressing against its digital transformation strategy—the fewest of any industry
  • 32% reported that their efforts in AI and automation were progressing against strategy—compared to 40 percent of all companies


In Consumer and retail companies, customers appear to be more of a key driver of digital transformation and cyber security efforts:

  • More say customer centricity is a key driver of their transformation agenda the most of any sector (61% vs. 52%)
  • More cited improving the customer experience as a driver of cyber spending (50% vs. 42%)


Other cyber security challenges are similar or even greater than those across all sectors:

  • The adoption of remote/hybrid work environments (35% vs. 36%)
  • The increasing interconnectivity of systems (34% vs. 24%)

Download the full report and discover how KPMG can help you with digital transformation.

Contact us

Accelerating business transformation requires speed of insights and deep expertise.

Our professionals immerse themselves in your organization, applying industry knowledge and innovative technology to deliver sustainable results. Whether it’s helping you lead an ESG integration, risk mitigation, or digital transformation, KPMG creates tailored, data-driven solutions that help you deliver value, drive innovation, and build stakeholder trust.

Matt Kramer

Matt Kramer

National Sector Leader, Consumer & Retail, KPMG LLP

+1 614-241-4666
Duleep Rodrigo

Duleep Rodrigo

National Advisory Leader, Consumer & Retail, KPMG US

+1 949-278-2899
Sam Ganga

Sam Ganga

National Consulting Leader, Consumer &Retail, KPMG LLP

+1 312-961-7289