Retailers are using visual media intelligently to create the frictionless, personalised online and in-store experiences that consumers love, according to global research out today from Cloudinary. A full 93% of retailers estimated that personalisation alone delivers anywhere from 50-400% improvement in business outcomes. Crucially, the survey also revealed that technology adoption has matured to the point where retailers feel able to prioritise multiple consumer trends and preferences, like accessibility, sustainability and immersive experiences like virtual try-on and 3D. Link to the survey results.
Personalisation driving 4X improvements
An overwhelming 88% of retailers said that personalisation was critical to their digital strategies. A major reason for this is that consumers today shop on a wide range of devices that vary by country, in different languages and currencies, and over vastly different bandwidth levels.
Cloudinary’s research also revealed that the majority of retailers have employed automation to handle personalisation: 67% dynamically adjust content for factors like language, currency, browser and device; 65% for geographic location; and 50% optimise content quality for bandwidth.
As retailers personalise experiences to reach more audiences, accessibility is also a top priority. Key accessibility measures retailers are taking include optimising content for screen readers (62%), adding alt text for images and videos (57%), and providing closed captions (56%). An impressive two-thirds of retailers feel prepared for the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
Levelling up performance and accessibility for diverse audiences allows retailers to deliver seamless experiences to more consumers. This explains why nearly all retailers (93%) estimated significant improvements of up to 4X from personalisation.
Next-gen digital experiences have arrived
As retailers are less focused on playing catchup to manage the essential ‘housekeeping’ of personalisation, they are freed up to prioritise work on building the immersive, visually-rich experiences that delight and engage their customers. Cloudinary’s survey reveals that in 2025 retailers are prioritising video (62%), virtual try-on (53%), AR/VR (46%) and 3D (36%). The visual information these experiences provide help customers make faster, better-informed decisions and also substantially reduce the financial and environmental cost of returns.
Sustainability matters
Despite consumers’ valuing friction-free experiences and fast delivery, they also demand sustainability. That, along with cost-savings, makes sustainability a high priority for most retailers with 62% tracking energy consumption and adopting eco-friendly digital practices. These include optimising media delivery for lower energy consumption (50%), recycling or repurposing digital content (47%), reducing redundant asset storage (46%) and tracking and reporting carbon footprint from digital tools (41%).
Digitising the in-store experience
One of the most exciting revelations is that retailers are now applying ecommerce best practices to digitise the in-store experience and reduce in-store friction. The Cloudinary survey found that 66% of retailers use QR codes for product details and promotions; 64% leverage mobile apps for in-store navigation and assistance; and 32% are deploying AR to create in-store experiences online.
According to Cloudinary SVP of marketing, Wanda Cadigan, “For the last several years retail has been battling several external factors, from the effects of Covid to supply chain challenges. Today’s global survey paints a refreshingly optimistic picture, showing retailers of all sizes coming through this adversity, not only rising to the technical challenges of delivering highly personalised and digitised experiences online and in-store, but also raising the bar by prioritising video and next-gen experiences like virtual try-on and 3D.”
